Returning items is simply a matter of scanning or typing the item barcode in the "Item Barcode" box.
As you can see from the screenshot above, returning an item produces a display of information about the account of the borrower. If certain conditions exist relating to the returned item, you may also see alert messages. Some of the conditions which produce a message are:
the item is overdue and a fine has been assessed
the item was previously reported as lost (and a fine may have been paid)
another borrower has placed a reserve on this item
It is worth noting that Koha saves information about the previous two borrowers of an item. This information is useful when a borrower returns an item because it was damaged by a previous borrower. This information can be accessed by searching for an item through the librarian interface, as explained in a later section of this chapter.
From time to time the library may want to send a group of items from one branch to another. When this is done, the catalogue must be updated to reflect the new location of the items. While it is possible to do this simply by returning all the items when they arrive at the new location (and ignoring the warning messages that the item was not on issue), Koha also includes a separate "branch transfer" utility to change the holding location in the catalogue. This utility is quite simple and straightforward.
Set the name of the branch where you are sending the items, then scan or type in each item barcode. The utility does not display any list or information about the item(s), it simply changes the holding location. To return to issuing items, click on "Next Borrower," or click on "Returns" to resume returning items.
Koha will inform you of pending reserves on items as they are returned, but if you would like to see a complete list of all pending reserves, select "Reserves pending" from the "Circulation" pull-down menu:
"Priority" shows which reserve will be filled next when there are multiple reserves on one title; the priority "1" reserve will be the first one filled. "Location" is the place where the borrower would like to pick up the reserve, and "Notes" are optional. Clicking on "Sort" will sort the list by reserve date, patron (borrower), or title.
Note
If your borrowers are active users of the reserve function, be careful with this report; it can become so long that it will crash your browser!
(Send comments and remarks to <st.hedges AT gmail DOT com>. They will be added to this section.)