We need the ability to notify patrons at the point that fines are assessed on their library accounts. Some libraries use the Borrowing Activity Letter for this purpose, but we find that this approach causes confusion for our library patrons. The solution to these problems is to send a letter when fines are actually assessed on user accounts. The letter would be triggered either by the renewal of items resulting in fines or by the return of items resulting in fines. The existing Return Receipt Letter contains all the necessary data elements for this purpose. We request a similar letter that can optionally be configured so that it will be triggered any time a fine is assessed on an account. This would occur when overdue items are scanned in via “Scan In Items” or “Return Items” as well as in the Returns tab of the patron account. It would also occur when items are renewed.

Confusion: The Borrowing Activity Letter is received too far away in time (in our case, once per month) from the assessed fine. Oftentimes, patrons are confused by the fact that they are being notified of fines because time has passed since the fines were actually assessed. It would be better to send this portion of the letter as fines are actually assessed. Further, the statement of fines on the Borrowing Activity Letter is misleading. This statement tells the patron that a fine is currently accruing (meaning that it could be different tomorrow!). We need a statement that informs the patron once a fine has been assessed (and is therefore a stable reckoning of their account). Ex: On Tuesday, student receives notification that they have an overdue item with $7.00 in fines currently accruing. When the student brings back the item on Wednesday, they will have accrued $7.50 in fines. Wednesday evening, the $7.50 assessed fine will be exported to Bursar. (This is the information that the student needs to receive.) On Thursday, the student's Primo account will say that they have $0.00 in "Active" fines.

The solution to these problems is to send a letter when fines are actually assessed on user accounts. The letter would be triggered either by the renewal of items resulting in fines or by the return of items resulting in fines. The existing Return Receipt Letter contains all the necessary data elements for this purpose. We request a similar letter that can optionally be configured so that it will be triggered any time a fine is assessed on an account. This would occur when overdue items are scanned in via “Scan In Items” or “Return Items” as well as in the Returns tab of the patron account. It would also occur when items are renewed.