Library Student Assistant Training

Information that Can be Found in the Patron/User Record

All user information in Alma should only be shared with the account owner.  

To view a user's account, go to Fulfillment, Manage Patron Services and scan the patron's ID or look them up by name.

Number of Overdues will appear in the first note on the right if there are any.

Fines/Fees can be viewed by clicking on the dollar amount next to 'Active balance.' Clicking through will take you to the Fines/Fees tab where you can view a list of active fines.

It is recommended that you do not use the Submit Request button to place a Request for the User. Instead, place requests through the item record as outlined in the Recall Requests and Holds Module.

Select All Loans from the Loan Display dropdown menu to view all items currently Checked out to the User.

The Fines/Fees tab contains bills and fines incurred.  Overdue items currently accruing fines will be listed under All loans above and WILL NOT appear on the Fines/Fees tab until discharged. Click on the three ellipses to the right of a listed fine and choose View Loans to see the loan history of the item. Choose 'All' under status to view past fines that have been settled or sent to student accounts.

The Returns tab will show you a User's history if you select All returns instead of Returns of this session.

The Requests tab includes all unavailable and available requests. The Task column will tell you what step in the process a request is and the Place in Queue column will tell you how many users are ahead in line for an item.

Faculty members can designate students to be their proxies (surrogates). This allows a student to check out library materials in the faculty member's name.

When a student identifies as a proxy, you must check the box labeled "Use Proxy" before swiping the student's card. If this is not done, materials will be charged to the student's account rather than the faculty member's. The faculty member's name will then appear in the box marked "Proxy for." You can then proceed with the transaction.

Loan (Borrowing) policies vary by patron type (undergrad, grad, faculty, staff). You will want to become familiar with all the policies by using the link below.

On average an undergraduate can check out an item (book or DVD) for one month. Graduate students for one month and faculty for one year. 

What is Interlibrary Loan (ILL)?

Interlibrary Loan (or ILL) is a free library service for Vanderbilt students, faculty, or staff.  ILL will borrow copies of items that the Vanderbilt University Libraries do not own. This includes books and copies of journal articles. For more information please see the Interlibrary Loan page.

Materials borrowed from non-Vanderbilt libraries via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) are circulated using a different system called ILLiad. Consult your circulation supervisor for your library's ILL hold and circulation procedures.

Main Campus Interlibrary Loan

Law School Interlibrary Loan

Eskind Interlibrary Loan

Faculty can place library materials or personal items on reserve to facilitate the accessibility of these items to a large group of students through shortened loan periods.  The most common loan period is two hours.  Additionally, reserves with two-hour loan periods are commonly restricted to in-library use.

Reserves are not shelved with the general collection.  Many campus libraries keep reserves behind the service desk.

Borrowing of items between libraries for reserves is common.  The following list includes possible reserve locations: 

• Biomedical Reserves

• Central Reserves

• Divinity Reserves (RESERVES)

• Law Reserves

• Management Reserves

• Music Reserves

• Peabody Reserves

• Science/Engineering Reserves

Bills are costs for items that were not returned or damaged by a user, assigned to the user’s account by the owning library’s circulation staff.   

If you click on the dollar amount to the right of 'Active balance' in the user record, bills for replacement costs are listed as “Lost item replacement fee.” Bills for associated costs are listed as “Lost item process fee.” 

Fines are late fees for items that were returned after the due date.  Fines are automatically assigned to user accounts upon return of overdue items.  

Fines are listed as “Overdue fine,” and "Recalled Overdue fine.” 

Many Heard Library items no longer have fines.  All items are eligible for bills when they are severely overdue.

Determining Amounts Owed

1. Go to Fulfillment->Manage Patron Service.

2. Swipe the user’s Vanderbilt ID or look up the user by name.

3. Click on the dollar amount to the right of 'Active balance' in the User Record.

Change the Status Filter to 'All' to see all past fines or bills associated with the account. Bills and fines are listed in default chronological order with the most recent first.  Bills or fines that have been paid, forgiven, or sent to Student Accounts will have “$0.00” in the Remaining balance column.  Bills or Fines that have been credited will have a negative dollar amount. Detailed bill or fine information, including the reason for each fine, can be obtained by clicking on each amount in the Remaining balance column. 

What You Should Know Before Paying Fines

• Only supervisors are authorized to waive bills or fines.  Notify a supervisor if you believe a bill or fine to be in error.  Refer fine disputes to your circulation supervisor.

• Notify your circulation supervisor before paying bills or fines from other campus libraries. 

Student bills and fines will eventually be transferred to Student Accounts, so students rarely choose to pay these amounts at the library.  Bills and fines for all other users stay on their account until paid or waived. 

Fines can only be paid for an item after the item has been returned. 

Paying Bills & Fines

1. Go to Fulfillment->Manage Patron Service.

2. Swipe the user’s Vanderbilt ID or look up the user by name.

3. Click on the 'Pay' button next to the dollar amount to the right of 'Active balance' in the User Record.

4. If the User wishes to settle their entire account or just wishes to make a general payment on their account, choose 'All fines.' If they wish to pay for specific items or fees, choose 'Specific fines' and select the specific items from the list. You will want to choose specific fines if there are any items on the account in dispute or they believe they may be able to locate: refer further questions to a supervisor.

5. Specify whether payment was made by CASH or CHECK.

6. Click on 'Send' at the bottom of the window.

All income must be recorded on the Daily Income Log Sheet at the end of the transaction.  Immediately endorse any checks with the appropriate stamp.

In Alma, renewals and due date changes are handled by looking up the user record.

If a user wants to renew everything on their account, select "renew all." Otherwise, check the box on the left of each item that should be renewed, and choose "renew selected items."

If you need to choose an item's due date after it has been checked out, check the box next to the appropriate item and select "change due date."

In Alma, holds and recalls are treated as requests. Users have the option to recall materials by logging into Primo, but library staff can also place requests manually. To begin this process, select the "Submit Request" option in the user record.

The default search is by title, but clicking on the bulleted icon allows you to search the full repository.

Once you have selected the appropriate item, click on "Patron Physical" to create the request.

To complete the process, be sure to select the correct pick-up location for the user, and then click "Submit."

If a user reports that an item is missing from the shelf: 

1. Perform a Library Catalog search with the user to determine if they have searched the correct physical location

2. Check to see if the item is in the reshelving area

3. Perform a physical search for the item with the user.

If the item is not found: 

• Apologize to the user

• Ask the user if they would like to be notified when the item is found or replaced.

• Fill out a Search Card, writing down the user's name and e-mail if they wish to be notified if it is found.

Searching for Missing Items 

When asked by a supervisor to search for a missing book: 

1. Check the library (stacks, tables, carrels, etc.) for any unshelved materials.  Bring these materials to the desk.

2. Shelf-read the shelf (or drawer, etc.) where the item should be, and then shelf read the previous shelf and the following shelf if necessary. 

3. Transpose digits or letters within the call number to check for possible misshelvings.

Lost Items 

Items which display in our catalogs as LOST are in process of being withdrawn (removed from the collection) or replaced.  Patrons who wish to use LOST items may submit a purchase or ILL request in either catalog.

Due date extensions are available for materials from the general collection without preexisting holds.  Most library items (with some exceptions) can be renewed online via My Account up to 4 times.  Materials may also be renewed at the service desk, which may be the only option once users have exhausted their online renewals.  

To renew items with an item in hand: 

1. Check-in (Return) the item

2. Scan the item barcode

3. Check-out again (Manage Patron Services). 

To renew selections or all items on a user's account:

1. Manage Patron Services

2. Swipe the user’s ID or lookup the user using their name

3. Select 'All Loans' from the Loan Display:

4. Click on the the check box for each item you want to renew or click 'Renew All' to renew all items (only use this option if you are sure you want to renew all items on the account).

5. Click 'Renew Selected'

• Student records/library-privileges expire after graduation and should not be renewed.  Alumni cards are available from the Vanderbilt Card Services Office.
• Faculty and staff records/library-privileges expire upon retirement or leaving Vanderbilt.  An exception is the records of emeriti faculty, whose records never expire.
• Courtesy user (see Other Programs here) and alumni records/library-privileges expire each year.  Records are renewed upon establishing current contact information.