It’s a whole new year, and with it we’re bringing a host of new LibCal features! This update brings the much requested Fines support functionality to the Equipment and Spaces module, plus a great new feature for booking multiple Rooms when creating a new event. Lots to share, let’s get to it!
Equipment and Spaces: Fines are Here!
For folks using the Equipment and Spaces module, we have exciting news – we’ve added full fines support for Equipment, to help motivate patrons to return their items on time. 🙂
Create templates (like the one on the right) for the different fine structures you need, then apply those fine templates to item categories. The fines module will automatically calculate the amount to assess if an item is returned late. Librarians can easily view the amount owed by patrons, and view a full history of all fines owed by a particular patron. LibCal even includes basic patron communication tools, so you can send email notifications and reminders and generate simple invoices, lickety split.
To get started with the all new fines module, Admins can head to Admin > Equipment and Spaces > Fine Templates.
Plus a Bonus: Read API for Fines
No fines module would be complete without a way to report fines to your central billing system, and LibCal’s fines module is no exception! A full read API is included as part of the fines module, so you can easily feed the information on fines currently owed to your central billing system, library catalog, etc.
Add Event: Reserve Multiple Rooms
If your library employs flexible Room Booking Rooms (where more than one room can be reserved at a time), we have great news – you can now reserve multiple Rooms when creating a new event! We know this is a key feature for those of you with flexible meeting rooms, like rooms that can be separated by a divider into rooms A and B, or combined into a single larger AB room. To try out this new feature, head to the add/edit event screen and select the locations you’d like to reserve.