[Koha] Bar code scanners

[Albert P. Calame]

Hi All!

    The standard subfield to contain the barcode in the 852 tag of MARC21 is
subfield p. (ie. 852 $p). This is used by most Library Management Systems in
North America today. It was based on a protocol called MicroLIF that was set
up by a group of software providers, book vendors (who supply  records with
the books they sell) and librarians (The format was approved finally by
MARBI which is supposed to do such things ALA, Library of Congress, etc. and
originally formulated around 1991 for transmitting MARC records on
diskette.)
     Many proprietary Library automation systems have used barcode
symbologies that required you to purchase barcodes from the software vendor
(to provide an additional revenue stream for them, perhaps).  Codabar and
Code 39 (also known as Code 3 of 9) have been commonly used, as well as
Interleave 2 of 5 as symbologies.  To keep things simple, I'd suggest you
use Code 39, which is an alpha-numeric symbology that may allow you to
incorporate your library holding symbol as part of your barcode, thus making
the numbers unique to your own collection. (e.g.. One library near me has a
National Library of Canada Holding Symbol or Collection Code of QMsb.  They
are using barcodes starting with QMSB000001. It does help to uniquely
identify where the books come from). You can also put an alpha indicator in
the Patron barcodes so you don't mix them up. (In early days we used the
same barcodes for books and patrons, and it became possible to check patrons
out to books if you scanned barcodes in the wrong order!!)
    I'd further suggest that you use the simplest form of the code without
check digit. This means that you don't have to have some code in the program
that recognizes the type of barcode and further decodes it so that the
value returned to the computer when the barcode is scanned is the same as
the value stored in the record.  I have had many problems, and some
collections had to be completely rebarcoded, when a library needed to change
software because they used a special code that had a special algorithm
included, and the number you got back from scanning the barcode was not the
same as the value you had in your record.
    By doing this, you should have no problem using any keyboard wedge type
scanner with koha, or any other type of software that comes along later.
(Not that you'll ever need to change because koha will meet all our needs
eventually!! ;-)  )

    My two cents worth!

Regards,
Al Calame

Librarian-at-Large,
Albert P. Calame Consulting
Montreal, Québec, Canada

514-745-3424
albert.p.calame at sympatico.ca

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <baljkas at mb.sympatico.ca>
To: "cliver" <cliver at alphalink.com.au>; <espruill at rmsel.org>
Cc: <koha at lists.katipo.co.nz>; <baljkas at mb.sympatico.ca>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 8:52 PM
Subject: Re: [Koha] Bar code scanners


> Monday, June 30, 2003   19:50 CDT
>
> Further to what Cliver correctly noted ...
>
> If one uses MARC21, in tag 852, one of the non-prescribed subfields is
> sometimes used to contain the significant digits of a bar code (in most
> collections between 4 and 6 at the end of a bar code, excluding the last,
> which is a check digit). In Athena, which I used in a school library, I
> believe it was $w.
>
> In other systems, I have seen it in 090 and 949 fields (system specified).
> So we'll all know, can someone from the development end tell us how/where
> Koha is storing this info?
>
> Steven F. Baljkas
> Koha neophyte
> Winnipeg MB CANADA
>
> cliver <cliver at alphalink.com.au> wrote:
> >Hi again......most/all libraries here use "codabar" or "code39"
> symbologies for
> >both patrons &/or collection....after all, the bar-code is only a
> numerical
> >record number for each book/patron.....so within any circulation system
> there
> >would be a 'data field' for that 'number'/record.
> >At least ...that's my understanding.....all the best
> >
> >Clive Robertson     EAS services....Melbourne, Australia
> >
> >
> >Elizabeth Spruill wrote:
> >
> >> Is there a certain symbology that Koha works with?  I've been exploring
> >> the website and information, but so far haven't seen that information
> >> spelled out anywhere?  Thanks so much for your help.
> >> Elizabeth
> >
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>
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