Circulation Procedures When Horizon is Down

Here's a summary of circulation procedures for those times when Horizon is down.

What are the policies to CHECK OUT materials when Horizon is down?

• Customers must have their library card to check out materials. No other form of ID is required.
• 5 item limit
• No renewals
• Do NOT check out any non-circulating items.

What about HOLDS?

• No new holds can be placed by customers or staff until Horizon is up.
• No holds can be filled so you do not need to run a holds list during the down time.
• Check out holds already on the holds shelf using the above check out standards.
• If a hold has expired, leave it on the shelf until we come back up.
• When we come back up, check each item on the holds shelf to see if it has expired and treat it accordingly.

Can I issue new LIBRARY CARDS during this downtime?

Continue to accept library card applications during the downtime. However, no new or replacement library cards can actually be issued during this time.* Save the completed applications in a file at the branch and input them into Horizon when we come back up. Please do not send any of these accumulated applications to Central for input. 

Do I have to CHECK OUT items using paper and pencil?

If Horizon is down for an extended period of time, it’s easier to scan the borrower’s library card number and item barcodes into a Word or Excel document than hand writing them. Then when Horizon comes back up, you can copy and paste the information into Horizon quicker and avoid problems with data entry errors and poor handwriting. Please follow the instructions at: FCPL On The Horizon: Word

Can I CHECK IN materials while we are down?

No, do NOT check in any materials until you are told by Tech Support that it is okay to begin using Horizon. No returned materials will be checked in during this time.

If I can’t CHECK IN materials, what should I do with them?

• Date your book trucks as they are filled so you know which ones to check in first when we come back up.
• Store the materials away from public view since you cannot allow another customer to check out a returned item they might spot behind the counter.

When can I start using Horizon for CHECK OUT and CHECK IN?

Do not begin using Horizon until your branch has been contacted by Tech Support.

What if material becomes overdue while it’s waiting to be checked in?

When we begin using Horizon, all materials should be checked in as “Exempt Fines” for a number of days. This should give us a safe margin of error and ensure our customers are not negatively impacted.

Can we continue to accept interlibrary loan requests (ILLs)?

No. We cannot add any ILLs to Horizon while it is down.

Can I accept payment of fines during the downtime?

No. We cannot accept payment of any fines. We will not be able to look at the customer’s record to calculate the total fine. Neither will we be able to clear it from their record. The online payment system will also be down because it requires the customer to enter their library card barcode.

Will notices go out while we are down?

No notices will be sent out (mail, email or phone) during the days we are down.

What do we do with the shipments we receive during the downtime?

You will not be able to check in any of these items so simply store them until we come back up.

When we come back up, does it matter if we do CKOs or CKIs first? 

YES...do all your CKOs FIRST. Then process your CKIs. If you fail to process items in that order, you risk the chance of checking out an item after the customer has already returned it. 


rev. 5/2018

Delay of SmartPay Payments - Very Rare

Your customer calls and says, "I paid my fines online last night, but it still hasn't hit my bank account/credit card yet." Here's what's happened.

On very rare occasions (i.e. twice in 12+ months), fines on their Horizon account are cleared when they make a payment through SmartPay. However, the transaction doesn’t make it to SmartPay's server for final processing. That transaction is flagged the next morning and System staff manually add it to the next night’s batch. So in that case, the customer would notice a 24-hour delay in the transaction posting to their credit card/bank account.

Double Payments in SmartPay Not Possible

Your customer calls and says "I paid my fines online and it charged my card twice." Actually the system is built to prevent double payments. Here's what happens.

If they used a bank debit card, the bank can place a hold on the funds in their bank account. This ensures the money will be there when the transaction is finally processed. Usually there's just a single hold on the funds. But if somehow the customer clicks the Submit button twice very quickly, there may be two holds for the same amount on the funds in their account. Eventually both of these holds will be removed when the funds are actually taken from the customers bank account. There is no way for the Library to release that extra hold on the funds. The bank places that hold and only they can clear it.

If the customer waits a few more days the second pre-authorization should go away.  If they dispute the second charge the bank is likely to confuse it with the real charge and take the real payment away from us and charge us $20, which will get charged back to the library. So see if the customer can wait a few more days.

But what if they hit the back button during the transaction? The transaction that actually charges the credit/debit card only takes place after the Horizon fines are cleared. Even if a patron hits the back button after paying, it will not post a second charge to the credit/debit card because the specific fines have already been cleared.

Duplicate Key Row 'lc_call' Error Message

If you are trying to check in a book and get the following error message regarding a "duplicate key row in object 'lc_call', contact Tech Support. Send them the item barcode and the customer's borrower ID and/or barcode. There is no way for you to remove the item from the customer's account from your end. Tech Support has to work with System to remove it.