ODIN



ALEPH Inventory – V.20

I. Preparing for inventory

A. Contact the ODIN office

The first step in making preparations to conduct an inventory of your collection is to notify the ODIN office. The ODIN staff needs to create workspace in the ALEPH ADM module where you are able to transfer scanned barcodes to the server. In order to run Inventory Services in ALEPH, files need to be setup in your ADM’s scratch directory. If you wish to run shelf-list reports, files need to be setup elsewhere. This document covers only what is needed for Inventory Services. The workspace will be discussed in more detail later in this document.

B. Checking Item Records

Assure that your library’s records are ‘inventory ready.’ The various inventory services rely on information from the item record to build report information. If information in the item records is not valid or incomplete, the results of the services will also be invalid or incomplete.

The item record (unless the Temporary Location box in tab2 is checked) pulls its information from its linked holding record (tab6 of the item record). Probably the most commonly found error is a lack of (or incorrect) a Call No. Type. The call number type is pulled from delimiter 1 of the 852 field in the holding record. The call number type should correspond with the schema used in your library (Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress, etc.

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The General Retrieval Form (ret-adm-01) for items is an excellent tool that can be used to assess the health of your item records. In the Circulation module, go to the menu bar and select Services | Items | General Retrieval Form (ret-adm-01). The following workform will appear:

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• Input file: not typically used for this report.

• Output file: the name you will use to retrieve the report in the task manager. It’s recommended you begin report names with your three-letter library code. Remember to not use spaces or special characters (with the exception of the hyphen and underscore).

• Retrieve by: the service offers five retrieve by filters in this report. Using the drop-down menu, select the field you would like to use to retrieve item records and list the criteria in the empty fields that follow. Many times, using the Collection Code as the field and entering your specific code in the first blank line (such as MAIN or AUDIO) will provide a report that is small enough to work with. If you leave these fields blank, the system will attempt to retrieve all item records in your library, and many times the report is too large to work with.

• Build Batch Report: Select ‘Yes’ to create a report that can be retrieved in the task manager.

• Report Format: Select the report format that includes Call Number Type, as this is the most common field lacking information.

• Sort Report By: Select title, call number or last inventory date.

• Click Submit on the right side of the box to submit the report to the server.

The report can be retrieved in the Task Manager once it’s completed. Notice in the sample report below that the first two items are missing their call number type, when the type should be ‘0’ for Library of Congress classification. These records would have to be fixed (and keep in mind when working with call numbers, you will want to alter the holding record which will in turn update the item record) before an inventory is conducted. If they are not fixed, the services will not pick up these items.

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*Note: if you find that you have a prohibitive number of records that need to be fixed, please contact the ODIN office via a help desk ticket, and we may be able to assist you by means of a global update.

C. Rebuild the Call Number Sort Key

After any holdings have been altered, it’s typically necessary to rebuild the call number sort key. The rebuild assures that all call numbers adhere to their specific filing routing, and they will sort in proper order. Even if you do not make any changes to records, rebuilding the call number index is always a recommended task prior to conducting inventory. Even for the largest collections, this service typically takes only minutes to run.

To run this indexing service, in the Circulation module go to the menu bar and select Services | Items | Rebuild Call Number Sort Key (item-06). The following dialog box will appear:

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This service requires no parameters to be entered – simply click ‘Submit.’ No output file is generated, but you can monitor the progress of the job via the Batch Log node of the Task Manager. The service is listed in the log as p_item_06, and once it has ended, you are ready to conduct your inventory.

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II. Scan Barcodes

Decide where you wish to begin the inventory. Be certain to note the beginning and ending call numbers of the range of barcodes you are scanning. Additionally, please be certain that no files you create are longer than 500 barcodes in length.

Barcodes can be scanned in any manner that will produce a file with one barcode per line. Several libraries own or have access to a Percon Scanner. Instructions for setting up and using the Percon Scanner can be found on the Circulation Training page of the ODIN site (in the ODIN created documents drop-down):

There are other brands of scanners that can be purchased as well, just be certain before buying that they are capable of scanning 14 digit barcodes and will produce a file that lists one barcode per line. Lastly, it is possible to scan barcodes into a Notepad file using a laptop with an attached scanner.

III. Uploading scanned barcodes to the server

Once barcodes have been scanned into a file, you are ready to transfer the barcodes to the ALEPH server for further processing. Files are set-up in your ALEPH ADM (Tables) module, where the list of barcodes can be copied and pasted directly into the file. Inventory reports require the barcode information be in the ADM’s scratch directory – indicated below in column one by xxx50_scratch.

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Open and check-out the file same as you would any other file in the table directory. Be certain to keep track of which file you are using, and to note what name the file is being saved as, which is listed in column two - the description column. You will notice there is information already in the file – either a note that the file has been created, or perhaps a list of barcodes from a prior run. It is necessary for this file to contain data – if the file is saved ‘empty’ it will become corrupted and unusable until fixed on the server. Delete the information you find in the file, and paste in the barcodes you’ve just scanned (remember the limit of 500 barcodes per file). Save the file and check it in as you would any table located in the tables navigator.

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IV. Inventory Services

A. Inventory Reports

The inventory reports are listed below, and are used in conjunction with scanned barcode files that have been copied into your ADM’s scratch directory. All services are located in the Circulation module of ALEPH.

1. Inventory Definition (item-01)

To create, or mark, the range of items you will be working with, it is necessary to run the Inventory Definition service. In the Circulation module, go to the menu bar and select Services | Inventory | Inventory Definition (item-01). The following dialog box will appear:

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• Output file: enter a name for the report that will be generated by this service. This name will be used to retrieve the report from the task manager.

• From Call Number: use the beginning call number of the range you scanned; if possible, it is best to use information before the cutter (for example, 158.32 instead of 158.32 CAN for Dewey and LB3572 instead of LB3572 .D73)

• To Call No.: use the ending call number of the range you scanned; if possible, it is best to use information before the cutter (for example, 158.32 instead of 158.32 CAN for Dewey and LB3572 instead of LB3572 .D73)

• Call No. Type: select the call number type from the drop-down menu

• First/Second Call No.: typically select first call number

• Sublibrary: select your sublibrary

• Collection: enter the ALEPH collection code for the section scanned

• Item Status: chose to include or exclude particular item statuses if desired

• Item Process Status: chose to include or exclude particular item process statuses if desired

• Material Type: chose to include or exclude particular material types if desired

• Inventory Definition Report Format: there is currently only one format available

The Inventory Definition Report locates the items in the database that should be included within the inventory based on the parameters you’ve set. It assigns this definition a shelf report number which is necessary for use in future services. Additionally, the report will indicate if prior reports have included the same parameters you’ve defined, and which reports have been overridden based on the new shelf report. Sample Inventory Definition Report:

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Note: It is important to note, that the Last Invent. Report Date in tab3 of the item record is updated with the date that the Inventory Definition is created.

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2. Inventory Marking (item-08)

To compare your file of scanned barcodes to the shelf report, it is necessary to run the Inventory Marking job. In the Circulation module, go to the menu bar and select Services | Items | Inventory Marking (item-08). The following dialog box will appear:

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• Input File: use the name of the ADM scratch file where you saved the list of barcodes (found in the description field in ALEPH ADM)

• Shelf Report Number: use the shelf report number created in the Inventory Definition service

• Produce Errors Report?: determine if you wish a report of errors to be created

• Report File: enter a name for the report that will be generated by this service. This name will be used to retrieve the report from the task manager.

• Missing/Lost Item Process Statuses: indicate which process statuses are regarded as lost or missing. Items with this process status will appear in the report if ‘Item is lost or missing’ is checked in the Detect Errors field. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: This service does update the database. If the system finds that any items in the barcode input file have the same process status as the statuses selected in this section, it will remove the process status from the item record (in other words, if you scanned an item on the shelves that has a process status of ‘Lost’ the system deems the item as found, and removes the status from the record). The system does NOT make any alterations as far as discharging a checked-out item, or refunding money for a lost book that was paid for. These corrections need to be done manually. Be certain to check ‘Item is Lost or Missing’ option in the Detect Errors field in order to see which items the system updated. This is the only record made of updated items.

• Detect Errors: indicate which error types will display in the error report. NOTE: If any statuses were selected in the Missing/Lost Item Process Statuses section above, be certain to check ‘Item is Lost or Missing’ as this serves as your only notification of records that have been changed.

• Errors Report Format: currently there is only one report format type available

The Inventory Marking report shows any discrepancies found between the shelf report and the file of scanned barcodes, such as items that aren’t in the database, items that aren’t included in the shelf report (but are a part of the database), missing items, misshelved items, or items that the database indicates are checked out. These discrepancies can then be dealt with on a case by case basis. Sample Inventory Marking report:

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3. Inventory Summary (item-09)

A service can be run to create a list of items that are a part of the shelf report, but were not in the file of scanned barcodes. Additionally, these items can automatically be updated to reflect a process status such as Missing. To run the Inventory Summary job, in the Circulation module go to the menu bar and select Services | Items | Inventory Summary (item-09). The following dialog box will appear:

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• Shelf Report Number: use the shelf report number created in the Inventory Definition service

• Report File: enter a name for the report that will be generated by this service. This name will be used to retrieve the report from the task manager.

• Barcodes Output File (not found items): enter a name for the file of barcodes that weren’t found, if you wish to create one in the library’s scratch directory, which can be used as an input file for other services.

• Missing/Lost Item Process Statuses: indicate which process statuses are regarded as lost or missing. Items with this status will be regarded as accounted for, and won’t be reported as ‘not found.’

• Update Database: indicate if you wish to update the database. Doing so will automatically make changes to the processing statuses of items that were not found.

• If updating, change to process status: indicate which processing status the system should update not found items to, if update database is set to yes in the above field.

• Sort Report By: the report can be sorted by call number, title, author, or last return date/hour

• Report Format: select the desired report format

If the Update Database flag was set to yes, the items listed below (which were a part of the shelf report, but their barcodes were not found in the file of scanned barcodes) would automatically have its item process status updated to Missing. Sample Inventory Summary report:

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4. Inventory Report (item-10)

To view a list of the items included in a particular shelf report, the service Inventory Report can be run. The report will indicate which items have been ‘found’ in the inventory process, and which have not. This report is for informational purposes only, and is not required to conduct the inventory process. In the Circulation module, go to the

menu bar and select Services | Items | Inventory Report (item-10). The following dialog box will appear:

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• Shelf Report Number: enter the shelf report number created in the Inventory Definition Report (item-01)

• Report File: enter a name for the report that will be generated by this service. This name will be used to retrieve the report from the task manager.

• Sort Report By: the report can be sorted by call number, title, author or sequence

• Report Format: there is currently only one report format available.

The Inventory Report will create a bibliography of items that are included in a particular shelf report. Sample Inventory Report:

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