<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1479" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Greetings All!</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>In my many years of
experience in library automation, I have always insisted that each library or
library branch have a unique series of barcodes. If you are using an
alphanumeric symbology such as Code 39 (also called Code 3 of 9) you can use the
library or branch holding symbol as the prefix to the code. e.g. Sembeq, a small
French Baptist Seminary has a holding symbol assigned by the National Libray of
Canada of QMSB, and their barcodes start at QMSB00001. Patron Barcodes
contain the student ID code that has letters from their last name and first
initial followed by up to 4 digits.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>The difference between
the codes makes sure that the system does not get confused between documents and
borrowers, and in large Union catalogues that list the holdings of different
branches, the distinction is easy for the computer to make and the users to
see. If you already have barcodes on the volumes, however, the solution to
the problem will not be a pleasant one - it would involve re-applying barcodes
to the items (of the collection that is the smallest). The changing of the
numbers in the electronic records can be done quite easily. Certainly,
anyone considering automating the collections of multiple branches should
consider this before beginning the application of barcode labels.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> <FONT size=3> I agree, of course, that the
system should <STRONG><U>NEVER</U></STRONG> accept duplicate barcodes. They must
be unique to the item they identify. If you must use, or are using a numeric
only barcode symbology, then you should set different numeric prefixes
to the ranges of numbers that you will use on the barcodes for
different holding branches or libraries.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>Best wishes to all for
a happy holiday season from the frozen North!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>Albert
Calame</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT>Librarian at Large </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>Library Management
Consultant</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><FONT size=3>Montreal,
Canada</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> 514-745-3424</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> </FONT><A
href="mailto:albert.p.calame@sympatico.ca">albert.p.calame@sympatico.ca</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=mhelman@illinoisalumni.org
href="mailto:mhelman@illinoisalumni.org">BWS Johnson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=koha@lists.katipo.co.nz
href="mailto:koha@lists.katipo.co.nz">koha@lists.katipo.co.nz</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 22, 2004 9:44
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Koha] Barcode quandry</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Salve!<BR><BR>My .02 on having Koha accept two same barcodes -
bad pie! That's one of the things I intentionally checked for when I
installed. Perhaps there's a way to do a feature so that folks that don't want
barcodes can shut it off, but I shudder to think at the possible multiple
barcode errors that might haunt me later. I know it will catch multiple
borrower ids in its own comma'd way, and I know that it used to yell at me
when I used the same barcode, which I liked.<BR><BR>As far as what you might
be able to do about your branches - talk to your vendor and consortium about
adding initial digits to distinguish between the branch and the main library.
There might be a way to cleverly do this retrospectively. I know that there
was a good old function key programmed at my old library, and I usually keep
the 304540000 part of my barcode in a notepad file for ease of cutting and
pasting. I can't think of any ILS off of the top of my head that wouldn't have
the barcode function also as an identifier.<BR><BR>Brooke @ Hinsdale
</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>