Wishlist

This is an area where members of the community can contribute things that they would like to see in Koha.

Adding something to the wishlist does not automatically mean that it will be developed. This is more a space where ideas that have no sponsor can be communicated and developed.

This page replaces the old content at todo

Ideas for a new Reserves System

I added the following code to my opac-detail.tmpl to add a box with Amazon code and links to buy the book at Amazon, linked to my organization's Associates ID. Obviously, a lot of “real” libraries won't be interested in this, but some people might find it useful (note that this requires passing your associate id/name as template variable called assoc_id from opac-details.pl):

<div id="bloc20">
<!-- TMPL_IF name="isbn" -->
	<p> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=as2&path=ASIN/TMPL_VAR NAME="isbn" -->&tag=<!-- TMPL_VAR NAME="assoc_id" -->&camp=1789&creative=9325">Buy or read reviews at Amazon</a>.<br />

	<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=<!-- TMPL_VAR NAME="assoc_id" -->&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=<!-- TMPL_VAR NAME="isbn" -->&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000ff&bc1=000000&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;align:right;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>
	</p>
<!-- TMPL_ELSE -->
	<p>
	<a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=<!-- TMPL_VAR NAME="assoc_id" -->&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=/gp/search%3F%26index=books%26keywords=<!-- TMPL_VAR NAME="title" -->%26_encoding=UTF8">Check Amazon</a>	
<!-- /TMPL_IF -->
	</div>

This is a feature of another ILS I've used (Softlink's Alice) which was extremely useful. Called dispose by barcode, the librarian collects together a number of items that are to be disposed of and then scans their barcodes in to the system to create a list.

Once the list had been completed, the librarian clicks the 'Dispose' button and Alice would then mark these items as 'Disposed'. To completely remove the items (and the biblios if there was only one item), you'd then run a 'Purge' command from the stocktaking module.

What I'd like to see in Koha is a similar feature where a librarian (or someone with appropriate permission) could scan a list of barcodes in to Koha which would then delete items (and biblio records where only one item exists) and provide a printable list of what had just been deleted.

— Chris Hearn 2007/03/18 05:29 Currently using Koha for Windows 2.2.5.

I have created this functionality in Koha for my librarians. If you check out the KohaReports section of Koha-Tools, there is a deleteByBarcode section ( Not really a report, but I needed to use some shared code ). You can scan items by barcode to delete them with this program. If you then run the script I wrote named scrub_orphaned_biblios.pl ( I've committed it to dev_week ) this script will delete all biblios/biblioitems that have no items attached to them.

– Kyle Hall 2007/08/09 10:00 Currently using dev_week with Zebra.

Again a feature in Alice which is used with a 'Circulation Control Card' (CCC) and allows the librarian user to navigate within the circulation module without having to switch between barcode reader, keyboard and mouse. In fact, in most situations within circulation, it is not necessary to use the mouse at all.

Basically the CCC is a card with a number of barcodes printed on it with eleven commands - download a current version here [Word document, 32kb].

The most used commands are LOAN (switches circulation to issue mode), RETURN (switches to returns mode) and FINISH which 'resets' the circulation module ready to serve the next borrower. For a Koha version of this feature, I guess these CCC barcodes could be user-defined in parameters.

The CCC also allows the librarian to answer prompts and questions thrown up by the system. For example, you scan a borrower's id card and the system gives a message that there are fines on the account. You could then scan OVERRIDE to ignore the message and continue or FINISH, which is the same as clicking cancel.

And if you're wondering what the other Alice CCC barcodes are used for, they are:

• Booking - switches to Bookings mode (similar to reservations but for rooms, equipment, etc)
• Resource - not sure exactly what this one's for!
• Reserve - switches to Reserve mode to create a list of items to put on reserve for a borrower.
• Override - overrides an alert or block on an account (eg, trying to borrow a restricted item or if there are outstanding fines). Normally used in conjunction with Finish which cancels the operation.
• Name - searches for a borrower by name (already a feature within Koha through the normal library card number entry box)
• Renew - similar to Override, but used to renew an item loan period or borrower membership when expired / close to expiration.
• Borrower - in Circulation module with a borrower's record loaded scanning Borrower barcode displays the borrower's loan history.
• Item - in Circulation this allows the librarian to issue an item that isn't in the catalogue.
• Finish - already covered, this has multiple uses from resetting Circulation screen to initial form (ie, closing a transcation) to cancelling operations when an alert is displayed.

I know this is a bit of a long entry, but wanted to put as much info about this forward for consideration! I know I would find this a useful feature and I'm sure others would too.

— Chris Hearn 2007/03/18 05:29 Currently using Koha for Windows 2.2.5.

Given the growing number of people accessing the internet via mobile devices, it seems important to allow users to access the OPAC, their account or their shelves from their smartphones, so, what about a mobile version of Koha ?