Would you like to have the option to check out an item in Koha using either the barcode or a keyword? In this Koha tutorial, learn how the new system preference itemBarcodeFallbackSearch allows you to do just that.

As you can see in the screenshot below, when this system preference is enabled, you have the option of entering either the item barcode or a keyword to check the item out.

The way that this system preference works is that if Koha doesn’t recognize the information entered into the check out box as an item barcode, it will automatically do a keyword search using this information.

In the example below, I entered the barcode 123456. As you can see, Koha tells me that it did not find an item with this barcode, but it did find an item called Just Friends with this number combination. By simply clicking on the check out box, I can check this item out to my patron. In case the item I’m trying to checkout isn’t in the system yet, Koha also gives me the option to create a new record using fast cataloging.

This is a great system preference to use if you have some items in your collection that aren’t barcoded or if you are having issues with your barcode scanner.

To see more tips and tricks in Koha, check out our other koha tutorial posts on this blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The post How to check out books using the barcode or a keyword search by Karen Holt appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In this Koha tutorial, let’s talk about Patron Privacy and how staff and patrons can manage their privacy settings in the OPAC and staff client.

Patron Categories

Let’s start with the patron categories in Administration. This lets you control the Default privacy for each patron category. This controls how long a patron’s checkout history is kept for new patrons of this category. (If you change this, it does not alter the privacy of existing patrons).

“Never” anonymizes patron checkouts on return – this means you will not see the patron name
“Forever” keeps a patron’s checkout history indefinitely
“Default” the amount of history kept, is controlled by the cronjob batch_anonymise.pl . This cron job can be set to anonymize after a certain period of time, like 30, 180 or 365 days.

Koha System Preferences

OPACPrivacy – when set to allow, patrons can choose their own privacy settings for their reading history. This requires opacreadinghistory and AnonymousPatron.

opacreadinghistory – when set to allow, patrons will be able to see what books they have checked out in the past.

intranetreadinghistory – when set to allow, staff can access a patron’s checkout history (reading history is still stored, regardless of staff being allowed access or not).

AnonymousPatron – is used for anonymous suggestions and reading history. Meaning when an item is returned, and the patron chose to anonymize checkout history, the items circulation history will reflect the anonymous patron.

StoreLastBorrower – when set to store, staff will be able to view the last patron to return an item, in the item details, if a patron has anonymized their history. This setting is independent of opacreadinghistory/AnonymousPatron.

Questions

Here are a few questions we often get concerning patron privacy:

Q: If Library Administration chooses to select “never” for a patron category, will it keep track of a patron’s circulation history (unless they specifically go into the OPAC and change their privacy settings)?

A: If you choose “never” in Administration it will not retain the patron’s circulation history (unless they specifically go into the OPAC and change their privacy settings to forever). If using the anonymous patron, when the item is returned, it will say anonymous patron next to the item.

Q: If a patron chooses to keep track of their reading history does that mean that staff has access to it as well or will it only display in the OPAC for the patron?

A: If the patron says to keep it Forever, staff will be able to see it if Intranetreadinghistory is enabled. If the patron says Never in their privacy selection, the staff will see the following message: This patron has set the privacy rules to never keeping a circulation history.

The post Privacy and Circulation History in Koha by Jessie Zairo appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In Part 1 of this Holds Series, we discussed the patron side of holds.  If you didn’t see that post, please check it out here.

This is Part 2 of the Holds Blog  highlighting the process of holds from the Staff side of the library.

1. To place a hold for a patron from the staff client- there are a few ways to do this.  If you are in the patron’s account when they ask for a book to be placed on hold- there is a button that says “Search to Hold”.
2. Once you click “Search to Hold” – this will allow the staff member to look for the item, and from the brief results, there is a direct link to put that item on hold for that patron!  

A hold can also be placed on the staff side from a standard search.  Once item is found, then the hold can be placed and the patron’s name entered.

3. A few details on the hold screen that can be changed or entered while placing a hold:

Under Hold Details- you can see the patron’s name that you are placing the hold, there is also a place for Notes.  This is a free text area – this note will print up on the hold slip.  There is a Pick-up location that can be changed, a Hold expires on date, and a check box for Hold Next Available Item.  If you wanted to place a hold on a specific copy/item for the patron, you can choose which copy you would like instead of the defaulted “Hold Next Available Item”.

There are many system preferences that are based on holds- here are a few that may be overlooked or forgotten about.

Allowholdsondamageditems – If this set to don’t allow- a staff member can’t place a hold on damaged item.  However, if the system preference :

AllowHoldPolicyOverride is set to allow- the staff can override this and other hold system preferences.  

AllowRenewalIfOtherItemsAvailable – this system preference if set to Don’t Allow would not allow a patron to renew an item with unfilled holds if other available items can fill that hold.

Multiple Item Holds

A recent addition to holds (16.11) is the ability to place holds on multiple items that are attached to one record.  This enhancement will give staff and patrons  the ability to place a hold on at least two items on the same bibliographic record. This is a great feature that can be set up in your circulation and fine rules.  There is a new column for Holds Per Record.  Once again, with the circulation and fine rules, they are set up per patron category and item type.  So this can be activated for a particular patron category such as faculty and specific only to DVDs.  

If this is not set up for a patron, when trying to place a hold for a patron that already is on hold for one item on this record, this is what you will see:

If Multiple Holds per record is turned on – this would allow your patron to place 2 holds on the same record each for a different item.  

On-Shelf Holds

A hold feature many libraries choose to utilize is the “On Shelf Holds” option.  This again is determined by the Circulation and Fine Rule table under the Administrative module.  There are three options for this feature:

On Shelf Holds Allowed :  Yes, if any unavailable, and if all unavailable.  

Yes– would allow this specific patron category place a hold on a specific item that is currently on the shelf in your library.

If Any Unavailable– would allow your patron to place a hold on the item if at least one copy of the record has been checked out.

In All Unavailable-Technically this is a NO- if you not like to use On Shelf Holds- this is the option your library would choose.

Another new hold feature with Koha 16.11 allows staff to place a patron on hold for an item when trying to checkout a book that is already on loan.  Now Koha adds an option to this, “cancel checkout and place a hold for Patron Name”

If your library does decide to do “On Shelf Holds” an important Circulation Report to run daily or a few times a day is the Holds To Pull Report or the Holds Queue Report.  If you are a single independent library, you would run the Holds to Pull report.  This report is found in the Circulation Module.

If your library is part of a multi-branch system, the report you would run is the Holds Queue:

To activate the On Shelf Holds found on these reports, you would take them from the shelf and check the item in.  This activates the item’s hold and the hold screen will pop up.  Both confirm hold and print slip and confirm work similar, however, if Ignore is chosen, the hold is not cancelled. The hold will stay on the item.  A hold must be cancelled from the item record not from this screen.

Once Holds are activated from this process or from being checked in from another patron’s account, they are then found on the Holds Awaiting Pickup Report.  This report is also found in the Circulation Module.  The Holds Awaiting Pickup Report will show all the holds that have been activated and that are waiting to be checked out to patron.  There is also a tab on this report called “Holds Waiting Over X days”.  These are holds that have been waiting longer than the number of days your library has set up in the system preference:  ReservesMaxPickUpDelay.- which marks the hold problematic after a certain number of days your library chooses.

A new system preference for Items with many holds is called :

decreaseLoanHighHolds/decreaseLoanHighHoldsDuration/decreaseLoanHighHoldsValue/decreaseLoanHighHoldsControl/decreaseLoanHighHoldsIgnoreStatuses

This can be enabled to reduce the loan period of an item to a specific amount of days if that record has a specific amount of holds attached to it.  If this enabled, there is a pop-up screen informing the staff member of this reduced loan period.  The staff member also has the option to override this system preference.  

The circulation and fine rule table controls the number of holds that a patron category and specific item type can be taken about.  More details in Holds Part 1 blog post.

If you library has multiple branches, there is a way to change the pickup location of a hold from the patron’s record.

So if the patron would like to instead pick up their hold from another branch- there is the ability to change that.  

Also, from this screen you can see the priority of this hold and the green arrows allows the staff to move around the holds.**If there were any notes on this hold- this would show in the Notes column and also which pickup location. This screenshot shows a specific item barcode is on hold.   However, if the hold was placed on the next available instead of a specific item, here it would say “next available.  There is also the ability to suspend the patron’s hold until a specific date.  

System Preference:

SuspendholdsIntranet- This allows or doesn’t allow suspension of holds from the staff client.

***Holds Log***

With Koha 16.11 there was a new log available for holds.  

In System Preferences-HoldsLog.  This log actions on holds (create, cancel, suspend, resume, etc).  Once this log is turned on, all system logs are found under the Tools module.

Whether your library allows your patrons to be able to put a hold on an item from the OPAC or this hold was put on by the staff- a great system preference to enable is WaitingNotifyatCheckin– this can notify your staff members of a hold waiting for the patron when their items are being checked in.  

As you can see there are a lot of Hold Features that are available for your library and patrons.  If you have any questions about any of these, please feel free to submit a ticket for more assistance.  If you have enjoyed or learned something in this blog post and you would like to be notified of new blog posts, please subscribe!  

The post Holds- Part 2 : The Staff Side by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

This koha tutorial will cover the basics of how to hide specific items from being visible in the OPAC.  Your library has the capability to hide specific shelving locations, item types, withdrawn items and collection codes.  

There is a system preference called : opachiddenitems  which allows custom rules to be written that cause specific items to be hidden from the OPAC.

When you edit this system preference- a text box is created that allows you to put one or multiple commands for opachiddenitems.
The structure of the command you put in this box will look like this  (please note- spacing is important here!) :  

field: [value1, value2]

Field is the name of the field in the item record.  For example, if your library wanted to hide items with the item type Staff, it would look like this:

itype: [STAFF]

Item Type is represented here by itype and within the brackets is the code of the item type called staff collection.  To find out the code for an item type, go to Administrative, under basic parameters is Item Types.

To hide a shelving location on the OPAC it would look like this:

location: [EQUIP]

Here location is what shelving location is referring to and within the brackets there is the authorized value for that shelving location.  To find the authorized value for your shelving locations, go to administration, under basic parameters go to Authorized Values.  Shelving Location is under LOC.

If you need to hide multiple item types, shelving locations or collection codes- insert a comma between each authorized value within the brackets.  For example:

itype: [ILL, STAFF, REF]

To  hide a collection code from the OPAC, the same command is used:  

ccode: [FICTION]

Again, you will use the authorized value for the specific collection code you would like to hide in the list of authorized values.

Another item that you can hide from view on the OPAC is withdrawn items.

withdrawn:[1]

Withdrawn is a status that your item can have.   Check in your authorized values what the value is- the authorized category is withdrawn.   In this example, the item that is withdrawn has a value of 1 in the authorized value.

Here is a screenshot with the system preference opachiddenitems filled in with some values:

A list of fields that an item has is available on the item schema page.

The post Koha Tutorial on Hiding Items from the OPAC by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

Koha offers a great feature for your library to allow patrons to make purchase suggestions via the OPAC.  There are a few tools that you can use in conjunction with this feature that will help your library.  

Koha Purchase Suggestions

1. To allow your patrons to make  Purchase Suggestions:
   1. Go to your Global System Preference in the Administration Module search “Suggestion”
   2. Turn to this preference to “allow”
   3. If you have multiple branches, there is a system preference called “AllowPurchaseSuggestionBranchChoice”  – you can allow your patrons to select library when make the purchase suggestion.
2. Select your Mandatory Fields – this is very important to pick which fields that you would like your patron to be required to fill out when making this purchase suggestion.  This global system preference is called “OPACSuggestionMandatoryFields”
3. Selecting “Item Type” as a mandatory fields could be very helpful in determining what your patron really wants the library to order.  

4. Once you select your mandatory fields- these fields will be in red on the OPAC under Purchase Suggestion.  

5. If you would like your item types to display in a drop down menu like this picture- you can set them up in your authorized values under “SUGGEST_FORMAT”  
6.  Authorized values are found in the Administration module.  If the authorized value “SUGGEST_FORMAT” is not set up- you can create a new authorized value for this purpose.
7.  Once you create this authorized value “SUGGEST_FORMAT” you can add your item types are they are shown in your item types (also under Administration).  Below there is a picture of the  library’s item type codes.  These are the same codes you will enter into your authorized values under the “SUGGEST_FORMAT” category. When creating your Suggest Format codes, enter a Description and an OPAC description into this form.

***Some other purchase suggestion system preferences that you can customize to your library include :

• MaxOpenSuggestions– this is an open text box that you can assign a numeric value to the number of open suggestions a patron can make
• OPACViewOthersSuggestions– you can choose to allow or don’t allow to show purchase suggestions from other patrons on the OPAC.
• AnonSuggestions:  you can allow or don’t allow patrons that aren’t logged in to make purchase suggestions- this works with Anonymous Patron
• OpacSuggestionManagedBy: you can show or don’t show the name of the staff member who managed a suggestion in the OPAC

If you have any questions about OPAC Purchase Suggestions or anything else related to Koha, please feel free to contact us!

The post Purchase Suggestions in the OPAC by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

Here is a short Koha tutorial video on Setting Up Course Reserves in Koha.

Steps for setting up Course Reserves

1. To enable the Course Reserve Module on Koha, go to the administrative module and under global systems – enter coursereserves.  Here you can set your preference to “Use”.
2. A few key fields that are required when creating your course reserves are the professors attached to the reserve and the departments.  
3. To attach instructors to the reserves, they do need to be in your Koha patron database.
4. Each course reserve is attached a department, so departments would need to be set up in your Koha under Authorized Values.  
5. To create a course reserve- choose the Course Reserve module from the more drop down menu or the main page.
6. Click New Course
7. Here you would enter all pertinent information regarding the course reserve.  Any red fields are required for setting it up.  
8. After you have entered your course reserve information, it is now time to save it and scan all the items your instructor wishes to add to this course reserve.
9. Each item you add to reserves – item type, collection code, shelving location, holding library can be changed to fit your library’s needs for this course reserve.
10. Remember Item Type controls your circulation and fine rules- so if items on course reserves have a different loan period, it is important to change this field.
11. You may add staff notes and public notes to each item.  A public note on the course reserve item will replace a prior public note on the item.

The post Setting Up Course Reserves in Koha by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

One topic that has appeared frequently in our support tickets this week has been an issue with setting the number of holds.

For example, a library would like to set a total of 50 holds for a specific patron type, but Koha would only allow them to set up to a maximum of 3 holds. They had checked and double-checked all of the holds options in the Circulation and Fine Rules. Everything looked fine, but it just wouldn’t allow them to set the holds to 50.

Can you guess which system preference was to blame?

That’s right. The culprit was a little preference called maxreserves.

You’ll find this preference via this pathway: Administration module -> Global System Preferences -> Circulation -> Holds Policy.

As you can see in the example above, this preference is set to only allow a maximum of three holds at once. That means that regardless of how many holds you designate in the Circulation and Fines Rules, this system preference overrides all the others and will only allow a patron to have a maximum of 3 holds at once. If you want to allow a patron to place more holds than what is allowed in your current system, you’ll have to change the maxreserves system preference. Then, your issue will be solved!

Want to learn more about Koha? Follow our blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel ByWater Solutions. We post weekly about tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your Koha system.

The post Holds Troubleshooting: The Maxreserves Preference by Karen Holt appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

Here are a few steps to set up Serial Claims and Notices in Koha is your are using the Serials Module. The first thing you will want to do is set up your notice to send to the vendors.

Notice Set-Up Tools Module

Go to tools –> Notices & Slips –> Add notice

• Then Enter the All Libraries
• Koha Module: Claim Serial Issue
• Code: SERIALCLAIM
• Name: Serials Claim Issue
• Message subject: Serial Claim

Next paste and edit the code below to match your library policy and claim statement. Click submit at the bottom of the form once you have completed the setup.

Here is an example of the code you can use, replicate, modify, etc to make your own in the Koha system.

<<aqbooksellers.name>>

<<aqbooksellers.address1>>

<<aqbooksellers.address2>>

<<aqbooksellers.address3>>

<<aqbooksellers.address4>>

<<aqbooksellers.phone>>

<<aqbooksellers.accountnumber>>

The following issue(s) have not been received.

<<biblio.title>> <<serial.subscriptionid>> <<serial.serialseq>><<serial.serialseq_x>><<serial.serialseq_y>><<serial.serialseq_z>> <<serial.status>>

The issue(s) have passed their expected receipt date. Please trace and ship these issue(s) to

the library without delay.

<<branches.branchname>>

<<branches.branchaddress1>><<branches.branchaddress2>>

<<branches.branchcity>><<branches.branchstate>><<branches.branchzip>>

Please check into this matter and notify us of the disposition

of these issue(s).

Thank you.

<<branches.branchname>>

<<branches.branchemail>>

<<branches.branchphone>>

Acquisitions Module – Vendor SetUp

You do not have to send a notice to every vendor. You can choose which vendors you want to send to through Acquisitions.  Acquisitions › Add vendor 

In the Vendor set up you can select the checkboxes for Primary Serials Contact and Contact about Late Issues.

Once you distinguish which vendors will receive claim notices, then you can choose from the list of late issues which ones you want to send a claim email to by clicking the checkbox to the left of late issue, choosing the notice template to use and clicking the ‘Send notification’ button.

Want to learn more about Koha? Follow our blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel ByWater Solutions. We post weekly about tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your Koha system.

The post Serial Claims and Notices by Jessie Zairo appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

Here is a short Koha tutorial on how to set-up and use the Quick Add patron option.  Below are step by step instructions for more assistance in setting the quickaddpatron options up.

Summary of the steps covered in the koha tutorial video:

1.  PatronQuickAddFields – this is the system preference to add or delete fields in your quick add patron form.
2. BorrowerMandatoryField- this is the system preference to choose which fields are mandatory in both the quick add patron form and standard patron form.
3.  Here is a link to the borrower table in Koha’s schema.

If you are interested in learning more tips and tricks in Koha visit here!

The post How to Set-Up and Use the Quick Add Patron Option by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

As the summer winds down, and the mad rush to buy pencils, notebooks, glue sticks and new school clothes begins, why not help your local teachers out by adding a Lexile search to your koha catalog?

Setting Lexile Levels up in Koha

In order for this search to work, you will need to have the Lexile level listed in the 521 indicator 8 field of your MARC records. This search will also work if you use the DRA or other reading levels as the indexer is configured to look at the following indicators of the 521 tag:
Here are the possible values of indicator 1:

0 – Reading grade level
1 – Interest age level
2 – Interest grade level
3 – Special audience characteristics
4 – Motivation/interest level
8 – No display constant generated

Lexile score would be encoded under indicator 8.

Once that field has been populated, all you have to do is add the following javascript to the “opacuserjs” system preference (you can also add it to the “intranetuserjs” if you want staff to have this drop down).

 $(document).ready(function(){
        //add lexile to search pull downs
        $("select[name='idx']").append("<option value='lexile-number,st-numeric'>Lexile score (e.g. 600 or 550-650 )</option>");
        $("select[name='idx']").append("<option value='Interest-age-level,wrdl'>Interest Age Level</option>");
        $("select[name='idx']").append("<option value='Interest-grade-level,wrdl'>Interest Grade Level</option>");
        $("select[name='idx']").append("<option value='Reading-grade-level,wrdl'>+Reading Grade Level</option>");
    });

This will add options to both the search drop down and also in the Advanced Search. By adding this javascript you will be able to not only search for a single Lexile number (940 for example) but also for a range by entering 400-600 for example as a search term when that option is selected.

The Koha Community Bug 14277 – Search index ‘lex’ does not honor MARC indicator “ind1” will provide a breakdown of the inclusion in the 16.05 and future releases in Koha. 

Happy Lexile searching.

The post Lexile Searching in Koha OPAC by Melissa Lefebvre appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

This blog has been created to help those libraries with an Inter-Library Loan process.  This is not the only way to process a library’s ILL materials, however, it can certainly be a starting point. 

Here are the steps on lending materials to other libraries:

1. For tracking of material, you should create a patron for each library you are lending to.  For the patron category, choose Organization.   It is also a good idea to include contact information for this Library such as email address and phone number.  This will be helpful if you need to track any outstanding items down. To modify your patron category for ILL or create a new one, that is found in the administration module and then patron categories. .                   **In the screenshot- I have my ILL category with the description of Interlibrary Loan.  I have also indicated that Overdue Notices are required and that the category is an Organization.  On the bottom of the screen, I have also designated that I would like this patron category to get Item Due reminders and Advance Due Notices via Email.  **
2. Do the ILL items that you lend get a longer circulation period than your patrons?  
3. If they do get a longer period – you may want to create an item type for Inter Library Loans.  Then, when you lend an item to the library, you would change this item to this item type.  To create a new item type or modify an existing one, that is found under the administration module and then Item types.  **In this screenshot- I have created an item type called ILL with the description of Interlibrary Loan.  I have checked to hide these items in the OPAC- since I don’t want patrons to see what items are ILL on the OPAC.  I have also added a “Check In Message” on this item type, so when the item is returned the circulation desk knows that it is an ILL item and needs to be returned to the ILL Dept. **
4. To edit the item type, go to the record of the item you are about to lend, edit the item and change the item type to the desired type.**In this screenshot, I am editing the item that I am sending to the library.  I will change it from book to a Interlibrary Loan Item type.**
5. When creating a new item type for ILL, the circulation and fine rule table would need to adjusted to include this patron category and the item type.  Here you can clearly define what the lending rules ( for example how long , fines, renewals, holds, etc) are for the ILL material.  To get to the circulation and fine rule table, go to Administration, then Circulation and Fine Rules.**In this screenshot, you can see that the patron category called “Interlibrary Loaning Libraries” have specific rules that can be altered or created.**
6. Once you have created the library as an Organizational patron, created an item type, added a circulation rule- you can now checkout the material and send it on it’s way.

Interlibrary Loan Borrowing

1. You receive a request from a patron.
2. Request the item from the outside library.
3. Receive the item from the lending library.
4. Create a record for this item using the ILL Framework**
   1. From the cataloging module-
   2. Pick- new record and choose the ILL Framework
      1. In this brief record – enter all the required fields.  These fields will be marked with a red asterisk.  In the 942c you can enter the ILL item type that was created in part 1 of this blog which would let Koha know the circulation period for this item.
      2. Hit Save
      3. Then you will need to fill in the required fields (for your library) on the item record.
      4. Here is where you would be adding your own barcode to the item or use the barcode already on the item.
      5. Once the record and item are created, you can then check this item out to your patron.
      6. Checking back in the item will display the ILL Item Type Check in Message (if your library set this up when creating the Item Type).7.   Once the item comes back to your library, you may delete the item and then delete the record of the item.  Or you may choose to keep the item in the system for the statistic. 

**A great way to create an ILL framework is to copy the Fast Add Framework and manipulate that.  You can add fields to your ILL framework if your library needs more fields cataloged.  

1. To copy the Fast Add Framework- go to Administration- Marc Framework.  
2. Click Actions next to the Fast Add Framework and click Export.

3. Export to a CSV.

4. Above Marc Frameworks – there is a button that says “New Framework”.

5. Create a new Framework- give it a code “ILL” and a description.

6.  Once that has been submitted- again choose Actions next to the new ILL framework and choose Import.

7. Choose the FA export and confirm you want to continue.

8. Once this framework has been imported, you can choose to edit the Framework to fit your library’s needs.  9. In the Fast Add Framework, the default value for subfield 3 “Materials Specified” was Fast Added Material” so the circulation desk would know what to do with it when it was returned.  So for an ILL item, you could make this subfield specific to this “Inter Library Loan”.  

10. If there was a default replacement price your library places on ILL materials, this can be entered into the framework also.

Here is a link to a video about editing Frameworks in Koha if you would like more information.http://bywatersolutions.com/2011/07/27/editing-frameworks-in-koha-3-4/

If you are interested in learning more tips and tricks in Koha visit here!

The post Setting Up An ILL Workflow for Your Library by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In this Koha tutorial we will show you two ways to track your library’s in house use.  This video will talk about each way, using a Statistical Patron and the System Preference: Recordlocaluseonreturn.

There are two ways to track in house use.

1.  Create a Statistical Patron in your Patron Categories.
2. Create a patron using the Statistical Category for you “In House Use”
3. When your library finds books on tables or in the reference area that have been pulled off the shelf and your library wants to track this use, “check out” the books to this In House Use Patron.

OR

1. Go to your Koha Administration – Global System Preferences
2. Recordlocaluseonreturn- change to allow.
3. Again any books you want to record as “local use” – go to the circulation module and just check them in.

Both of these methods will track your in house use in Koha.

There are a few reports specific to Tracking In House Use which can be found here in the Koha Report Library.

If you need help with creating a report from the Koha Report Library see this link.

Thanks for watching this Koha Tutorial- to find more videos, see our Bywater Youtube channel.

The post Tutorial on Tracking In House Use by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In this Koha tutorial we will discuss the options for using the Coce Server to display cover images.

Koha users have several options when it comes to displaying cover images on the OPAC. Users can choose from OPACAmazonCoverImages, GoogleJackets, OpenLibraryCovers, which are free. Or paid services, like Baker and Taylor cover images or SyndeticsCoverImages.

The Coce Server was introduced in the 3.20 release of Koha.

When Coce is enabled it will look at three services: Amazon, Google and Open Library. It matches the ISBN in the MARC record (020 field) and finds the best match out of those 3 services.

• Google API
• Amazon Product Advertising API
• Open Library Read API

If a book cover is not available from a provider, but is available from another one, Koha will be able to display a book cover. Amazon book covers are retrieved with Amazon Product Advertising API, which means that more covers are retrieved (ISBN13).

Currently, you can’t rank which service it looks at first, Coce sends the first available URL.

To enable Coce go to Administration –> System Preferences –> Enhanced Content

Note: If Coce is enabled, make sure to select Don’t show or Don’t Add for the following system preferences OPACAmazonCoverImages, GoogleJackets, or OpenLibraryCovers. If both are enabled, you will get multiple images on the OPAC.

Want to learn more about Koha and view other Koha tutorials? Follow our blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel ByWater Solutions. We post weekly about tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your Koha system.

The post Cover Images on the Koha OPAC – Coce Server by Jessie Zairo appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

The end of the fiscal year is coming! Now, how do I close out my budget in Koha? In this Koha tutorial we will walk you through closing the budget, options for moving the unspent funds and unreceived orders, and making your budget inactive.

Get there: More > Administration > Acquisitions > Budgets

When you close out a budget, you are given the option to move or roll over unreceived orders. You also have the option to move any unspent funds from a previous budget to a new budget.

Now, before you close the budget you might want to duplicate the previous year’s budget. This will allow you to roll over your unreceived orders or funds.

You will want to go to the budget with unreceived orders on the Active budgets tab and select ‘Close’ under the ‘Actions’ dropdown menu.

One thing to remember is that in order for the unreceived orders to be automatically moved to the new budget, the fund structures in the previous budget must exist in the new budget. These funds MUST be the same.

When you select ‘Close’ you will be presented with a form.

Use the ‘Select a budget’ drop down to choose the new budget for the unreceived orders.

Check the box for ‘Move remaining unspent funds’ to move the unspent amounts from the funds of the budget being closed to the selected budget.

Once you have made your choices, click the ‘Move unreceived orders’ button. You will be presented with a dialog box that says “You have chosen to move all unreceived orders from (your current budget name here) to (the new budget name you are creating)”. You can’t undo this action, so double check everything first.

Finally, you will be prompted to continue. It will let you know that the old budget is being closed and the new budget is your new selected budget.

Budgets without unreceived orders cannot be closed. You will make the budget inactive.

Closing the budget doesn’t make it inactive. Once you finish, you will want to go back to the original budget you are closing and edit it to make it “inactive”.

Want to learn more about Koha? Follow our blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel ByWater Solutions. We post weekly about tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your Koha system.

The post Closing out your Budget in Koha Acquisitions by Jessie Zairo appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

Does your library have a collection of books or items that are in a foreign language?  

Patrons can search for an item in your collection by language.  On the library’s OPAC under the advanced search option, there is a drop down of many languages your patron can choose from.  Currently, there are over 50 different languages listed in this drop down menu.

The library  can limit this drop down to list only the languages that the library has, which will  make  it easier for your patron to search and find what they are looking for.  

On your Koha Staff Client, there is a global system preference called Advancedsearchlanguages.  In this system preference, the languages available in your library can be  entered and separated by a pipe delimiter.  Here is the link to the list of languages and the abbreviated version to use:

http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php

For example if your library had material in Spanish, French and Russian, the system preference would be entered like this :  

spa|fre|rus . 

Once your system preferences are saved and updated,  the patron can use the advanced search feature in the OPAC and only see the languages your library has.

Question – Where does Koha find what language an item is written in?

Answer – Koha will look at the 008 field in the item’s marc record to find the language.  For more information see the Library of Congress website.

For more Koha Tips and Tricks – please visit this link at Bywatersolutions.com!

The post Searching in the OPAC by Language by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

Many libraries like to use MarcEdit for modifications or data cleanup. MARCedit is an open source software program downloadable for free. You can download MARCedit at: http://marcedit.reeset.net/

In this Koha tutorial we will show you the steps to export records from Koha, make changes in MARCedit and bring them back into Koha!

1. The first thing we will want to do is export the records that you want to make a change to. Koha has a tool that will allow you to export your bibliographic data in bulk. We can use this feature to extract the records from the system.
2. Next, we can go into the export tool.
   1. Get there: More > Tools > Catalog > Export Data
3. Choose to limit your export by any one or more of the following options
   • Limit to a bib number range
   • Limit to a specific item type
   • Limit to a specific library or group of libraries
   • Limit to a call number range
   • Limit to an acquisition date range
4. You can load a file of biblionumbers for the records you would like to export. The file should be a txt file with a list of biblio numbers that you want to make a change to with one biblio number per line.
5. If you are just making changes at the bib level, you can select “Don’t export items”.
6. Then select download at the bottom of the form.

After you download your MARC records, open your file. If you have MARCEdit already installed you should simply have to double click on your MARC records, and they will automatically open in MARCEdit. If not, open MarcEdit and click on MARC Tools. Under the import file, select the recent Koha export from your computer. Then select execute on the right hand side.

There are many functions you can perform using MarcEdit, such as editing subfields, adding or removing text.

• Here is a link to the Koha Manual with examples for using MARCedit.
• Here is a blog post with a video on Using MarcEdit to Batch Modify bib Record in Koha
• Here is a blog post with  a video on Using MarcEdit to Create Koha Items

Once you have made your changes, click on File > Compile into MARC. Save your records somewhere you can easily retrieve them.

Now you want to go into your Koha system and import the edited MARC records back into Koha.

1. Get there: More > Tools > Catalog > Stage MARC records for import
2. First find the MARC file on your computer.
3. Next you will be presented with options for record matching and item imports.
4. Enter ‘Comments about this file’ to identify your upload when going to the ‘Manage Staged MARC Records’ tool
5. Tell Koha which type of file this is, bibliographic.
6. Next, we will want to look for a matching record matching on the 999$c
7. We will want to look for a match and replace the record with the incoming record.
8. Click ‘Stage for import’
9. You will be presented with a confirmation of your MARC import.
10. To complete the process continue to the Manage Staged MARC Records Tool.
11. A summary of your import will appear along with the option to change your matching rules.

Take a look at the records, and once you are done, click the button to import into the catalog.

Want to learn more about Koha? Follow our blog and subscribe to our YouTube channel ByWater Solutions. We post weekly about tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your Koha system.

Save

Save

Save

The post Exporting records from Koha & Using MarcEdit for Modifications or Data Changes by Jessie Zairo appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In this koha tutorial we will walk you through the system preference for date calculations for Holds Awaiting Pickup.

With the new 17.05 upgrade, there is a new system preference that will  take into consideration the library’s closed days when calculating the expiration date,Date Calculation for Holds Awaiting Pickup.

For example:  If your library had the system preference : ReservesMaxPickUpDelay  set to 7 days.  Once the hold is activated – the patron has 7 days to pick this hold up regardless of the days the library is closed.

Reminder: The system preference ReservesMaxPickUpDelay– will tell Koha how many days to keep the hold.  

With the new 17.05 enhancement, Koha can use the calendar (if set up) to only count number of days the patron can pick up that the library is actually open.  

New System Preferences:

ExcludeHolidaysFromMaxPickUpDelay– this preference will look at the library’s Koha calendar and not count the days the library is closed OR on a holiday in these 7 days.  

Global System Preference:  ExcludeHolidaysFromMaxPickUpDelay– Allow/Don’t allow closed days to be taken into account in reserves max pickup delay.  

Something to Note- the following system preferences may now come in handy to libraries with this new enhancement:

ExpiresReservesonHolidays–   Allow/Don’t allow expired holds to be canceled on days the library is closed.

ExpireReservesMaxPickUpDelay– Allow/Don’t Allow holds to expire automatically if they have not been picked by within the time period specified in ReservesMaxPickUpDelay.

These system preferences work with a cronjob.  If your library would like to have Koha automatically cancel holds, please submit a ticket for a cron job to be set up for this.

To learn all about Koha 17.05 view the other videos in this series and make sure to review the manual and the release notes.

The post Date Calculation for Holds Awaiting Pickup by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In this Koha tutorial we will show you the new system preference with the 17.05 upgrade called Checkprevcheckout.  This system preference can be set to allow and Koha will check patron’s circulation history to see if this item has been checked out in the past to this patron.  

1. Go to the Administration Module
2. This is a Global System Prefernce : checkprevcheckout
3. There are four options for this system preference- the default is “do not”
4. Asks: ___ check borrower checkout history to see if the current item has been checked out before.

Do

Do not

Unless overridden, do

Unless overridden, do not

5.  Don’t forget to save your changes!

When the value of this system preference is set to ‘do’, Koha will look at the patron’s circulation history to see if they have checked this item out before. An alert will show up on the screen indicating that patron has indeed checked this item out.  Staff will be prompted to allow the checkout to occur.  If the value is set to ‘don’t’, Koha will not check the patron’s circulation history.

When the value is set to ‘Unless overridden, do’, this will check the patron’s circulation history even if there are fines, fees, and/or holds on the patron’s account.  Lastly, if the value is set to ‘Unless overridden, don’t’, Koha will not check circulation history regardless of fines, fees, and/or holds.

**This system preference will not work for patrons that have chosen to anonymize their reading history.

To learn all about Koha 17.05 view the other videos in this series and make sure to review the manual and the release notes.

The post Check Previous Checkouts – a new system preference with Koha 17.05 by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

This koha tutorial will show your patrons how to see their reading history in their account and also how they can sort this by title, author or date.

**This will only be available to patrons who have their reading history stored.

To learn all about Koha 17.05 view the other videos in this series and make sure to review the manual and the release notes.

The post OPAC tutorial : Sorting Patron Reading History by Kelly McElligott appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.

In this Koha tutorial we will talk about the new enhancement in the 17.05 release that adds the ability to block auto renewals if the OPACFineNoRenewals amount is reached. If your library is using the AutoRenewal feature (in the circulation and fine rules and cronjob) and a patron owes more than the OPACFineNoRenewals value, the item will not be auto renewed. The new system preference OPACFineNoRenewalsBlockAutoRenew will let you block patrons from automatic renewals if the patron owes more than the value of OPACFineNoRenewals.

First, go to Administration –> System Preferences –> OPAC preferences

• make sure you have a value set for OPACFineNoRenewals
• this will only allow patrons to renew their items on the OPAC if they have less than x amount USD in fines
• if you leave this value blank it will be disabled

Second, go to Administration –> System Preferences –> Circulation preferences

• set the system preference to block for OPACFinesNoRenewalsBlockAutoRenew
• if you are using the autorewnewal feature, a patron with a value higher than the OPACFineNoRenewals limit will not have their item autorenewed.

• set the system preference to allow for OPACFinesNoRenewalsBlockAutoRenew
• if you are using the autorewnewal feature, a patron with a value higher than the OPACFineNoRenewals limit will have their item autorenewed.

To learn all about Koha 17.05 view the other videos in this series and make sure to review the manual and the release notes.

The post Blocking automatic renewals if the OPACFineNoRenewals amount is reached by Jessie Zairo appeared first on ByWater Solutions - Koha Open Source ILS Support.