[Koha] newbie questions

[Stephen Hedges]

Hi, Mike -

Mike Richardson said:
> We are looking at putting in a new library automation system, but the
> boss wants to know if we can do web based reservations (can the
> patrons reserve materials)?

Yep, so long as they have a valid library card number, or whatever sort of
ID you are using.

> Can we reserve in advance (like reserve for next thursday, etc)?

No, at least no way that I'm aware of.  This might be fairly easy to do as
a customization for your library, however, using a separate MySQL table
that holds the reserve information and the requested date and moves that
info into Koha's reserve table at the appropriate time (using a script in
cron, would be one way).  But there would still be no way of keeping
someone else from borrowing the video in the meantime, meaning that it
wouldn't be available when needed.  Hmmm...

> Can we group patrons?  We serve schools, and would like to view/send
> all the materials for school A, no matter who the patron is, all the
> materials for school B, etc.

If I understand your question correctly, the answer is 'yes' -- put each
group in a separate 'borrower category.'

> Our 'library' is about 6000 video tapes, no books, so slightly
> different setup.  All of them are in MARC records now under the Dynix
> system.  We want patrons to be able to search and reserve videos on
> their own that we then send out several times a week.

Gawd, seems like Dynix is overkill for your needs (and I'm sure it's also
killing your budget).  Looking at Koha sounds like a smart move!

> Mike
> --
>
> Michael Richardson		REMC #1 Network Administrator
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-- 
Stephen Hedges
Skemotah Solutions, USA
www.skemotah.com  --  shedges at skemotah.com