[Koha] Do you have a need for sub-branches within Koha?

[Baljkas Family]

Thursday, September 23, 2004   02:02 CDT

Hi, Rachel, Roger, et al.,

Regarding --
 
> From: Rachel Hamilton-Williams <rachel at katipo.co.nz>
> Date: 2004/09/23 Thu AM 01:39:28 CDT
> To: koha at lists.katipo.co.nz
> Subject: [Koha] Do you have a need for sub-branches within Koha?
> 
> Hi
> 
> I was wondering wether there are other libraries, particularly corporate 
> or specialty libraries who have a need (or could see one :-) for sub 
> branches.
> 
> The context for this is a Branch which is the office building in a city 
> - e.g. Wellington
> 
> And then a sub branch which is the third floor.

-- IIRC this was somewhat the situation for Roger's law firm in trying to specify locations for various legal volumes.

> This would be quite a lot of stuff to "touch" in Koha - specifically it 
> would involve changing circulation and I think adds a layer of 
> complexity perhaps to issuing and returning items.

Rachel, do you mean in the sense that an item would have to be returned to its originating branch and none other? 

Couldn't that problem be solved, as it is by say my home city's public library system with its 20 some odd branches, by the receiving library simply checking the item out to "In Transit" and returning it by whatever mutual return agreements exist locally? Even various community libraries in Winnipeg with no formal ties to the public library system return public library books mistakenly left with them to the public system, and vice versa. I should think that within the same building, it wouldn't be as much an issue as long as the source/reshelving destination are distinguishable.

> On the other hand I'd imagine that the libraies who would use this 
> wouldn't do that much issuing and returning?

I think you're probably right about that. From what I recall of Roger's example, the use was pretty strictly in-house. 
 
> SO thoughts please?  Is it a useful idea?  Does anyone do it already?

Pretty much anything you can add to an ILS without hampering users who only need the basics is good.

What you are proposing could be very handy for organisational holdings, where there isn't even necessarily a consolidated 'main library' location but where people might need to share what resources there are.

One of our local highschools was originally designed to have 'pod' libraries scattered throughout its complex rather than a single main location; it eventually failed and a series of rooms became the one library in part because they had no computer system subtle and refined enough to do what you are suggesting is possible, Rachel.

I'd definitely be curious to learn, as well, if anyone else knows of decentralised library systems -- perhaps in business or NPO environments -- where this kind of locating detail would be useful?

Good idea, Rachel. :-)

Cheers,
Steven F. Baljkas
library tech at large
Koha neophyte
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
 
> Rachel Hamilton-Williams                Katipo Communications
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