[Koha] Barcodes and scanners

[Jesse Weaver]

2008/12/4 Mark Osborne <mosborne at ashs.school.nz>

> Hello,
> We're a Senior High School considering Koha as our ILS. Are we able to use
> pre-printed barcodes from someone like Leigh Mardon, or do we have to print
> our own. Also, are all barcode readers created equal in the Koha world, or
> are some more equal than others?
>
> --
> Hei konā mai,
>
> Mark Osborne
> Deputy Principal,
> Albany Senior High School.
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Koha at lists.katipo.co.nz
> http://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha
>
>
There is one quick test you can do with any barcode scanner to see if it'll
work with Koha. Open up notepad, scan a barcode, and see if the barcode
appears. If not, and the drivers (if any) for the scanner are installed, it
won't work with Koha. It's that simple. Note that almost any modern barcode
scanner that plugs in through a USB or PS/2 (standard keyboard) port will
act this way. The library I also work for uses the Metrologic MS-9540
handheld scanner, with no problems to date.

As far as barcode labels go, you can use preprinted barcodes or print your
own. Koha has a fairly good barcode printing module, but preprinted barcodes
are cheap enough and much simpler to work with.

Note: it' s good if the scanner creates a new line in Notepad after the
barcode as well; if this happens, the checkout will be submitted when you
scan, and your circ staff won't have to click checkout after scanning the
barcode. (This would be in the features list of the scanner, or easy to find
out from the vendor.)

-- 
Jesse Weaver
Software Developer, LibLime
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