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intermediate ⏱️ 7 min

Issuing, returning, and renewing items

Run the circulation desk: eligibility checks, overdue fines, reservations, and renewals.

For: Training Providers Administrators
On this page(6 sections)

The Issue / Return page is your circulation desk. Everything is barcode-driven so it works with a scanner, a phone camera, or plain typing.

Issuing

  1. Scan or type the item barcode.
  2. Choose Learner or Staff and enter their ID.
  3. Press Issue.

Before an item leaves the desk, the system checks:

  • The borrower isn’t blocked.
  • They’re under their borrow limit.
  • They have no outstanding fines.
  • The copy is available.

If a check fails you’ll see the reason. A supervisor can override limits and fine holds where your policy allows.

Returning

In the Return column, scan the item barcode and press Return. The system:

  • Closes the loan and computes any overdue fine (per your fine rule, after the grace period).
  • Optionally marks the copy lost or damaged — which raises a replacement or damage fee.
  • Promotes the next reservation: if someone is waiting for that title, the returned copy is held for them and moves to Ready for collection.

Renewing

Scan the item in the Renew column. Renewal is blocked when another borrower has reserved the title, or when the renewal limit is reached — both overridable by policy.

Reservations

The Reservations page lists active holds and waiting lists. When a copy is returned, the head of the queue is allocated the copy automatically and given a collection window (72 hours by default). Stale Ready holds expire on the nightly sweep and the copy is released back to the shelf.

Overnight automation

A daily job flags loans past their due date as overdue, accrues a running overdue fine, and expires uncollected holds — so the desk always opens with an accurate picture.

Reports

Library Reports previews and exports overdue, fines, and circulation data to PDF, Excel, or CSV. PDFs carry your organisation’s letterhead automatically.

What's new in skillSYMS

  1. MicroQuests in the browser, in the app and by email
    • skillsyms.com/learn: take LearnChat MicroQuests in any browser with buttons instead of chat replies. You get the same quests, wallet, progress and certificates as on WhatsApp
    • Learn by email: anyone can ask for a personal learning link on skillsyms.com/learn. There's no account and no password, and the link keeps you signed in on that device for 30 days
    + 6 more
  2. Schools & Early Learning (alpha): grades, registers, marks, promotion and SA-SAMS import
    • Learners → Schools & ECD: set up a school or ECD centre under its provincial department, with grades, classes and subjects for each academic year
    • Choose your institution type (primary, secondary, combined, independent, ECD centre and more) to switch on the matching pack
    + 12 more
  3. Schools & Early Learning: learner support, behaviour, governance, ECD development and a guardian portal
    • My classes: a teacher's registers still to take today, open assessment tasks and which learners need accommodations
    • Teaching assignments and teaching scope: start by observing captures outside a teacher's classes, then limit teachers to their own classes and subjects
    + 10 more
Full changelog