Tip for: 05.17.10

So, What Is "Unknown" about the Current Item?

If you have Alexandria v6, you may have noticed the word “unknown” showing up in the Current Item pane of the Circulation window and wondered what is "unknown" about this item. We'll reveal the mystery to you.

Really, it is not a mystery; it's just a feature that has been added to Alexandria that may be useful. It's the Condition Code for the item. I know, I know, I know . . . libraries usually have only one condition -- useable. If it isn't in a condition to be circulated, it's discarded.

Since the Condition Codes are something you set in System Preferences, let's get creative and see if we can't come up with some other way to make this useful and not just something cluttering up your Current Item pane.

What if you used it to record movie ratings - G, PG, PG-13, etc.? That might be helpful when checking out DVDs in a public library situation or age-appropriateness in school situations (i.e. Grades 3-4).

Can you think of any other creative uses for this field? If you submit a suggestion for using the Condition Codes area that we publish as a Tip of the Week or in the Alexandria eNewsletter, there's an Alexandria T-shirt just waiting to be sent to you!

There is the option of just turning off this field if you don't want a condition code to show and you can't think of a way to use it for your library.

To disable the Condition Codes display:

• Go to Edit on the menu bar and select System Preferences.

• Click on Rules in the Circulation category.

• On the User Interaction tab, remove the check mark from Display Copy Condition.

• Click on Save.

To add a condition code:

• Go to Edit on the menu bar and select System Preferences.

• Click on Rules in the Circulation category.

• Click on the Condition Codes tab.

• Click on the Add (+) icon at the bottom-left of the pane. The Add Condition Code window will open.

• Enter a short Condition Code for the "condition." (i.e. PG13)

• Enter a Description for the "condition." (i.e. movie rating of PG13)

• Enter any notes in the Notes field.

• Click on OK, then click on Save in the upper-right corner of the window.

For v6: