Slide 1

DCLS Credit Bureau Basics Slide 2 Meet Victor. He wants to use the library and its many wonderful resources. Slide 3 Hes got his library card (in tasteful teal) out and ready to use. Except Slide 4 Surprise! Victor Frankensteins account is in Credit Bureau. Now what? Shrug your shoulders and check stuff out to Victor anyway Tackle Victor to the ground, take his wallet and pay off his account whether he likes it or not Explain Credit Bureau to him and get your manager Slide 5 Whats the big deal? Weve got thousands and thousands of books, cds, movies and other things. So what if a few are never returned? The big deal is that items that are never returned are not available for anybody else to use. Whether its the latest bestseller or an SAT exam guide, our collection is for everyone in the community, not for just one person who has a hard time with concepts like due dates or sharing. We use Credit Bureau to recover the cost of lost material. Sadly, its not one of these things you can shrug away because disregarding it only makes it worse down the road. Try Again Slide 6 Um no, our insurance wont cover this. Try Again Slide 7 Tackling would be more exciting, wouldnt it? Inform Victor that you cant check anything out to him now because hes in Credit Bureau. Ask him if hed like to take care of the money he owes us. If he wants to dispute, deny or negotiate, offer to have your manager/supervisor or NRA talk to him. Remember, youre only authorized to review the account and accept payment from him. Any further discussion should be handled by your manager, supervisor or NRA. This isnt over yet, library. Slide 8 Victor thinks of a way around the Credit Bureau block! Ah ha! Ill use my kids card Slide 9 Victors Bright Idea Victor is listed as the guardian of Frankensteins Monster. Victor will use the Monsters library card to check things out. Check-outs, gooood Slide 10 Victor presents the Monsters card (in radiant red) and is ready to check out some books and CDs. Except Slide 11 The Monsters in Credit Bureau, too. Whats different about the Monsters Credit Bureau block? Frankesteins Monster owes less money. It will be easier to pay off. Frankensteins Monster is in CB because Victor, his guardian, is in CB. Slide 12 Frankensteins Monster is associated with another account in Credit Bureau. Its not because he owes us money, its simply that Victor Frankenstein is listed as his guardian. This is done to prevent people from getting around the Credit Bureau block and using their childrens or parents cards to continue using the library without paying for lost material. Frankensteins Monster wont get out of Credit Bureau until Victors account is settled. No check- outs, baaad Slide 13 Frankensteins Monster may owe us money, but thats not why hes in Credit Bureau. And paying this amount wont get him out of Credit Bureau either. Try Again Slide 14 Victor tries another scheme Ah ha! Ill just leave the stuff in the book drop. No harm, no foul, right? Slide 15 So while processing the bookdrop, you unwittingly check something in that was on Victors account. Slide 16 And Victor just cant escape the Credit Bureau block. Now what do you do? Click on Continue and keep checking in the bookdrop. After all, theres a lot of stuff here that needs to get back on the shelf Click on Continue and stop checking in the bookdrop. Youll have to make sure Victor didnt leave anything else in there Slide 17 Yes, theres a lot of stuff that needs to go back on the shelf. But youll have to come back to it after youve dealt with the Credit Bureau issue. Its more important that we dont check in any more of Victors items. Be sure to search the bookdrop for anything else that might be on Victors account and set those aside for your manager before continuing with the bookdrop. Try Again Slide 18 At this point, its too late to undo the check-in. Thats OK, but make a note of the other lost items listed here and try to find them in the bookdrop. If you find any, hand all of them to your manager or supervisor instead of checking them in. Slide 19 OK, I give up. What do I do to get out of Credit Bureau? Getting out of Credit Bureau Once in Credit Bureau, Victor wont get his library privileges back until when He returns all lost material He pays the amount owed to under $45 He brings his account down to a zero balance Slide 20 Returning all of the items on Victors account wont get him out of Credit Bureau. Your manager or supervisor will make the decision whether to accept returned material. But even if everything is checked back in, Victor will remain in Credit Bureau. Try Again Slide 21 Victor got in to Credit Bureau when the amount he owed us went above $45 and stayed there for at least 30 days. Paying the amount down to under $45 isnt enough to get him out of Credit Bureau. Try Again Slide 22 If Victor wants to use his library card (in tasteful teal) again, hell have to pay off his entire account balance. All libraries can accept cash or checks. If Victor writes a check for the entire amount, hell still have to wait a week until the check clears. ESA and AFL can accept credit cards, or he can pay NRA over the phone. Your manager can negotiate a payment plan for the amount owed, too. Once hes at a zero balance, his privileges will be restored. Slide 23 Anytime you make any change to Victors account, youll have to fill out one of these pink cards. Changes include payments, returned materials, contact information, etc Once youve filled this card out, hand it to your manager or supervisor, and they will review it and send it on to the CB administrator. Credit Bureau Action Card Slide 24 Victor Frankenstein x 141.91 121.91 20.00 x Arn Howald 01/25/12 ESA 286994 x Can you spot the mistake on this card? Click on the card where you see the error. Or click here if you cant find it.click here Slide 25 20.00 x x x 141.91 121.91 If Victor had returned material, the current balance would be different. Returned material adjusts how much money is owed. As it stands, the current balance reflects only the $20 payment. Slide 26 Fill out a pink card if you accidentally check in one of Victors items from the bookdrop, too. Its a little bit different from accepting a payment. Slide 27 Check the box next to Has Returned Materials. When the item was checked in, it automatically adjusted the amount owed. So fill in the line at Current Balance. The Previous Balance line isnt necessary because you never saw the balance before the item was checked in. 286994Victor Frankenstein x 119.96 Arn Howald01/25/2012ESA Slide 28 Spare Change Be sure to add the title of the returned item on the back of the card. Additional information like the barcode number or author isnt necessary. Once complete, hand all of the items youve found in the bookdrop and the pink card to your manager or supervisor. Slide 29 Well, I guess I can take it out of my secret, underground laboratory fund Victor pays off his account Slide 30 Hooray! Victor has paid off his account. His borrowing privileges are restored! So is it OK to delete the Credit Bureau block now that everything is back to normal? YesNo Slide 31 Please dont remove the Credit Bureau block. Only the Credit Bureau Administrator is authorized to do this. After Victor makes his final payment, add a new note stating that his privileges have been restored. This way, we all know hes allowed to use the library again. Slide 32 Thats the Basics of Credit Bureau If you have more questions, please consult the circulation manual, your supervisor, your manager or the Credit Bureau Administrator. Keep in mind, if a Credit Bureau situation arises and neither your manager nor supervisor is available, any DCLS manager is authorized to work with the borrower. Feel free to call another library and talk to any manager on duty. You can also call NRA, and they can negotiate directly with the borrower, too. Check out more booooks