NExpress Shared Catalog

This is a friendly reminder; please share this information with the people responsible for your library’s cataloging. Please refer to these instructions when importing MARC records into NExpress from the KLC. If you are importing MARC records from anywhere else (CatExpress, vendor records, etc.), please refer to these instructions.

In both situations, please make sure you change the settings to the ones that marked below in red:

Not sure what else to call bug 3270, but here’s the scenario that says you’ve encountered this bug:

Let’s say a patron or staff member cancels a hold that has already been confirmed and transferred from Library A and is on it’s way to Library B with a transit slip.  When the item arrives at Library B, and the staff scan it, nothing happens – there is no message saying to Send the Item Back to Library A or a message saying that a Hold Was Found for Patron X.  The clue that lets you know this nasty little black bug has crawled to your Circ Desk is the message Not Check Out.

What do you do??

At Basehor, they simply check the item out to a staff member and immediately check it back in.  This triggers a transfer prompt and correctly updates the Current Location.

Your reward for this work around is a circulation statistic.

Other clues that this bug present:

When an item has a status of Available, but the Current location and Home branch are mismatched.  This item belongs to Bonner Springs, not NEKLS HQ:

To fix the bug, determine with a shelf check where the item is physically located and manually update the Item Record:

Looking for a specific barcode?  Add the text ‘barcode:’ before typing or scanning the barcode to go directly to the Bib record associated with that barcode.  For example:

- Sharon

Step 1:

Step 2:

Hello…we had an unexpected Web site upgrade and will be methodically replacing information, forms, documents and images over the next few weeks.  Please contact the nexpresshelp team with individual requests for documents and we will send those to you via email.

Thank you for your patience.

Sharon Moreland

Below are some instructional videos useful for Koha training.   The videos in this post and in the referenced posts have been reactivated by Sharon January 14, 2010.

Updating a Patrons OPAC Log in and logging into the OPAC - (Silent video) November 2009
Written instructions for Updating an OPAC log in and password – Written November 2009

New Catalog Overview – Recorded November 2009 (sorry, duplicate video, I’ll hunt down the right one)

New My Account Overview video for Patrons – Recorded November 2009

Checking Out Items Using the Staff Client – a Quick and Dirty video recorded 11/09

Placing Holds – the information is still current, even if the interface has changed slightly since I first recorded these.

Pulling the Holds Pick List (from March 2009) – While the screen shots are dated, the process is the same.

Follow up Training:

Searching and Search Training and Search Bugs and Barcode Searching-  These posts include videos and exercises to familiarize yourselves with the search capabilities of Koha’s Staff Client, along with an explanation of a Known Issue related to Subtitles NOT displaying in the Staff Client (while they DO show up in the OPAC).

Transfers to Receive Report – How to instructions for using this Circulation report to see what items are in transit to your location

Managing the Holds Shelf - How to instructions for using the Holds Awaiting Pick Up circulation report to clear out expired holds from your shelf

As a result of today’s Koha Explorer’s Group meeting today, I am sharing the NExpress Orientation Packet created to help with the migration of four Winnebago and three Follett libraries into the Koha catalog.  Heather managed the actual data extraction from these systems and can be contacted directly with questions and procedures.

NExpress Orientation Packet – Table of Contents

• What to expect when you’re migrating time line (Google Document)
• NExpress Migration Check List (Google Document)
• NExpress Shared Catalog Libraries (Google Document)
• NExpress Shared Catalog: Cost Estimates for Phase Four Libraries (not for publication)
• NExpress Vision and Values Statement (Google Document)
• Cataloging and Classifying Your Items in the Koha System
  • Overview of Cataloging Elements in Koha and Shelving Locations (Google Document)
  • Cataloging and Classifying Items in Koha (includes itypes and ccodes) (Word Document)

Hi,

I happened to be in the office this evening when Carolyn got a ‘Dead Box’ – a box of mislabeled materials sent to her by Henry Industries for re-labeling.  I noticed that several of the offenders were NExpress libraries…sending holds to other NExpress libraries.  We understand that NEKLS libraries  have to unlearn and relearn this courier business, whereas the rest of the state just has to learn the ‘Henry’ way.

So, please, pretty please, go to the Kansas Library Express site or visit the Henry Industries site and verify, double check, spot check, or have a look-see that the label you are using to route materials is correct, up-to-date, accurate, complete, new, and right.  This includes your library’s return label…

This may mean finding and deleting a file off of your computer and using the document stored at the Henry Industries site.  It could also mean throwing away old labels that have already been laminated.  A small price to pay to avoid the Dead Box…

Did you know that the labels changed December 11, 2009?  Route designations, hours of delivery, library names, and other key bits of information that are incorrect or incomplete on your label can lead to the Dead Box…

Using the wrong label not only creates work for Carolyn, but also delays the delivery of holds for patrons.

Thank you for your care, concern, thoughtfulness, attention to detail, cooperation, and help.

- Sharon

In CIRCULATION > CHECK IN, there are two checkboxes in the Options section:

* Forgive Overdue Charges
* Dropbox Mode (Book Drop)

These are two separate functions that can be used independently, or in conjunction. The Forgive Overdue Charges allows checkins without fine acccrual, regardless of how late the item is. Dropbox Mode simply sets the checkin period back one business day, to the last business day the library was open, based on the Koha calendar for that library.

-Mickey

Each Item in the catalog has a wealth of information attached to it, including last circulation history information and last borrower barcodes.  For this example, we are using Overbrook’s copy of I, Alex Cross.

To access this information: Search for a title, Select the title from the Results List, and Click on the Items Tab:

Scroll down until you  find Your Copy (or use ctrl+f to search for a barcode):

1. Home Library – The owning library for this item.
2. Current Location – Where the item is currently located or en route to to fill a hold.  This item is currently in transit from Overbrook to Atchison to fill a hold.
3. Status Information – Use the drop down menus to set the Lost or Damaged Status of an item.  Use Missing if the item cannot be found and is not checked out.
   • 
4. Total Checkouts and Checkout history – The total checkouts includes transaction data brought over during migration and checkouts with Koha.  The “View Item’s Checkout History” tracks how an item moves through the NExpress Shared Catalog, recording a date/time stamp for each ’scan’ at a library.
   
5. Last Borrower and Previous Borrowers – Koha will keep track of the last patron to borrow an item, as well as the two previous borrowers.  The Borrower barcodes are active hyperlinks that will take you the patron account if selected.

Extra: What if it’s currently checked out?  The Checkout Status will provide information about who has the item checked out and when it is due.

One of the Great Features of the Koha catalog is Purchase Suggestions.

When a patron is logged into their account in the Online Public Access Catalog, they can place a Purchase Suggestions from the “My purchase suggestions” tab or if they cannot find what they are looking for in a search, they are prompted to make a Purchase Suggestion:

What happens to all of these Purchase Suggestions?
How do you, as the Library Director or Selector, access these suggestions?

1. Log into the Staff Client using a TECH or DIRECTOR account
2. Go to the Acquisitions Module (More > Acquisitions)
   
3. Select the Manage Suggestions link
   
4. Review the Pending Suggestions and select the appropriate Reason, and choose to Accept, Reject or Delete the Suggestions.  The Reason you select will appear on the Patron’s “My purchase suggestions” page.
   
5. The Reasons available at this time:
6. Follow through with ordering the item, then update the status again, if you so choose, once it is cataloged and processed.
7. The Patron can watch the progress of their Purchase Suggestions.