[Koha] Where's the Dewey - CLARIFICATION NEEDED!!

[Steven F. Baljkas]

Tuesday, October 19, 2004     15:49 CDT

Hi, Stephen,

Just a quick rejoinder on this subject ...

> Baljkas Family said:
>
> > I feel like the voice crying in the wilderness, but here I go again:
What
> > Koha needs to do is ADOPT/ASSIGN A STANDARDISED/DEFAULT (modifiable if
you
> > wish) MARC TAG FOR THE CALL NUMBER TO BE USED/DISPLAYED BY THE SYSTEM.
> >
> > This number could be contained in the 090, it could be in 852, etc.
There
> > are several options. (LC's actual number is in the 050, with
> > qualifications on actual locations in 925 and 955.) Different ILS
usually
> > make one location the default and unlike Koha don't give anyone the
right
> > to change that. If, in Open Source spirit, you wish to make this
> > modifiable, that is super: just, please, please, please MAKE A DECISION.
> > Dare to be autocratic.
>
> Why be autocratic?  Why mandate the tags that can be used for local
> information?  I think we should continue to let libraries either use their
> current MARC layout or devise their own local information tag and then
> just tell Koha where to find the information, instead of hard-coding a
> certain tag and subfield where everyone has to put their local call
> number.

The reason is very simple, Stephen: many people don't want to be programmers
and are nervous/afraid to try to make alterations to code.

It may be hard to believe for someone with your computer skills, but many of
us feel quite comfortable adapting ourselves to certain system constraints.
In fact, we are used to having to do so. None of the ILS that I have dealt
with have ever given users the choice of where the local call number used
goes. At the most, a few systems have allowed the librarians decisions of
which tags get displayed for the OPAC (something else Koha also does,
whichyou clarified for me several weeks back).

I am wondering, though, whether we are thinking about this in the same way.
When you say "hard-coding", do you mean making a change that would be
unalterable or at least extremely difficult to alter?

What I meant wasn't that. I am suggesting that there be a default tag for
the local call number used (in the definition of MARC tags) already in Koha
when one downloads it.

For groups that are new to MARC and thus have no records to convert over, it
would be very simple to accept a preset location for the local call number.

I did not mean to suggest that it be made unalterable or fiendishly tricky
to change, but I do see value in setting something as a default tag for that
information. (It might even be useful to have a tag set aside where one
could enter the call number as it needs to be printed for spine labels, in
case that is different than the linear display for any reason.)

Remember: one of the things touted by many of the ILS Koha will be competing
with is the idea of a turn-key system. If one can eliminate any steps in
getting it up and running, that only helps Koha seem even more appealing.

Thanks for your answer. Looking forward to your next reply.

Cheers,
Steven F. Baljkas
library tech at large
Koha neophyte
Winnipeg, MB, Canada


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