[Koha] How to sort out item types and colelctions

[Sharon Moreland]

We use four elements to help classify materials in our shared catalog  
(15 unique libraries with unique collections).
For most libraries, the call number helps identify where in the  
library a collection is housed.  We set up the shelving location (LOC  
authorized value table) to designate both location and age: Childrens,  
Cataloging, Adult or Young Adult (only a few of our libraries  
interfile adult and juvenile materials).  The other elements are Item  
Type, which is very broad and Collection Code (CCODE) to designate  
genre or material type.

CCode examples: Western, Romance, DVD, VHS, etc.

Item Type examples:  Book, Audiobook, Newbook (no renewals),  
equipment, magazine, etc.

So, an adult non-fiction book would be: call number 000 ABC, Item  
type: BOOK, Shelving location: Adult, and CCODE: Nonfiction

I hope this helps.

Sharon Moreland
Technology Consultant
Northeast Kansas Library System
NExpress Shared Catalog
www.nexpresslibrary.org


On Dec 2, 2008, at 7:29 PM, Joann Ransom wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> I am setting up our test Koha 3.0 and am wondering how Koha 3.0 is  
> designed to handle item types and collections. Turns out we have 3  
> different ways to solve the same problem! There must be a better  
> way ...
>
> *1st method: Adult Non Fiction. (insert a prefix before dewey number  
> in classification field)*
> These are all purchased from the 1 budget but go into different  
> collections within the Adult Nonfiction: So ItemType= BN and for  
> each of the sub-collections we enter a prefix in the classification  
> classification field: ie Horowhenua Collection: H993.101 or Maori  
> Colletion M572.8 etc). This is good enough but we want to move to  
> breaking our collection up into living rooms or subject categories  
> housed together and wonder if this method will usefully scale  
> upwards. How, for instance, will this translate usefully into the  
> OPAC view?
>
> *2nd Method: Fiction (insert a category statement into the  
> classificatoin field)*
> So they all get item type BF but then in the classifiction field we  
> enter: F-Mystery or F-Romance or F-Western etc.
>
> *3rd Method : Junior Fiction (Distinct item types for each  
> subcollection)*
> ie Junior Castle collection: item type BJC, Junior Kermit  
> Collection: itemtype BJK and the main junior fiction sequence: item  
> type: BJF
>
> While we are very very clever being able to manage 3 such different  
> solutions to what is essentially the same problem; it is clearly  
> ridiculous. Learning of any other ways to approach the management  
> subcollections in Koha 3.0 would be greatly appreciated!.
>
> Cheers
>
> Joann Ransom.
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