Koha 22.11: New Borrower Fields and Patron Import Options

by Sara Brown on May 23, 2023

New pronoun and middle name fields

These two enhancements - Bug 10950 Add pronoun field to patron record and Bug 21978 Add middle name field - add dedicated free text fields for patrons' pronouns and middle names.

When creating or editing patrons' records, libraries will see these two new fields:

Patrons’ pronouns will display in the brief information panel and directly under their name in their account Details tab. Middle names appear between patrons’ first and last names. Middle names display in patrons' accounts in the OPAC, but pronouns do not.

This introduces new fields to the 22.11 schema:

Pronouns field -- borrowers.pronouns, deletedborrower.pronouns, borrower_modification.pronouns

Middle name -- borrowers.middle_name, deletedborrowers.middle_name, borrower_modification.middle_name

The Middle name field will be included by default in DefaultPatronSearchFields for libraries who had First name selected.

As with other patron data fields, these can be made required with BorrowerMandatoryField or hidden with BorrowerUnwantedField, and can be available for patrons to edit through their Koha OPAC account.

Many libraries have repurposed a different patron field or are using a patron attribute for pronouns. Similarly, some libraries have been including middle names in the First name field. If your library would like assistance moving such data to the new Pronouns or Middle name fields, please submit a ticket.

Update account expiration dates during patron import

Bug 27920 Add ability to update patron expiration dates when importing patrons adds options for handling patrons’ expiration dates when their information is overwritten by import. When a library selects ‘Overwrite the existing one with this’ (that is, when a library wants to overwrite an existing patron record with the data in the import file) there are now options to renew those patrons accounts in one of three ways:

Using the datexpiry in the file, if any – Note that if the file includes a dateexpiry column with blank values, the expiration date will be set to the date of import. Libraries who have been importing patrons with a blank dateexpiry column will need to update their files to prevent setting inaccurate account expiration dates.

From the current membership expiry date – Koha will calculate the patron’s new expiration date from their current account expiration date using the time set in their patron category.

From the current date – Koha will renew the patron’s account from the date of import using the time set in their patron category.

More 22.11 upgrades:
Koha 22.11: Upgrades Hub
Koha 22.11 Upgrade Notes
Koha 22.11: Patron Upgrades