Patron record details

Learn how to look up patrons and find or edit information about sections of the patron record.

Assist Patrons

Find a patron by barcode

  1. Under Assist Patrons, scan or type the barcode into the Enter barcode field.
  2. If you typed the barcode, click Go or press <Enter>.

Barcodes are case-sensitive when searching for users.

Search for a patron

  1. Under Assist Patrons, select an index from the drop-down. Indexes include:
    • Name, ID, Email:  Search terms entered for this index returns results based on the following:
      • Name: Last name, First name, Middle name, nickname
      • ID: Barcode, User ID at Source, ILL Identifier, PPID
      • Email Address: Email address located in the Library Record area of the Basic User Data accordion for the user 

         Note:  Values searched upon for the name and email address in the Name, ID, Email index may generate slightly different results than the individual Name and Email index.

    • Identifier: Searches the circulation barcode, ILL identifier, User ID at Source, and PPID.
    • Barcode: Barcode (ID number) of the patron.  Barcodes are case-sensitive when searching for users.
    • User ID at Source:  The ID of the patron in an external system (e.g. ILS, PeopleSoft, Banner, CAS).
    • Email Address: Email address of the patron.
    • Phone Number: Phone number of the patron.
    • Street Address: Address of the patron (e.g., house number, street name).
    • Postal Code: Postal code (e.g., zip code) of the patron's address.
    • Search patrons of all libraries: Deselect the check box to search for patrons from your institution. When the check box is selected, patrons across all institutions in your group will be shown. You can only edit patrons from your institution. 
       Note: This option only appears if you are part of a WMS group. The interface remembers the staff member's last selection for this option and automatically selects/unselects the next time they log in.
  2. In the search field, enter your search terms.
  3. Click Search or press <Enter>.
  4. Click the patron's Name to view their account.

 Note: The user interface remembers the option the staff member last selected for the secondary patron lookup option in Assist Patron and automatically selects this option the next time they log in. 

Patron record

Click the patron's Name to view the patron record's available tabs. If your library is a member of a group, you can view all patrons in the group, but can only edit your library's patrons.

Index Description
Checkout Check out materials and list current loans. See Check out items.
Holds

Create or delete hold requests or scheduled items. See:
Schedules Schedule an item from a patron account. Refer to Schedule items. 
Claims Provides a list of loans that a patron has claimed lost, never had, or already returned. Refer to Claims. 
Bills Refer to Manage patron bills. 
Suspension Refer to Suspend patrons.

Profile

 Update identification, contact information, system access or privileges. See Profile.
Transactions View patron transactions listed by date. Refer to Patron history.
Notifications View patron notification history. Refer to Patron history.
 

Profile tab

Use the Profile tab to update identification, contact information, system access or privileges. 

Some fields need explanation.

Field Description
Blocked? Blocked users have their library privileges suspended. Use a staff note to indicate the reason for the block. Blocks placed by staff can be overridden in the same way as blocks placed by the system.  See Block a patron for more information.
Collection Exempt Reserved for future functionality.
Preferred Name Patron's preferred first name.

A patron's preferred name can be added or edited in the Basic User Data section in WorldShare Admin.
Expiration Date The Expiration Date determines when circulation privileges expire. The patron's circulation privileges will expire on the date entered at 11:59:59 PM.
Home Branch Patron's preferred library branch
ID Verified Indicates whether patron's identity established via acceptable ID (driver's license, etc.)
Patron Type The kind of account the patron has (student, faculty, child, adult, etc.)
Notes

A note written by library staff about the patron. Multiple notes may be added.

Staff notes are not visible to patrons in WorldCat Local/Discovery, but are visible on the checkout screen.

Public notes are not visible to patrons in WorldCat Local/Discovery and can be configured to display on the checkout screen. This feature is optional and must be activated by the library in OCLC Service Configuration (WorldShare Circulation>Admin/General>Display Patron Information). For more information, see Display Patron Information.

Staff and public notes can display in a pop-up by typing an exclamation mark (!) at the beginning of a note. Pop-up notes will display when the patron account is initially accessed.