System-Generated Blocks

Horizon comes with a set of predefined blocks. You cannot delete these system-generated blocks, but you can edit some of the parameters. Parameters you can edit include time periods, actions taken, and messages. (For instructions, see “Setting Up or Editing a Block Type” in the “Setting Up Blocks” section of the Circulation Setup Guide.)

This table describes the system-generated blocks that come installed in Horizon:

Block Name

Block Code

Block Function

Automatic Bill Sent

abs

This block triggers a billing statement. When the statement is generated, Horizon attaches an Automatic Bill Sent block to each of the fine or lost blocks that have amounts included on the billing notice.

Address Correction Requested

acr

If you are aware that a borrower’s address has changed, you can place this block on the borrower’s record. The next time the borrower checks out an item, you can update the borrower’s record.

Adjustment Credit

adjcr

When a staff member decreases the amount a borrower owes on an existing fine or fee, Horizon attaches an Adjustment Credit block to the borrower’s record. This block tracks the date and the amount adjusted.

Adjustment Debit

adjdbt

When a staff member increases the amount a borrower owes on an existing fine or fee, Horizon attaches an Adjustment Debit block to the borrower’s record. This block tracks the date and amount adjusted.

Balancing Entry

balance

Horizon places this block as a notation appended to the original fine block.

Booking Cancelled:
By Borrower,
Expired,
By Library,
By Suspension,
Tardy


bcbr,
bce,
bcl,
bcsp
bct

Each of these blocks is attached to borrowers’ records when their bookings are cancelled. Each block identifies the reason the booking was cancelled:

By Borrower. The borrower no longer needs the item and has cancelled the booking.
Expired. The booking period passed without the borrower checking out the booked item.
By Library. A staff member cancelled the booking.
By Suspension. The borrower is no longer an active user of the system.
Tardy. The holding period for the booking period passed and the item was not picked up. The item was checked out to someone else.

Billing Notice

bn

Horizon places this block when Day End is run, triggering a billing statement because the borrower has new fines that exceed a library-determined limit. (For information on setting a fine limit, see your system administrator.)

Rental Fee

ckofee

This block is not used by all libraries. If your library has set up rental fees, this block is automatically set to charge a fee for each item (according to ITYPE and BTYPE) a patron checks out. (For more information, see Assessing Fees and Fines.)

Claimed Returned

cr

You can manually change the Overdue block to a Claimed Returned block when a borrower claims that an overdue item has been returned. The Claimed Returned block does not exempt the borrower from responsibility for the item, but it does alert the library to take the necessary steps to check if the book is in the library.

Note: When you use this block, you should access it directly from the CKO menu. (For more information, see Placing a Claimed Returned or Lost Item Block.)

Credit

credit

This block is placed when an amount is credited to the borrower’s account.

Damaged

damage

When a borrower returns an item in a damaged state, you can manually attach this block to the borrower’s record. If you want a fine levied for repairs, mark the “Payment” Amount Type option.

For more information, see “Setting Up or Editing a Block Type” in the “Setting Up Blocks” section of the Circulation Setup Guide.

Debt Collection

dc

Horizon places this block when a borrower’s name has been sent to a collection agency.

Exempt from Debt Collection

edc

Horizon places this block if a borrower whose name ordinarily would be sent to a collection agency will not be sent.

Force to Debt Collection

fdc

Horizon places this block when a patron’s name is forced to a collection agency.

Fees

fee

This block is not used by all libraries. It is usually set to charge a card or membership fee. It can also be used to note miscellaneous fees, such as copy machine use.

Note: This block should not be used to enter overdue fines.

Final Overdue Notice

final

After other overdue notices have been sent and the item still has not been returned, Horizon applies this block. After the final notice is sent and after a library-specified interval passes, Horizon replaces the Overdue block with a Lost block. If the lost item is checked in, the borrower will still be charged overdue fees.

Final Recall Notice

finalr

Similar to the final overdue notice explained in the previous block, this block is associated with an overdue recalled item.

Fine

fine

When an overdue item is checked in, the Overdue Still Out block is replaced by a Fine block. The Fine block checks the due date and checkin date, accounts for any grace period, and computes the fine according to the ITYPE and BTYPE. (For more information on setting ITYPEs, BTYPEs, and grace periods, check with your system administrator.)

Your library can create additional fine blocks that are attached manually. (For more information, see Assessing Fees and Fines.)

Hold Cancelled:
By Borrower,
By Library


hcb
hcl

By Borrower. If a borrower cancels a hold, Horizon places this type of block on the borrower’s record so there is a record of why and when the block was cancelled.
By Library. If a staff member cancels a hold placed by a borrower, Horizon places this type of block on the borrower’s record so there is a record of why and when the block was cancelled. (For more information, see Overriding a Hold.)

Hold Cancelled and Reinserted in Queue

hclr

When a staff member checks out an item on hold to a different borrower, Horizon allows the option of reinserting the original request in the request queue. If a staff member chooses to reinsert the request, Horizon generates this block and places it on the borrower record of the original borrower.

(For more information, see Overriding a Hold.)

Hold Expired

he

If an item remains on hold for a specified amount of time and is not picked up by the requestor, then Horizon automatically cancels the hold. The time required between the time the item is checked in and the time the hold is cancelled is determined by library policy and set by your system administrator.

Hold Notification: Deliver,
From Closed Stack,
Mail,
Phone,


hncko,
hncsa,
hnmail, hnphone,

Deliver. Horizon places this block on a borrower’s record when a hold notification for delivery has been generated. The block keeps track of what action has been taken regarding the hold.
From Closed Stack. Horizon places this block when a notice has been generated to tell a borrower that items from closed stacks are ready for the borrower to use.
Mail. Horizon places this block when a hold notification for mailing has been generated. The block keeps track of what action has been taken regarding the hold.
Phone. Horizon places this block when a notice has been generated to perform a hold notification by phone. The block keeps track of what action has been taken regarding the hold.

Invoice

in

Your library has the option to notify borrowers of fines owed with either a billing notice or an invoice. If an invoice is generated for a borrower, this block is attached to the borrower’s record automatically.

Checkin Location, Checkin Date, Checkout Date, Due Date,
Renewal Date,

infocil,
infocki, infocko, infodue, inforen

Horizon creates these blocks to record information about transactions: checkin location, checkin or checkout dates, due date or renewal date.

Lost

l

This type of block is similar to a Claimed Returned block, except that the borrower claims to have lost the item. If the item is not found within a specified amount of time (determined by library policy), then a replacement item may be acquired and the borrower assessed a fine to cover the cost of the replacement item. You can manually place this block on a borrower’s record from the CKO menu. (For more information, see Placing a Claimed Returned or Lost Item Block.)

A Lost block is automatically placed on a borrower’s record when a final overdue notice is sent to a borrower.

Found

lf

When a lost item is checked in, Horizon sets a Found block on the borrower’s record. If a fine has been paid for the lost item, Horizon also generates a Refund of Payment block for the borrower.

Lost Processing Fee

LostPro

This block is placed when a lost item processing fee, determined by library policy, is charged to a borrower.

Lost Recall

lr

This block is placed when a borrower had an item that was recalled, but the item was never returned and is now presumed lost.

Message to Borrower

msg

If a borrower has a situation that the regular system blocks do not fit, you can place your own message block on the borrower’s record. Messages describe or clarify unusual circumstances and exceptions to library policies.

Comment

note

Similar to Message to Borrower, this block allows you to make a comment that is not specifically directed to the borrower.

Notices, Overdue:
First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth

notice1,

notice2,
notice3
notice4
notice5
notice6

These blocks are placed when notices are generated for overdue items rather than for unpaid fines. A library can set Horizon to generate two or more different overdue notices if the item is not returned. After the notices have been sent and the overdue items have not been returned, Horizon generates a final overdue notice and places a Final Overdue Notice block on the borrower’s record. (For more information, see block code “final” in this table.)

Notices, Recall:
First,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Sixth


noticr1,
noticr2, noticr3
noticr4
noticr5
noticr6

Similar to overdue notices explained in the previous block, these blocks are associated with overdue recalled items.

Never Send Notices

nsn

This type of block is usually placed manually when there is a borrower who should never be sent a notice. This block overrides the system-generated notifications. (For more information, see Manually Placing a Block.)

Overdue Still Out

od

Horizon automatically generates this block when an item has not been checked in by its due date.

Recalled and Overdue Still Out

odr

Horizon automatically generates this block when an item that has been recalled has not been checked in by its due date.

Fine Payment

payment

When a borrower pays a fine, Circulation deducts the amount paid from the total amount owed. Then it attaches a Payment for Fine block to the original block and moves the whole block to the History Blocks list.

(For more information, see Transacting Payments, Waivers, and Refunds.)

To see the Fine Payment block, display the borrower’s block history, then view the Block Detail window for the appropriate block. (For more information, see Viewing a Borrower’s Block History and Viewing Block Details.)

Phone Correction Requested

pcr

If you are aware that a borrower’s telephone number has changed, you can place this block on the borrower’s record. The next time the borrower checks out an item, you can update the borrower’s record.

Request Deleted

rd

Horizon places this type of block when a bib record for a requested title has been deleted. In addition, if the request has been placed on a specific item, rather than any item with that title, then this hold will be placed if the item record is deleted.

Request Expired

re

If an item remains on request for a certain amount of time, Horizon cancels the request. The amount of time between the request and the cancellation is determined by library policy and set by your system administrator.

Item is Recalled Before Due Date

recall

When you recall an item, a Recall block is placed on the record of the borrower who currently has the item checked out. This block changes the item’s due date and triggers a recall notice. The block will be resolved when the item is checked in.

Refund of Payment

refund

When you refund a payment to a borrower, Horizon attaches this block to the original block to keep track of the date and the amount of the transaction. Horizon moves the whole block to the borrower’s block history list. (For more information, see Transacting Payments, Waivers, and Refunds.)

Your library can create additional refund blocks that are attached manually.

Reminder Invoice

ri

Reminder invoices combine information from all invoices for a borrower. The number of days Horizon will delay sending out a Reminder Invoice after a regular invoice remains unpaid is determined by your system administrator. (For more information, see Reminder Notices.)

Requested Item Lost

rl

When Horizon marks a requested item as Lost, Horizon adds a Request Item Lost block to the requestor’s current blocks. Horizon adds this block only if the request is an item-specific request. The block does not apply to title-level requests.

Reminder Billing Notice

rn

Reminder notices can be sent out in addition to the regular overdue and billing notices. Your system administrator sets Horizon to generate reminders for borrowers who have more than a certain number of overdue items or who have a fine larger than a set limit.

Since these reminders are sent in addition to the normal and overdue billing notices, they only need to be generated for borrowers who have many overdue items or large outstanding fines. Unlike Overdue and Billing notices, the reminders are not generated by Day End. Reminders are generated in Circulation Reports. (For more information, see Reminder Notices and Printing or E-mailing Notices, Invoices, and Reminders.)

Renewal Fee

rnwfee

This block is not used by all libraries. If your library has set up renewal fees, this block is automatically set to charge a fee for each item (according to ITYPE and BTYPE) a patron renews. (For more information, see Assessing Fees and Fines.)

Suspension until ...

suspend

Your library has the option to suspend a borrower’s circulation privileges for a number of days until the library’s concerns about this borrower’s block issues are resolved. Attach this block to suspend a borrower’s privileges, and each time the borrower attempts to check out an item, this block appears. This block can be attached to a borrower’s record in addition to fines. The number of days privileges are suspended is specified in the circulation privileges view. (For more information, check with your system administrator.)

Waiver of Fine

waiver

When you waive a fine, Horizon deducts the amount waived from the total amount owed and then attaches a Waiver of Fine block to the original block and moves the whole block to the History Blocks list. (For more information about waiving fines, see Transacting Payments, Waivers, and Refunds.)

To view a specific Waive of Fine block, display the borrower’s block history, then view the Block Detail window for the appropriate block. (For more information, see Viewing a Borrower’s Block History and Viewing Block Details.)

Each borrower type is allowed a maximum number of these kinds of blocks:

Unpaid fines
Overdues
Total items out
Requests
Days items can remain overdue
Days fines can remain unpaid
Days recalled items can remain overdue

These limitations are established as part of the library policy and are set up by your system administrator. When you attempt to check out an item to a borrower who has exceeded the maximum, Horizon displays the Maximum Exceeded window, listing which maximums have been exceeded. You can cancel the checkout, override the limits (if you are authorized), or resolve the problems before continuing with checkout.

The total items out configuration (Max. Number of Items Out circulation parameter code) is set independent of the Global maximum of checkouts circulation parameter that is set at the system level. If a checkout is blocked because of the global maximum, the value global displays next to the btype in the Maximum Exceeded window; if a checkout is blocked because of a Max. Number of Items Out value, the value biblio displays.

 


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