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4.3. Registering New Patrons

Last Updated 11/21/2024

How to Register New Patrons

Before issuing a new library card to someone, staff at every NC Cardinal library MUST search the consortium database in Evergreen for patrons with the matching name and other identifiers. The scope of the patron search MUST be set to NC CARDINAL. Please refer to the Searching for Patrons page and follow the recommended workflow in the Multi-Card Policy. 

It is also a good idea to ask a new patron if they have completed an online self-registration form, as those are not automatically added to the patron database. If so, you can follow the Managing Pending Patrons instructions on the Patron Self-Registration page (after searching for the patron, as instructed above).

Patron Registration Form

To register a new patron, select Register Patron from the Circulation menu in the menu bar. The Patron Registration form will display.

Required Fields

Fields that are mandatory for Evergreen to properly save the record are displayed in yellow. NC Cardinal has a default selection of required fields common to all libraries. Your library system may add or remove requirements based on local policy, however, first and last name, as well as date of birth are required by NC Cardinal. Some requested fields may be configured in the Library Settings Editor. Your library's System Administrator can find a link to this page by navigating to the Local Administration splash page from the Administration menu.

Note: The Show: Required Fields and Show: Suggested Fields links may be used to limit the options on this page, based on your library system's policy. 

• Barcode: Scan a new card to fill in this field. Barcodes can be updated in the future if needed.
• Username: This field will fill in automatically to match the barcode. This can be changed to reflect a patron-selected username.
• Password: This field will be pre-filled when the Patron Registration screen opens and may change when you enter the patron's daytime telephone number or barcode, depending on how your library configures PINs. This can be changed by patron request.
• Date of Birth: You can use the calendar icon to select the patron's date of birth from a calendar widget.
  
• Email: A valid email address must be entered and the Email checkout receipts by default box checked if patrons wish to receive hold notifications via email by default. If a valid email address is not provided by patrons, staff should remember to un-check the Email checkout receipts by default box to remove the Email field from being a required field (highlighted in yellow). The use of invalid email addresses on patron accounts may disable patrons from utilizing features in Evergreen, such as the use of Self Check Stations.
• Daytime Phone: Enter the phone number with dashes and no parentheses.
• Home Library: Choose the patron's preferred primary branch from this drop-down. Patrons may select alternative locations for hold pickups when placing holds.
• Main (Profile) Permission Group: Select the patron's profile group from this drop-down. This group may impact circulation rules and hold limits. Secondary Groups should never be applied to patron accounts (reserved for staff login access accounts only).
  

  You must select a Main (Profile) Permission Group before the Update Expire Date button will work, since the permission group determines the default expiration date. 

  Using the "Permission Tree Display Entries" feature found in the the "Administration" Tab, under "Permission Tree Display Entries", library systems are able to edit the Profile Permission Groups listed in the drop down menu provided for the "Main (Profile) Permission Group" to limit the list to only the Profile Permission Groups that are used within the system when registering new users. Please submit a Help Ticket for assistance if your system is interested in using this feature.

• Address: The address fields must be filled out. Further details on selecting mailing versus physical addresses are below, in the Mailing and Physical Address section of this page.

Preferred Name

If the patron has a preferred name, that can be included in receipt templates and some notifications by being included in the account under the Preferred Name tab.

User Settings

Staff should request default hold notification and pickup information from patrons while creating patron accounts. Enter this information in the User Settings section. 

• Default Hold Pickup Location: Select whichever branch your patron prefers. However, the patron can select any other branch in your system at the time of placing a hold if they need to.
• Holds Notices: Select the method by which the patron wants to receive hold notices.
  • For email, the information entered with the patron information above will be used.
  • For phone, enter a default phone number for these notifications (may or may not be the same as the daytime phone number above).
  • For SMS/text, enter a phone number and the patron's cellular carrier. If the patron's carrier is not included in the list, submit a help ticket.
• Receive Overdue, Courtesy, and Expiration Emails: This field is checked by default. NC Cardinal recommends leaving it checked unless the patron is unable to receive emails.

Mailing and Physical Address

The Address section defaults to check both Mailing and Physical address.

• If a patron has only one type of address (physical but no mailing, or mailing but no physical) de-select the unnecessary type.  
• If the patron's physical address is different from their mailing address (such as a PO Box), select only the mailing address, then fill in the form for that address. Next, click on the New Address button and select Physical Address.

When entering address information, enter the Postal Code first. The appropriate City, County, and State information should fill automatically based on information provided by libraries to NC Cardinal staff. 

 

 

Statistical Categories

Statistical categories may be created for information tracked by your library that is not part of the standard patron record (such as whether the patron is a library trustee or volunteer, etc.). Statistical categories are for data tracking purposes (with no impact on circulation and hold policies) and may be configured in the Statistical Categories Editor (Administration → Local Administration → Statistical Categories Editor). These are statistical categories that display by default for all libraries in NC Cardinal.

Saving

When finished entering the necessary information, select Save to save the new patron record or Save & Clone to register another patron with the same address. Selecting Save & Clone groups these two (or more) cloned patron account and address information is copied into the resulting patron registration screen. For more information, see Patron Groups.