October 2022

Quick Facts

• My MCL uses the term “fees” and Symphony uses the term “bills” for amounts owed on patron accounts. There are different reasons for bills.
• Fees/bills include lost items and other fees. Lost items are billed 49 days after the due date.
• Total bills over $50.00 will block physical checkouts, but fees in any amount will not block access to e-content or Pharos computers. See the Fee Flow Chart.
• Accounts with total bills over $50.00 may check out once without paying and should be documented with a Comment by staff: “One time over $50 checkout CC/ALB 10/14/2022”
• Payments in Symphony are applied from the oldest to the newest bill, see Bill Payments in Symphony.

Reasons for bills | How bills work | Payments | When patrons can check out

Reasons for Bills

Bills are also assessed for lost items and a few other reasons. 

The type of bill a patron has can be found by looking for the reason code: Bill reasons

The table below explains the most common types of bills:

	Who is Billed	Amount	How is it added to the account?	How is it removed?	When and how is it refunded?
Lost Items	All user profiles	Replacement cost	Automatically, 49 days after the due date or  manually by staff.	The bill is paid, cleared or removed after 3yrs.	If item is paid and returned within 1 year.

How bills work

Although there are other ways to view bills, the most common wizards used are Check Out, Display User, and Paying Bills. Each shows the patron’s billed amount. This link to How Bills are Assessed in Symphony provides an explanation for how this is calculated and shows what this looks like in Symphony. See the below images for where to find the information on the first screen in each wizard.

From the Check Out wizard screen

From the Clear/Pay Fees screen

Payments

The Fee Flow Chart may also help clarify what a patron has access to.

Patrons may pay bills using cash, check, credit/debit card, or (if available) account credit.

Patrons can mail checks to:
Multnomah County Library
221 NE 122nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97230

The Bill Payments in Symphony page explains how to process a payment on a patron’s bill.

When patrons can check out

User status determines whether a patron may check out or not. If a patron’s status is BLOCKED or EXCLUDED they may not checkout physical items. There are no monetary limits for checking out digital items.

In any wizard that has the User ID, you can check the glossary by clicking on the User ID (with the dotted lines below it) to find the status. 

If you’re unsure, one way to verify the user status is by using the Display User (F9) wizard under the Summary tab:

• If a patron’s total bills are less than $50, they have full use of the library, including Chromebook checkout.
• If a patron has fees in any amount, they will have full access to Pharos computers and the library's digital collections, such as ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, streaming media and databases.
• If a patron’s total bills are $50 or over, their user standing becomes BLOCKED.
  • Staff can override a checkout for a patron one time and should document this in a COMMENT. For example: "Allowed checkout for over $50. ES/STJ 3/29/2022".
  • Patrons who owe $50 or more can not check out physical items, but can renew and place holds while their user standing is BLOCKED.

The table below shows what is accessible in more detail:

Total bills	User Status	Access
$0.01-$49.99	MENTION	All
$50.00 or more	BLOCKED	Renew Place holds Internet access on desktop computers All e-resources

Policy

Multnomah County Library bills users for the following reasons:

• Items not returned 49 days after the due date are billed the replacement cost
• Items reported lost by patrons are billed the replacement cost
• Paid registrations for patrons living outside the free service area are billed $180 per year for the household
• Returned checks are billed a $25 fee
• Interlibrary Loan service fees over the first $10. Patrons are contacted before these fees are added to the account.
• Interlibrary Loan items not returned 30 days after the due date are billed $50.00. This bill will be adjusted when the owning library sends an invoice for the actual cost.
• Intentionally damaged items may be charged $10 for items that can be repaired or the replacement cost for items that must be discarded.

Bills may be paid on My MCL, by phone, in person or by mail. 

Bills may be cleared if needed, so that patrons can more easily use the library.

Bills over $50 may block users from checking out more physical items:

• If a patron’s total bills are less than $50, they have full use of the library, including Chromebook checkout.
• Bills in any amount will not block access to the library's desktop computers and digital collections, such as ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, streaming media and databases.
• If a patron’s total bills are $50 or over, their user standing becomes BLOCKED.
  • Staff can override a checkout for a patron one time, without payment.
  • Patrons can renew and place holds while their user standing is BLOCKED.