We are aware that some libraries during the Easter Term lend items for a rolling number of days, but require all the items on loan to be due back no later than a specific date at the end of the Easter Term. Reasons for this include:
- Library needs to make sure graduating students bring books they have on loan back before they graduate and leave Cambridge.
- the Library wants to get as many books back in the Library for their vacation borrowers or so they can do a stock-check.
- there are implications for fines and the college end-of-year process.
The work-around is to use the Bulk Change Due Dates job. This job changes the due date of items on loan from a certain Library that currently have a due date that falls within a certain date range and allows the due date to be changed in batch to a new due date.
The job would be run manually by a member of the libraries@cambridge Team (we are investigating ways to get Alma to run it automatically) once a day Monday-Friday and would change the due date for all items on loan from your Library that have a due date that falls within a date range you will need to specify, regardless of what item type the item has or what user group the user who has the item on loan has.
Users that have the due date of the item they have on loan changed by this job will receive an email telling them that the due date has been changed by the Library and stating the new due date.
If you would like the Bulk Change Due Dates job run for your Library then please send a message to alma-helpdesk@lib.cam.ac.uk (not to personal email addresses) and specify:
- the date of the first day you want the job to be run.
- the date of the last day you want the job to be run.
- the date range for the current due date of items that you want to change the due date (i.e. the: '"From Due Date"…"To Due Date" range' ) - e.g. items that currently have a due date between 14th May 2018 and 30th June 2018.
- the date you want the due date of these items to be changed to (i.e. the: "New Due Date").