Koha: FAQ

We are pleased to announce the release of a new system preference for Koha:IndependantSuggestions.This system preference allows you to limit suggestions that you see in acqusitions to your branch only. This is an alternative to the system preference IndependantBranches (which also alllows this but restricts the visibility of other items as well).When ordered through acquisitions, Suggestions are now also ...

Yes. Koha supports OAI/PMH. Trove can harvest your catalogue directly. You can define rules for inclusion.

Alternatively you can export MARC for manual upload to trove.

The patron profile form in the Koha Staff Client and the OPAC allows for considerable detail to be recorded about library users.Some of this such as Date of Birth and Gender is irrelevant to most libraries and makes the form more complicated and distracting than it needs to be.These fields can be selectively hidden in both the Staff Client and the OPAC if they are not used by your library. Follow these simple steps:To hide the DOB and gender fields in the ...

Other networks using Inter-SearchNetworks using Inter-Search include GLASS (GLINN/LOTTS network), LILLI (Legal Inter-Library Loans Interchange), ALLA Victoria (Legal Libraries), Qshare (QLD government/organisational) and ALIES (Australasian Libraries in Emergency Services) and of course GratisNet (Health/Medical).
Joint network memberships are available - the first joint network membership is 50% of the annual fee. Subsequent network memberships are free. Membership ...

The desktop library system is software that runs on your Windows PC which can operate both standalone and connected to your Koha/DSpace system. If your internet connection is down temporarily, circulation transactions will be stored and forward to Koha or DSpace.On this screen once you have set it up (contact us for information on accessing the configuration options) you will be able to search your Koha catalogue using the Search field at the ...

Users may be prompted with a popup / warning upon attempting to download the file: Select 'Show more' and 'Keep anyway.' Users also may encounter a warning from Windows Defender like the following upon completing the file download: The file itself may need to be downloaded again once it has been 'allowed' by the antivirus software.Users may also encounter a warning such as this from Microsoft Defender SmartScreen: First launching of the ...

Adding itemsItems can be added and removed from the 'cataloguing' menu, accessible from the main menu. Once an item has been added, it will appear as a blank entry on the top of the list of item entries with an auto generated catalogue ID. Details can be added by entering text into the corresponding field. These details will be automatically saved. You can add different types of items by selecting the 'Item Types' tab. Select an item type and ...

We have implemented a function allowing patrons to reset their password from the OPAC home page. Using industry practice for self-service password reset, it will email the patron a personalised link which they can use to change their password. This password reset option can be added to the list of useful links in the OPAC sidebar which are specified in the opacnav system preference.Patrons who have forgotten their password and click on the ...

Open up the StandaloneLMS program and access the configuration screen to input the following information to configure the program for your library. (If you do not remember how to access the configuration screen just ask.)


Koha Staff Client Web Address: This is the address for your Koha staff client, and usually has the word admin in the beginning. You do not need to input the "http://"
Koha Admin User & Koha Admin: These fields are for the ...

The StandaloneLMS software is a program created at Prosentient to simplify on- and off-line self checkout. It requires a Windows computer and access to a Koha installation hosted by Intersearch.



Download StandaloneLMS.zip.
Open .zip file on the computer you wish to use as a self-checkout terminal.
Open "Release" folder.
Doubleclick StandaloneInstall.msi (if a warning comes up about an unverified publisher, click Run).
On the Welcome to the ...

The Batch Item Modification tool on the Tools page can be used to make a consistent change to a batch of Koha item records represented by a list of barcodes.

A typical application for this sort of tool is when you need to change a subset of the data in a particular field from one value to another.



In this downloadable case study a librarian wishes to change the home library for all the items in a branch which is ...

To run the StandaloneLMS program for Koha, navigate to the folder where you installed it on your self-checkout machine (the default is called Prosentient Systems Pty Ltd/StandaloneLMS) and run the StandaloneLMS.exe.



On this screen once you have set it up (contact us for information on accessing the configuration options) you will be able to search your Koha catalogue using the Search field at the top of the screen. You can type ...

Absolutely! Instead of specifying a value in the WHERE section of a SQL statement, (e.g. WHERE status=’7’), you can insert a parameter by encasing a question or statement in brackets, (e.g. WHERE status= Please, enter a status number ), which will prompt you for a value each time you run the report.





In some cases, you can choose a value from a drop-down ...

Budget/fund tracking On the Acquisitions homepage you will see a table of your active funds showing a breakdown of what has been ordered or spent against them. Whether the amounts include tax or not is controlled by the CalculateFundValuesIncludingTax system preference. Note You can customize the columns of this table in the ‘Table settings’ section of the Administration module (table id: accounts). Use the ‘Expand all’ link to see all your funds and sub-funds. ‘Collapse all’ ...

Cancelling orders Note Staff members must have the order_manage permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to cancel orders. If the item cannot be found anywhere you can cancel the order by clicking ‘Cancel order’ or ‘Cancel order and delete catalog record’ to the far right on the basket page or the receiving page. This will prompt you to enter your reason and confirm cancellation. Note The cancellation reasons drop-down menu are populated by the ...

Claims and late orders Note Staff members must have the order_receive permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to manage and claim late orders. The ‘Late orders’ link on the acquisitions main page leads to a report where all orders can be filtered to find the late orders. Upon clicking on the link to ‘Late orders’ from the Acquisitions page you will be presented with a series of filter options on the left hand side. These filters will be applied only closed baskets. ...

EDI process Previous sections explain all ordering options, this section pulls out the parts related to EDI or EDIFACT ordering to help those who are using EDI for some or all of the ordering process. EDI allows order files to be sent between vendors and Koha. When the files are processed the order information is loaded directly into Koha. The full workflow is outlined below. Note Libraries do not have to automate the full process and not all vendors support all functions. For example a ...

Invoices Note Anyone with one of the acquisition permissions (or the superlibrarian permission) will have access to invoices. However, it is necessary to have specific invoice permissions to execute actions on invoices: the order_receive permission to create invoices, the edit_invoices permission to edit invoices, the merge_invoices permission to merge invoices, the reopen_closed_invoices permission to reopen closed invoices, or the delete_invoices permission to delete invoices. When ...

Managing purchase suggestions You can create purchase suggestions via the staff interface either for the library or on the patron’s behalf from their record. Depending on your settings in the suggestion system preference, patrons may also be able to make purchase suggestions via the OPAC. Note Staff members must have the suggestions_manage permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to view and manage purchase suggestions. If staff members have the suggestions_manage permission ...

Placing orders To place an order you must first search for the vendor or bookseller and create a basket. Warning If you are planning on using EDIFACT to submit your order you will need to first set up your library’s EDI accounts and EANs. Creating a basket Note Staff members must have the order_manage permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to create baskets and add orders. Note If you’re using EDI for ordering you will want to download your order record from your ...

Receiving orders Warning You must close the basket to be able to receive items when they arrive. Only items in closed baskets will show as ready to receive. Note Staff members must have the order_receive permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to receive orders. Orders can be received from the vendor information page or the vendor search results page After clicking ‘Receive shipments’ you will be asked to enter a vendor invoice number, a shipment received date, a ...

Searching for orders At the top of the various Acquisition pages there is a quick search box where you can perform either a Vendor search or an Order search. Using the Orders search you can search for items that have been ordered with the title or the vendor. You can enter info in one or both fields and you can enter any part of the title or vendor name. Note You can customize the columns of this table in the ‘Table settings’ section of the Administration module (table id: ...

Setting up the acquisitions module Before using the acquisitions module, you need to make sure that you have completed all of the set up. First, set your acquisitions system preferences and acquisitions administration to match your library’s workflow. Before setting your EDI accounts and library EANs, you will need to have entered your vendors. On the main acquisitions page you will see your library’s funds listed. Learn more in the Budget/fund tracking section. ...

Transferring orders Note Staff members must have the order_manage permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to transfer orders. If the item is no longer available from this vendor you can transfer the order to another vendor’s basket by clicking the ‘Transfer’ link to the right of the title on the basket page or the receiving page. This will pop up a vendor search box. From the results you can click ‘Choose’ to the right of the vendor you would like to reorder this ...

Vendors Before any orders can be placed you must first enter at least one vendor. Adding a vendor Note Staff members must have the vendors_manage permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to add vendors. To add a vendor click the ‘New vendor’ button on the acquisitions module main page. The new vendor form is broken into three sections: company information, contacts and ordering information. Company information: basic information about the vendor Name (required): ...

Authorities Authority records are a way of controlling fields in your MARC records. Using authority records will provide you with control over subject headings, personal names and places. Adding authorities Note Only staff with the editauthorities permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to create authority records. To add a new authority record you can either choose the authority type from the ‘New authority’ button or search another library by clicking the ‘New ...

Bibliographic records In Koha, the bibliographic record contains the main information related to the material. This includes things like the title, author, ISBN, etc. This information is stored in Koha in MARC. By default, the record details page displays in the ‘Normal’ tab and shows the most important details of the record. Note The ‘Normal’ tab of the record details page also shows which MARC bibliographic framework was used to add the record. Note Koha supports MARC and ...

Cataloging guides Bibliographic record cataloging cheat sheet This section is for MARC21. Tag Label Description Instructions 000 LEADER Describes the record (i.e. surrogate) – is it a record for a monograph? A serial? Click in this field to fill it in. Then set “Bibliographic level” to ‘a’ for articles or ‘s’ for serials. Otherwise, leave everything as is. The value in position 6 influences the type of material in 008. 001 CONTROL NUMBER Accession number. Enter the ...

Exporting data Note Only staff with the export_catalog permission as well as at least one of the editcatalogue sub-permissions (or the superlibrarian permission) will have access to this tool. Get there: More Cataloging Export Export catalog data Koha comes with a tool that will allow you to export your bibliographic, items and authority records in bulk. This can be used to send your records to fellow libraries, organizations or services; or simply for backup purposes. ...

Inventory Note Only staff with the inventory permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will have access to this tool. Get there: More Cataloging Reports Inventory Koha’s inventory tool can be used in one of three ways: By creating a shelf list that you can then mark items off on; By uploading barcodes gathered by a portable scanner; By comparing barcodes gathered by a portable scanner or scanned directly to a generated shelf list. Creating a shelf list If you do ...

Item records In Koha each bibliographic record can have one or more items attached. These items are sometimes referred to as holdings. Each item includes information to the physical copy the library has. Adding items Note Staff members must have the edit_items permission (or the superlibrarian permission) in order to be able to add items. After saving a new bibliographic record, you will be redirected to a blank item record so that you can attach an item to the bibliographic record. You ...

Add a new patron Patrons are added by going to the ‘Patrons’ module. Get there: Patrons Note Only staff with the edit_borrowers permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to add patrons. Once there you can add a new patron. Click ‘New patron’ Note The fields that appear on the patron add form can be controlled by editing the BorrowerUnwantedField system preference. Note Required fields are defined in the BorrowerMandatoryField system preference First, ...

Add a staff patron All staff members must be entered into Koha as patrons of the ‘Staff’ type. Follow the steps in Add a Patron to add a staff member. To give the staff member permissions to access the staff interface, follow the steps in patron permissions. Important Remember to assign your staff secure usernames and passwords since these will be used to log into the staff client. ...

Add a statistical patron One way to track use of in house items is to “check out” the materials to a statistical patron. The “check out” process doesn’t check the book out, but instead tracks an in house use of the item. To use this method for tracking in house use you first will need a patron category set up for your statistical patron. Next, you will need to create a new patron of the statistical type. Next, follow the steps put forth in the ‘Add a new patron’ section of ...

Adding patron images You can add patron pictures to help identify patrons. To enable this feature, you must first set the patronimages system preference to ‘Allow’. If the preference is set to ‘Allow’, you will see a placeholder image under the patron’s name on the left of the screen. Click the ‘Add’ button on the placeholder image. You have the option of either uploading an existing picture from the computer or taking a picture with the webcam. To upload an existing image, ...

Communicating with patrons Koha offers several options for communicating with patrons, some of which have already been covered in this chapter. OPAC notes OPAC notes are added to the patron’s file through the add patron form or the edit patron form, in the ‘Library set-up’ section. They show up in the ‘Your summary’ section of the patron’s online account in the OPAC. In the staff interface, OPAC notes will be in the ‘Library use’ section of the patron’s file. OPAC ...

Deleting a patron account From the ‘More’ drop-down, the patron account can be deleted. Note Only staff with the delete_borrowers permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to delete patrons. There will be an alert if the patron has checkouts, holds, fines or credits. If a patron has current checkouts, the deletion will not be possible. If a patron has outstanding fines, the deletion will not be possible. If a patron has unused credits, the option to delete the ...

Duplicate a patron Sometimes when you’re adding a new family to your system you don’t want to type the contact information over and over. Koha allows for you to duplicate a patron and change only the parts you want to (or need to) change. Open the patron you want to use as your base (the patron you want to duplicate information from) Click the ‘Duplicate’ button at the top of their record All of the fields with the exception of first name, card number, username and password have ...

Editing patrons Patrons in Koha can be edited using one of many edit buttons. Note Only staff with the edit_borrowers permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to edit patron files. To edit the entire patron record simply click the ‘Edit’ button at the top of the patron record. To edit a specific section of the patron record (for example the ‘Library use’ section) click the ‘Edit’ button beside the section. Edit the patron’s file and click ‘Save’. ...

Managing patron self edits If you are allowing patrons to edit their accounts via the OPAC with the OPACPatronDetails preference then you will need to approve all changes via the staff interface before they’re applied. If there are patron edits awaiting action they will appear on the staff interface dashboard below the modules list (along with other items awaiting action). Note Superlibrarians will see modifications for any branch, other staff will only see modifications for patrons who ...

Merging patron records If you accidentally end up with one patron with two cards it is possible to merge their records together so that you don’t lose their loan history or holds. In the patron list, check the boxes next to the records you want to merge and click on the ‘Merge selected patrons’ button. Note It is possible to merge more than two records at a time. Select the patron record you want to keep If necessary, click the ‘Compare patrons’ button to see the differences ...

Patron information When viewing a patron record you have the option to view information from one of many tabs found on the left hand side of the record. Get there: Patrons Browse or search for patron Click patron name Check out For instruction on checking items out, view the Checking out section of this manual. Staff members can access their own check out screen by clicking their username in the top right of the staff client and choosing ‘My checkouts’ Details Note ...

Patron permissions Patron permissions are used to allow staff members access to the staff interface. Important In order for a staff member to log into the staff interface they must have (at the very least) the catalogue permission which allows them to view the staff interface. Setting patron permissions Note Only staff with the permissions permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to set permissions for other staff members. In addition to the permissions permission, ...

Patron search Clicking on the link to the Patron module will bring you to a search/browse screen for patrons. From here you can search for a patron by their name or their card number. Note By default, the search is a ‘Starts with’ search, meaning that you have to search by the beginning of the patron’s name or the beginning of the patron’s card number. You can use the DefaultPatronSearchMethod system preference to change the patron search method to a ‘Contains’ search to be able ...

Renew patron account When renewing a patron account you can either edit the the expiry date manually in the patron record or use the ‘Renew patron’ option from the More menu in the toolbar at the top. Using the latter the new expiry date will be calculated using the enrollment period configured for the patron category of the user. The system preference BorrowerRenewalPeriodBase determines if the new expiry date will be calculated from the current date or from the old expiry date. One ...

Two factor authentication in the staff interface Koha offers two-factor authentication (2FA) for logging into the staff interface. This two-factor authentication uses a time-based one-time password (TOTP). A TOTP is a password can only be used once and is only valid for a limited time. Users wanting to use the two-factor authentication must have an app to generate these TOTPs. Any authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator, andOTP, FreeOTP and many others can be used. Applications that ...

Adding a numbering pattern To add new new pattern click the ‘New numbering pattern’ button. Name: this is the name that will appear in the drop-down menu when creating a new serial subscription; make sure it is descriptive. Description: this is to further describe the numbering pattern; this does not appear when creating a new subscription, it only displays in the numbering patterns table (see above). Numbering formula: this is what is used to create the number for each issue. You can ...

Adding a subscription Note Only staff with the create_subscription permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to add serial subscriptions. Subscriptions can be added by clicking the ‘New’ button on any bibliographic record and choosing ‘New subscription’ Or click the ‘New subscription’ button in the serials module If you are entering a new subscription from the Serials module you will be presented with a blank form (if creating new from a bibliographic record ...

Checking serial expiration Note Only staff with the check_expiration permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will have access to this tool to check serial subscription expiration dates. When adding serials you enter a subscription length, using the check expiration tool you can see when your subscriptions are about to expire. To use the tool, click the link to ‘Check expiration’ on the serials menu. In the form that appears you need to enter at least a date to search by. You can ...

Claiming late issues Note Only staff with the claim_serials permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will have access to this tool to claim late serial issues. Koha can send email messages to your serial vendors if you have late issues. To the left of the main serials page there is a link to ‘Claims’. The links to claims also appears to the left of the subscription detail page If you don’t have a claim notice defined yet you will see a warning message that you need to first ...

Creating a routing list Note Only staff with the routing permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to manage routing lists. A routing list is a list of people who receive the serial before it goes to the shelf. To enable routing lists, set your RoutingSerials preference to ‘Use’. When on the subscription page you will see a link to the left that reads ‘Create routing list’ or ‘Edit routing list’ Clicking that link will bring you to the form to add a new routing ...

Editing a subscription Note Only staff with the edit_subscription permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to edit existing serial subscriptions. To edit a subscription, click on ‘Edit’ and ‘Edit subscription’ from the subscription page. This will take you back to the same form as the one used when creating a new subscription. You can also batch edit subscriptions. To do so, search for the subscriptions you want to change. In the results, check the boxes next to ...

Manage serial numbering patterns Note Only staff with the serials permission or any of the serials sub-permissions (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to manage numbering patterns. Every time you create a new numbering pattern in serials you can save it for later use. These patterns are accessible via the ‘Manage numbering patterns’ page. Get there: More Serials Manage numbering patterns This page will list for you the numbering patterns you have saved in the ...

Managing serial frequencies Note Only staff with the serials permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able manage frequencies. Koha keeps a record of publication frequencies for easy management and duplication. Get there: More Serials Manage frequencies From this page you can view all of the existing frequencies in your system. You can edit, delete and create new ones. Adding a frequency To add a new frequency, click on the ‘New frequency’ button. ...

Receiving issues Note Only staff with the receive_serials permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to receive issues of existing serial subscriptions. Issues can be marked as received from several locations. To find a subscription, use the search box at the top of the Serials page to search for the serial you’d like to receive issues for: From the search results you can click the ‘Serial receive’ button or you can click on the subscription title and then click the ...

Renewing subscriptions Note Only staff with the renew_subscription permission (or the superlibrarian permission) will be able to renew existing serial subscriptions. If your serial subscription has expired you won’t be able to receive issues. To renew your subscription you can click the ‘Renew’ button at the top of your subscription detail page. Once you click the ‘Renew’ button you will be presented with renewal options. Start date: enter the date your subscription period ...

Searching serials Once in the Serials module there is basic search box at the top that you can use to find subscriptions using any part of the ISSN and/or title, as well as a search form in the middle of the page. You can also click the ‘More options’ icon in the search box at the top of the page and click the ‘Advanced search’ link to do a more thorough search of your serials. Note If you have additional fields that are searchable, they will appear in this advanced search form. ...

Serial collection Each subscription has a Serial collection page available from the main Serials menu. From this page you can manage additional tasks related to subscription issues such as receiving multiple issues and editing. Clicking the Generate next button will generate the next issue for you and mark the previously expected issue as ‘Late’ automatically. Check the box in the Edit column for one or more previous issues and then click the Edit serials button. This will bring you ...

Serial statuses When receiving an issue, you change the status of the issue to ‘Arrived’. There are more statuses that can be used to describe serial issues. Note See also: Serials table in the FAQ section. Expected: this is the status that is automatically assigned to a new issue when it is created. It means the issue hasn’t arrived, but it is not late yet. Arrived: this is the status used when receiving an issue. It means the issue has been received by the library. Circulating: ...

Subscriptions in the OPAC When viewing the subscription in the OPAC there will be several options. You can choose which tab appears by default with the opacSerialDefaultTab system preference. Like in the staff interface, there will be a Subscriptions tab on the bibliographic record. Under this tab will appear the number of issues you chose when setting up the subscription or in your OPACSerialIssueDisplayCount system preference. Clicking the ‘More details’ link will provide you with ...

Subscriptions in the staff interface Subscription information will appear on bibliographic records under the ‘Subscriptions’ tab Clicking the ‘Subscription details’ link will take you to the Subscription summary page in the staff interface. If you are using the acquisitions module to keep track of serial subscriptions you will see an extra ‘Acquisition details’ tab in your subscription details. Note You can customize the columns of this table in the ‘Table settings’ ...

Physical distribution of journals using printed routing lists is not always convenient or necessary.
This downloadable procedure explains how to use a Prosentient enhancement to Koha's Serials routing list function to send patrons an email containing a table of contents for the latest received issue of their favourite journals.

...

Koha has extensive online manuals with step-by-step instructions on using the service.

You can find the Koha manuals and resources at http://manual.koha-community.org/

You can review our FAQ. There is also an extensive Koha online FAQ at http://koha-community.org/documentation/faq/

To obtain support for your Koha Library Management System application, go to http://www.prosentient.com.au/index.php/support

...

Internet Explorer has anti-phishing settings which provide useful protection when browsing the wider web, but can also considerably slow down access to a heavily used intranet application like Koha when it is hosted off-site. These measures are called the Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7 and the SmartScreen Filter in Internet Explorer 8 and 9.

It is possible, but perhaps not advisable, to turn Phishing functions off, as this Microsoft support article on ...