[Koha] Patron Barcode Question

[Nicole Engard]

Becki - thanks for all of that!!

My question is not so much where do barcodes come from - but how is it
that my Koha knows what the next barcode is - who gave it the first
barcode to calculate all the others based on? It wasn't me - and if it
was I didn't realize I was doing it ;)

Nicole

On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 1:50 PM, Becki Whitaker <becki at incolsa.net> wrote:
> Nicole,
>
> If you want an identifying sequence of numbers that some barcode symbologies
> use, there is actually a barcode registry for the usual 4-digit identifying
> number.  Dating back to the early days of CLSI, it is now maintained by Thor
> <www.thor.com>, the folks that bought Geac and turned it into the Vubis
> Smart, Integrated Library System.   Anyway, they maintain a registry of the
> 4-digit identifier numbers -- who has what where, etc.  Unfortunately and
> ironically, the registry is still kept in a book and not accessible to
> anyone except them.  You can call 800-765-4658 and submit your desired
> number.  They will check the registry and tell you if the number is already
> assigned or not and to whom.  Given that there are only 9999 unique numbers
> in this scheme, many numbers are already taken.
>
> The original purpose of the registry was to help folks have unique numbers
> to aid getting ILL items back to the right library.  However, we have found
> that even keeping track of what libraries are using in our state helps, as
> do barcodes with library names on them that many  now use.  In our
> consortium, we starting using the last four digits of the library's SAN
> number.  That won't work nationwide but so far it has worked for us.  If a
> number is in use, you can decide if you are perhaps geographically different
> enough to go ahead and use that number.
>
> And where do patron barcodes come from?  From the same place item barcodes
> come from.  You can buy and/or create matching item and patron barcodes once
> you have your pattern, i.e. patron numbers all start with "2" and item
> numbers all start with "3", the next four digits are your identifier, then
> fill 0s as needed for the length of the barcode sequence, the accession
> number and maybe a check digit.   We've found Koha will take pretty much
> anything.  It's the library that needs the pattern and the organization.
>
> Don't know if this is TMI but the registry might be useful for some.
>
> Best,
>
> Becki
>
> ---
> Becki Whitaker
> Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS)
> 6202 Morenci Trail
> Indianapolis, IN 46268
> 317-298-6570 x106 / 800-733-1899 (IN only) / fax: 317-328-2380
> whitakerb at mcls.org / www.mcls.org / scion.incolsa.net
>
>
> Nicole Engard wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> Got a question today that I never thought about before ... but it's a
> good one -- Where do patron barcodes come from?  How do they know
> where to start? And how do they know how to increment?
>
> The answer will of course go in the manual for others to learn from.
>
> Thanks
> Nicole
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