Missing items in Alma are not located on the shelf.
Lost items in Alma are items checked out by patrons and overdue by a specified period.
How Items are Marked Lost
System-generated
- Item reaches maximum overdue (30 days / 60 days) and is billed / set to lost (system generated)
- Migrated Sierra checkouts – if overdue met the criteria for “lost” these were marked lost on go-live day (7/6/22)
- Item stays on the patron record as lost.
Manually created
- Patron reports item lost.
- When viewing patron checkouts, staff can toggle the item status to Lost. This will generate a bill.
- Item stays on the patron record as lost.
Lost items found / returned within one year
- If lost item is returned / checked in, this sends the item to the shelf and refunds the replacement charge to the patron.
- Or Staff can toggle the item to “Found.” This returns the item as a normal loan to the patron account and issues a credit for the lost item replacement cost but doesn’t change the due date. (Suggest we change the due date manually or check the items in and back out).
Lost items not found / returned after one year
How to find these
- Monthly report items in process type lost and item modification date more than 12 months ago. In shared folder Missing and Lost Reports > Items in Lost Status – set to email monthly to all circ desks.
- Will not work automatically until July 2023 (process type change must be 12 month old). In the meantime, review items for items from Sierra older than 1 year.
Once items over one year identified
- First, delete the loan.
- only Circulation Managers and Operators can delete a loan. You can only delete from Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services.
- Deleting a loan clears the item from the patron record but does not clear any fines, unlike returning an item.
- Deleting a loan will mark the item as missing. Now you can progress the item to the last stage, sent for replacement yyyy-mm-dd in the item internal note 3 field.
This will then send the item through the replacement / withdrawal process. .
