Skip to main content
OCLC Support

Patron record details

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
Learn how to look up patrons and find information about sections of the patron record.

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>.

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, preferred name
      • 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.

        • The Name, ID, Email index takes a single token from the user input and compares with a left-handed match of a searchable value. Example: "smith"
        • The individual Name and Email index searches allow multiple tokens to be passed, separated by spaces. Example: "smith* john*"
    • Identifier: Searches the circulation barcode, ILL identifier, User ID at Source, and PPID.
    • Name (Default): Last name, first name, and/or initial. 
       Note: Do not type a comma (,) if you are searching by the patron's first and last name.
    • Barcode: Barcode (ID number) of the patron.
    • 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.
  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.

Take actions on search results

If your library is a member of a group, you can view all patrons in the group, but can edit only your library's patrons.

Patron record

Click the patron's Name to view the patron record's five sections.

Patron record sections - Table
Index Description
Bills See Pay, waive, refund, or cancel bills
Checkout Check out materials and list current loans. See Check out items.
History View patron transactions listed by date. See History.
Holds

Create or delete hold requests or scheduled items. See:

Profile

 Update identification, contact information, system access or privileges. See Profile.

Checkout

Includes Account Overview (totals for loans, overdue items, and holds), balance for unpaid bills, an item scanning area, and a list of items currently checked out.

  • If the library user has a membership status, the status will appear at the top of the screen.  Expiration dates for the membership status will appear in Account Overview. See Manage library memberships for more information.
  • If a user is suspended, the end date and time of the suspension will appear at the top of the screen. See Suspend patrons for more information.

Use the Checkout screen to check out materials to the patron.  

See Check out for more information.  

Account Overview sections - Table
Section Description
Checked out items List of items checked out (includes items checked out to proxy patrons). For information on how to check out items, see Check out.
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.
Holds to be picked up Links to Holds tab
Home Branch Patron's preferred library branch
Last Activity The last date of patron activity. Actions that update the last activity date: check out, check in, renew, create hold request, pickup hold, create item schedule/booking, pay bill, and SIP2 authentication.
Notes A note written by library staff about the patron. See Profile, below, for details on writing notes.
Outstanding bills Total amount of any unpaid bills, fines, fees, etc. Amounts link to Bills tab.
Overdue Number of overdue items
Patron Type The kind of account the patron has (student, faculty, child, adult, etc.)

Holds

Provides information on hold requests and scheduled items.

Holds sections - Table
Section Description
Holds Lists hold requests and allows creating and deleting holds
Scheduled Items Lists scheduled items and allows creating and deleting scheduled items

See:

Bills

Provides information on outstanding bills for fines and fees, and account history that lists paid/waived/refunded fines and fees.

Bills sections - Table
Section Description
Account Lists outstanding bills.
Account History Record of paid, waived, or refunded bills. For more information about a transaction, in the Reason column, click Details.

See Pay, waive, refund, or cancel bills.

Profile

Some fields need explanation.

Profile fields - Table
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.
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.

History

See Patron history.