Tip of the Week

Tip for: 07.22.02

Transaction Import - Friday afternoon comes and you start your latest rebuild before going home when a teacher walks in and wants to check out several items. However, Alexandria is now unavailable for checkout. Do you grab your pen and paper to check out so that you can enter the information on Monday? Or do you take advantage of Alexandria's transaction import feature? Using a Palm Scanner or a word processor with your normal desktop scanner, you can type or scan the transactions just as you would have done if Alexandria's circulation screen had been available. When using a word processor, make sure that you save it as text and save it frequently.

To check out, type a period and enter or scan the check out barcode from the command barcodes sheet (Reports - Special Reports - Command Barcodes). Then scan the patron and the items they want to check out. If you need or want an override date, enter it before scanning the items. (Override dates are set by typing ".{date}" such as ".12/20/2001". Remember to clear the override date once it is no longer applicable by typing a period and enter.)

To check in, simply bookdrop the items. Type b and enter or scan the bookdrop barcode from the command barcodes sheet. If you will not be importing the transaction file you are creating on the same day, then be sure to enter an override date before scanning the items that were returned. In bookdrop mode, the override date is the date Alexandria should use to show when they were returned and to calculate any applicable fines. Scan all the books to bookdrop. When finished, if you would like to check out again, then just follow the check out instructions as many times as necessary.

Remember that override dates are cleared if you change modes. Going from check in / out mode to bookdrop clears any override dates. So in a transaction import file, if either the due date or the bookdrop date needs to be exact, then you should enter the date before doing the transaction.

After your rebuild finishes, when the circulation screen is available, simply type * and enter. Drag your transaction import file to the window that appears and then click on Run. After the import is finished, check your transaction log for accuracy and for anything you would want to know (lost items returned, overdue fines charged, reference books checked out, etc.).

(The same transaction import works with many other commands. You can assign keywords, change patron policies or locations, change copy policies or collections or locations, or show in house use with the statistic mode. Click on the help button in circulation to see how the other commands work.)