Calculating Due Dates

When a patron checks out or renews an item, Polaris calculates the due date based on the following: 

• The patron code and item loan period relationship established by the governing library for the transaction (by default the item’s assigned branch), and

• The closed dates and hours of operation of the lending library.

Polaris stores the patron code in the patron record, and it stores the loan period code in the item record. The Loan Periods policy table associates the patron code and loan period code to determine the loan period for an item assigned to a particular branch.

All daily and weekly loans are due at 11:59 PM on the due date. For information on items with a loan period set in hours or minutes, see Hourly Loan Due Date.

Note:
For daily and weekly loans, the system begins the overdue fine calculation at the end of the day. For hourly loans, Polaris calculates fines according to the exact time due.

The following factors affect how Polaris calculates due dates:

• Undefined and Standard Loan Periods
• Closed Dates and Days
• Renewal Settings
• Hourly Loans  
• Non-Circulating Items

Undefined and Standard Loan Periods

If Polaris can't find a relationship between the patron code and loan period in the Loan Periods policy table, it uses the loan period specified in the system-level Patron Services Undefined loan period setting. The default value is 14 days. When you add a new branch or patron code, the system automatically adds an entry to the Loan Periods table with the default value of 14 days..

Note:
If Polaris can't find a loan period in any table or setting, it produces a message at check-out that indicates the loan period can't be calculated. In this case, circulation staff can do one of the following: allow the system to use the undefined loan period setting, or set the item’s loan period manually. To manually set the item's loan period for this patron, open the Special Loan dialog from the Patron workform. For specific steps, see Set a Special Due Date/Loan Period During Checkout.

For offline circulation, the system uses the workstation branch’s value for the Patron Services setting Standard loan period to calculate the due date. This is because there is no access to the database during offline circulation. However, the logged-on user’s branch is recorded as the Loaning Branch and is noted in the item record during the transaction.

Closed Dates and Days

Polaris uses the lending library’s special closed dates and regular closed days in the due date calculation. If the due date is defined as closed in the Dates Closed policy table (for example, January 1), the due date moves to the next open date. If the Patron Services setting Hours of Operation designates the day of the week as a closed day for the branch (for example, Sunday), the due date moves to the next open day.

Renewal Settings

The Renewal: Calculate based on due date setting determines how Polaris calculates due dates for renewals. You can configure this setting at the system level in Polaris System Administration (web-based) by going to System > Patron Services.

To calculate the due date for renewals by adding the loan period to	Set to
Today's date	No
The due date	Yes

 

For more information about Patron Services settings, see Patron Services Settings Reference.