This tool enables you to anonymise patron circulation history, either instead of deleting patrons or in order to ensure circulation history can still be meaningfully reported on after a patron has been deleted. 

It is optional to enable the AnonymousPatron system preference when using this tool. If you need assistance in creating the Anonymous patron, please contact Interleaf for guidance or check the FAQ page for instruction.  

Step 1 - Purpose of the tool

Anonymising the checkout history means that the circulation history of a determined patron will no longer be associated with that patron. Circulation information will be retained, such as when the item was checked out and in, item barcode and the library it was checked out from, however the patron information of whose activity created this data will be removed. 

The following is an example of how the circulation history usually looks on a system. 

This item has just been checked in by a patron. To view the previous circulation history of this item, go to Checkout history.

In checkout history the name of the patron and the general circulation information for the item are available. 

Go to Tools > Patron and circulation > Batch patron deletion/anonymization

The first box will allow you to delete patrons using a variety of parameters. If you have questions about this function, please contact Interleaf directly or check the FAQ page for instructions. 

The second box is the Anonymize checkout history tool which can be used by itself or in conjunction with the delete patron tool, depending on the specific situation. Please note it is not required to also use this tool when using the delete patron tool. 

The Anonymize checkout history tool does not have as many parameters that can be set as the Batch patron deletion/anonymization tool. The only way to determine the records to be anonymised is by date.   

Using the calendar feature, choose a date before which to anonymize the patron circulation history. 

Click to verify you want to anonymize patron checkout history.

Hit Next

This will take you to a new page, which will let you know if you complete the action how many, if any patron histories will be anonymised and if any will be deleted. If you haven’t configured the delete patron tool no patrons should be set to be deleted. 

This will take you to a new page confirming the changes that have been made to the system.

Now, any circulation history that had been associated with a patron before the chosen date is now associated with the Anonymous patron. On the system being used in this example, the Anonymous patron has been set up, so the information is associated with that borrower. If a system does not have the Anonymous patron set up, the box which usually contains the borrower name will be blank.

When a patron is deleted, the circulation history of the items that had been on their account remains on the system, but no patron is associated with them.

Also, if you check in the Circulation history tab on the patron account, you will find that there is now no circulation history associated with the user.