Hi Noah, I'm no expert on this matter, but I find your problem intriguing. (And, wow, what a list of libraries in the consortium!) What you didn't happen to include in your reports is a sample of the rules that are set in your system. I don't want to assume that the rules you have in place fit the system's apparent or declared logic. Could you provide a few examples, including relevant entries from "Standard rules for all libraries"?
I would expect that if, in "Circulation and fine rules" you had: Select a library : Standard rules for all libraries Patron category: Patron Item type: Book Loan period: 60 and: Select a library : University of Indianapolis Patron category: Patron Item type: Book Loan period: 90 and in the System preference CircControl: Use the calendar and circulation rules of: "the library the item is from." OR "the library the patron is from." then: - a Patron assigned to the University of Indianapolis checking out a Book from the University of Indianapolis would receive it for 90 days, because of the logic of Rule #1: -- same library, same patron category, same item type but: - a Patron assigned to Taylor University checking out a Book from the University of Indianapolis would receive it for 60 days, because of the logic of Rule #5 (Rules #2-4 don't apply due to their "same library" logic): -- default (all libraries), same patron category, same item type Does that fit both your own understanding and what you have specified in the rules? Regards, David Liddle System Administrator [email protected] (but not for this list) Wycliff e.V., https://wycliff.de Seminar für Sprache und Kultur, https://spracheundkultur.org Internationales Tagungszentrum Karimu, https://karimu.de On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 9:21 PM Noah Brubaker <[email protected]> wrote: > Thank you Caroline, for the quick response! > > I tried all three of the options there with what seem to be the same > result. I believe this is because with each CircControl Setting the > following happens: > 1. "the library the item is from" - will circulate the item with the rules > that apply to the institutions own/home patrons to another patron > regardless of their home library > 2. "the library the patron is from" - will circulate with rules from the > patron's home library NOT the library loaning the item > 3. "the library you are logged in at" - got the same result here but not > sure why - I think this setting is for instances where you might want to > check out as if you were another library in special cases > > If these are the only options, and I am not missing something, it seems > another could be added: > "the loaning library" which could consider the patron's home library first > then match for patron/item categories > > Are there any other settings or is there something about "the library you > are logged in at" that could be used here? > > ---Noah > > > > Noah Brubaker > > PALNI Associate Director > > (317)721-8198 | [email protected] | www.palni.edu > > c/o Irwin Library, 4553 Clarendon Road, Indianapolis, IN 46208 > > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 3:06 PM Caroline Cyr La Rose < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi Noah, > > > > Maybe someone more knowledgable about consortia issues can answer, but > > my first instinct is to ask what is the setting you set in the > > CircControl system preference? > > > > When Koha says "same library", it will look at the library of the item > > or the patron depending on CircControl. > > > > Regards, > > > > Caroline > > > > On 2025-10-09 14:51, Noah Brubaker wrote: > > > Hello, > > > > > > We are a consortium of libraries and trying to grasp circulation for > Koha > > > in a group scenario as we are having some challenges understanding what > > is > > > possible. We are separate libraries in a shared instance and with a > > shared > > > patron/bib database. What we would like to have happen is: > > > > > > 1. A patron from one institution can borrow from another (either walk > in > > > person or via placing a hold) using fixed consortial borrowing rules. > For > > > example 60 days for a book. This should be separate from the lending > > > library's own local patrons which may get more generous terms. > > > > > > 2. We would like to have a single set of patron categories that are > > > standard across the group. For example Faculty, Student, etc. > > > > > > The issue seems to be that Koha views the patron as "local" rather than > > > from another library. Is there a way for Koha to be configured to take > > > into account a patron's home library when determining rules? > > > > > > We would like to have the default most general rule be our reciprocal > > > lending terms (60 days for a book), but it seems that Koha always lends > > the > > > item as if the patron is part of the library lending it - rather than a > > > patron not affiliated directly with that library. > > > > > > Please let me know if I can clarify, but it seems there should be a > > setting > > > somewhere or something in the rules definitions we are missing. We > > noticed > > > in the rules definition there is the term "same library" which is > > > considered by the system but it doesn't seem to be doing that in > regards > > to > > > the patron and their home library. > > > > > > We were hoping to avoid needing separate patron types for all of our > > > libraries to make this work, if possible. > > > > > > Thanks so much! > > > > > > ---Noah > > > > > > > > > > > > Noah Brubaker > > > > > > PALNI Associate Director > > > > > > (317)721-8198 | [email protected] | www.palni.edu > > > > > > c/o Irwin Library, 4553 Clarendon Road, Indianapolis, IN 46208 > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > > Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org > > > [email protected] > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha > > > > Caroline Cyr-La-Rose, M.L.I.S. (she/her) > > Librarian | Product Manager > > > > 1-833-INLIBRO (465-4276), ext. 221 > > [email protected] > > https://www.inLibro.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org > > [email protected] > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha > > > _______________________________________________ > > Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org > [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha > _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
