Joann and Owen, Could I get a copy of your circulation matrix? I'd like to put together a short tutorial of some kind on item types, circulation codes and why you'd go one way or the other. I think this is one thing that is really important for new Koha users to understand...and that understanding would ideally come BEFORE migration. I'd like to see how you two implemented your two opposite approaches. If anyone has anything else they'd like to share that might serve as a good resource, let me know. Lori 2011/1/24 Joann Ransom <jransom@library.org.nz>
Hi Rachel,
We have gone the other way: many item types and few collections. This is a post I wrote at the time when I was trying to decide how best to use item types and colelction codes.
http://library-matters.blogspot.com/2009/03/dont-be-afraid-of-using-lots-of-...
Cheers Jo.
On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 8:48 AM, Owen Leonard <oleonard@myacpl.org> wrote:
The OPAC currently lists item type only so we assume we should actually use this to identify different collections.
The most important factor to consider is that at the moment item types can be used to set circulation policies and collection codes cannot. Other than that they're fairly interchangeable. You can set the "AdvancedSearchTypes" system preference to show either item types or collection code on the advanced search page.
Because circulation policies can be set per item type we have set up a few general item types for circ rules: circulating, videos and DVDs, audio books, and non-circulating. Then we have a lot of collection codes which we use to classify various combinations of audience, material, and genre.
As log as you're giving your patrons and staff the right categories to narrow their searches and you've got the circulation policies in place that you need, there's not a wrong way to do it.
-- Owen
-- Web Developer Athens County Public Libraries http://www.myacpl.org _______________________________________________ Koha mailing list http://koha-community.org Koha@lists.katipo.co.nz http://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
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-- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Lori Bowen Ayre // Library Technology Consultant The Galecia Group // www.galecia.com (707) 763-6869 // Lori.Ayre@galecia.com <Lori.Ayre@galecia.com>Specializing in open source ILS solutions, RFID, filtering, workflow optimization, and materials handling =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=