Customize Your Acquisition Process

by Kelly McElligott on Jul 22, 2020

System Preferences

Reviewing and exploring some of Koha's System Preferences- will help you customize your Acquisition workflow.

AcqCreateItem- this system preference can be set at a default value. This default value will be applied to each new basket. At the time of creation, the basket value "Create an item when" can be changed. The values include:

Create an Item at the time of: Cataloging, Receiving, or Placing an Order.

The system preference, AcqItemSetSubfieldsWhenReceived, can be used if the library is creating an item when the order has been placed (AcqCreateItem=Placing An Order)

AcqItemSetSubfieldsWhenReceived- this system preference can be set to update a subfield/s upon receipt if they were created when placing an order.

To set up this system preference, a library will do the original value of the subfield, followed by an equal sign, and the value that you wish that subfield to be updated to.

For example:

If an item is created at the time of order and the subfield 7 (Not for Loan) was set to be -1 (Ordered). To assist in the workflow, at the time of receipt, the library would like it to go from Ordered (-1) to In Processing (-2), the value of this system preference would look like this:

7=-2

When the item is received in Acquisitions, the holding will change from the Not for Loan status of Ordered, to In Processing. This is extremely helpful when determining where the item is in the Acquisition process.

Another useful system preference for your Acquisition workflow, UseACQFrameworkForBiblioRecords.

Frameworks when cataloging are extremely useful especially when doing Fast Cataloging. There is also the ability to create and use an Acquisition Framework. This can format the library's bibliographic records during Acquisitions and set default values to item holdings. If this system preference is set to USE- then you can customize this Acquisition Framework to work for your process.

ACQ Framework

Frameworks can determine what bibliographic fields show up when cataloging, which fields are mandatory, what fields are set to have default values, and which can be hidden.

In this blog post, we will dive into customizing the Acq framework to determine what fields can be filled out during the Acquisition process and also entering in default values for the 952 (item holding fields).

First, your library will need to make sure there is an ACQ framework in your Koha system. Frameworks can be found under Administration-under the Cataloging Section. Helpful blog post on customizing the catalog details:

Adding the Ability to Configure Catalog Details in Acquisitions

But you can also customize the Item Level fields from this Acquisition Framework, which will be extremely helpful for a few fields that can be set as a default. Just like default values can be added to the Default Framework, default values can also be added to the Acquisitions Framework.

Here is a tutorial video on adding default values:

Monday Minutes: Adding Default Values in a Framework

For the Acquisition process, a library may want to add a default value for the 'Not for Loan' status. If when a library added an item to the order, a convenient value for this status would be ordered.

Finding the value of the 'Not for Loan' status can be found in the Administration Module under Authorized Values:

Once the value of the 'Not for Loan' status is retrieved, this value can be placed in your Acquisitions framework under the 952$7 field.

Steps:

Administration - Marc Bibliographic Frameworks

Actions- Marc Structure

At this point, you can either search for the specific marc field and subfield in the search box: 952$7

or at the 952 line- choose "Edit Subfields".

Enter your default value under the 7 tab.

More Framework Resources

Here are some other help

Video Tutorial on Editing Frameworks in Koha

New Education Website

If you missed the Monday Minute episode where Jessie and I show off the new Education Website:

Monday Minutes: New Education Website

Go check it out : koha.bywatersolutions.com