This article discusses renewal settings that apply to all types of renewals as well as configuration specific to manual (staff- or patron-initiated) renewals and automatic renewals.

These settings apply to all renewals, whether manual (processed by staff in the staff interface, or by the patron in the OPAC/Aspen) or automatic.

In the circulation and fine matrix, the following columns should be set in order for patrons to be able to renew items:

In addition to your circulation and fine matrix, there are a number of system preferences that determine renewal policy and function. Libraries using renewals will want to review the renewal-related system preferences in the Koha manual in the Circulation, OPAC, and Patrons sections (search 'renew' using Control+F to find renewal preferences). The information below does not address every renewal-related setting - only those about which we often see questions, or that can benefit from discussion beyond what is in the manual.

AllowRenewalLimitOverride: This tells Koha wither staff should be allowed to override renewal limits in the following circumstances: 1) the item has already been renewed the permitted number of times, 2) the item is being renewed before the number of days in the 'No renewal before' column of the circ matrix, and 3) the item is set for automatic renewal.

AllowRenewalIfOtherItemsAvailable: If set to 'Allow', patrons will be able to renew an item with hold on the bib if there are other items available to fill the hold. Note that this is only relevant for bib-level holds.

RenewalLog: You will want to set this to 'Log' so you can keep track of when items are renewed.

RestrictionBlockRenewing: If a patron is restricted, this system preference tells Koha whether to allow or block manual and automatic renewals.

RenewalPeriodBase: This preference tells Koha whether to base an item's new due date on the date it was renewed or on the original due date. For instance, consider a book that renews for 21 days (for simplicity, at a library that doesn't use the calendar to calculate due dates). If it is due on August 5 and is renewed on August 1:

Setting the system preference to 'the old due date of the checkout' will give the item a new due date of August 26 (21 days after the 5th)

Setting the system preference to 'the current date' will mean a new due date of August 22 (21 days after the 1st)

There is no right or wrong answer here - it entirely depends on your library's policy and preference. Using 'the old due date of the checkout' will give patrons the longest possible time with the item, but if an item is accidentally processed for renewal twice in rapid succession (for instance, it's accidentally scanned twice), the due dates will 'stack' - in the example above, renewing twice on the 1st would add 42 days to the original August 5 due date. Using 'the current date' may mean that patrons 'lose' a couple of days if their item is renewed before its actual due date, but there isn't the risk of (accidentally) essentially doubling circulation periods.

ItemsDeniedRenewal: While AllowRenewalLimitOverride and AllowRenewalOnHoldOverride allow staff with the appropriate permissions to override renewal restrictions, this system preference cannot be overridden. It is useful if, for instance, your library allows staff to override policy in order to check out items that normally are not for loan, but you want to prevent renewals on those items. It can block renewal based on any field in the items table - for instance, not for loan (952$7), collection code (952$8), item type (952$y), lost status (952$1), etc. Pay close attention to the instructions for configuring this system preference, as spacing is important. Note also that any changes to this system preference will take effect immediately, including for items that are already checked out - if/when they try to renew, the settings in this system preference at the time of renewal will determine behavior.

NoRenewalBeforePrecision: This determines whether, when Koha looks at the 'No renewal before' or 'No automatic renewal before' columns (see below), it should calculate based on only the date portion of the due date or the specific time. Note that this only affects loans with a unit of days, not hours.

OverduesBlockRenewing: This controls how Koha behaves when patrons have overdue items. The options are to block renewing only the overdue item(s), to block renewing all items (whether or not they are overdue), or to not block renewal for any items.

The Koha manual discusses staff and patron-initiated renewals, including links to relevant configuration.

Koha uses the current circulation rules to determine whether an item can manually renew, how many renewals it is allowed, when it can renew, and the length of the renewal period. This means that if a patron checks out an item that allows one renewal, but circulation rules are changed to allow two renewals while the item is still checked out, the patron will be able to renew a second time (if all other conditions are met).

In addition to the columns noted above that are applicable to all renewals, libraries who allow manual renewals will want to set the following:

No renewal before: This will allow libraries to indicate how many days ahead of an item's due date that renewals can be processed, either by staff or patrons. If it is set to 0 (zero), renewals will be allowed on the item's due date. If it is set to 5, renewals will be allowed starting 5 days before the item's due date. (Staff will be able to process renewals ahead of the setting here if AllowRenewalLimitOverride is set to 'Allow' and they have the appropriate permissions.) Note that if this is left blank, renewals will be allowed immediately after checkout.

These system preferences are specific to manual renewals:

OpacRenewalAllowed: This allows patrons to renew their books on the OPAC. If it is set to 'Don’t allow', that will turn the option off for patrons. If you have a mix of items that do and do not automatically renew and you want patrons to be able to renew items from the OPAC that don't auto-renew, this must be set to 'Allow'.

BlockExpiredPatronOpacActions: This system preference can be set to block patrons' ability to renew items on the OPAC if their account is expired. Note that the system default for this preference can be overridden for a specific patron category.

AllowRenewalOnHoldOverride: This system preference will allow staff to override renewals that are blocked due to holds on the item, including giving staff the ability to add a special hold override renewal due date.

OPACFineNoRenewals: If you would like to prevent patrons from renewing items in the OPAC if they owe over a specified amount, set the limit in this system preference. (See below for the related OPACFineNoRenewalsBlockAutoRenew system preference.)

RenewalSendNotice: This tells Koha whether to send patrons the RENEWAL notice when their items are renewed. Note that it is bundled with 'Item checkout' in patron message preferences. If this is set to 'Send' and you send automatic renewal notices (see below), Koha will send this renewal notice and an automatic renewal notice if an item automatically renews. Be sure to configure the RENEWAL notice if you set this to 'Send'.

Koha uses the circulation rules that exist at the time an item is checked out to determine whether it is eligible for automatic renewal. This means that if a patron checks out an item on June 1, and the circulation matrix is updated to allow automatic renewals for that patron category/item type combination on June 5, that item will not automatically renew since it was not flagged at the time of checkout. If your library adds automatic renewals and would like it to apply to items that were already checked out at the time the rules were updated, please submit a ticket requesting that the automatic renewal flag be added to checked-out items.

In addition to the columns noted above that are applicable to all renewals, libraries who allow automatic renewals should set the following:

No automatic renewal before: This is where your library sets the day on which automatic renewals will process. The number in this column is the number of days ahead of the due date when will items automatically renew. If a value of 2 is in this column, the auto-renewal will occur 2 days before the due date. A 0 (zero) in this column will cause the auto-renewal to process on the item’s due date. 

Automatic renewal: This needs to be set to 'Yes' for all patron category/item type combinations that should automatically renew.

No automatic renewal after: This will block auto-renewals after a patron has had an item checked out for the number of days set in this column. For instance, if this column is set to 50 days, automatic renewals will not process once a patron has had the item for 50 days even if the renewal would otherwise process. Libraries generally only use this column in particular circumstances, and it can be left blank unless you have a specific reason to use it.

No automatic renewal after (hard limit): This column can be used to block auto-renewals after a given date, regardless of whether the patron has reached their allowed number of renewals. For instance, if 3 renewals are allowed of 14 days each, but a school library wants to make sure that it receives items back before the semester ends on May 31, it can use this column to stop automatic renewals from processing after May 16 even if someone has only renewed once or twice.

The system preferences and cron below are specific to automatic renewals:

OPACFineNoRenewalsBlockAutoRenew: This allows you to control if items should automatically renew when a patron owes more than the value of the system preference OPACFineNoRenewals.

AutoRenewNotices: If the library would like to send automatic renewal notices (AUTO_RENEWALS and AUTO_RENEWALS_DGST), this should be set to 'using patron messaging preferences'. This will create a new line in patron message preferences for 'Auto renewal', which must also be selected for an individual to receive the notice. If a library would not like to send automatic renewal notices, this can be set to 'never'. Be sure to configure both AUTO_RENEWALS and AUTO_RENEWALS_DGST if you will be sending automatic renewal notices. The default notice code will include the reason that items fail to automatically renew when applicable (for instance, the item is on hold for another patron or the current patron has reached the maximum number of renewals).

AllowSetAutomaticRenew: This will allow staff to flag an item for auto-renewal on the checkout page if the item's circulation rules do not allow for automatic renewals otherwise. Use this if your library is currently using automatic renewals for other checkouts and would like to allow staff to indicate if an item can be automatically renewed outside of the circulation rules. If this is enabled, staff will see this option when checking an item out to a patron:

In addition to the settings above, the misc/cronjobs/automatic_renewals.pl cron needs to be enabled for automatic renewals to process. ByWater Solutions partners must submit a ticket for us to enable this cron. 

If you are already live without automatic renewals and want to update your circulation rules to allow them, follow these steps:

This library has a mix of items that can and cannot automatically renew. Items that automatically renew do so on the day they are due, and items that do not automatically renew can be renewed starting 2 days before their due date. This is what staff will see:

Renewing from the patron's account in the staff interface

In the OPAC, the patron will see:

If a library has AllowRenewalOnHoldOverride set to 'Allow', staff will see the following if they scan an item for renewal from Circulation > Renewal or from the multi-function bar:

If they want to renew this item from the patron's account, they will first need to select the 'Override renewal restrictions' box and then select the checkbox for the item they want to renew. They will then see the following:

In both cases, they can use the 'On hold due date' to set a special due date for the renewal.

Libraries may categorically want to prevent certain items from renewing, particularly with automatic renewal in play. The ItemsDeniedRenewal system preference can solve this dilemma, particularly for libraries that leave long overdue lost, claims returns, or damaged items on patron accounts until paid for or otherwise resolved. The preference allows a library to block renewals of items based on values in the items data, including item types, collections, shelving locations, or statuses. Here's one sample configuration: