Koha Question of the Week: What Determines Material Type in Koha?

by Hebah Amin-Headley on May 12, 2023

Each Friday, we will bring you a new Koha Question of the Week. We will select real questions that we receive and share the answers with you!

Question: What Determines Material Type in Koha?

Answer: The 008, FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION, field in Koha determines the material type .

However, if you make a change to the material type in the 008 and try to save, you may find your changes don't stick. The 008 material type is driven by information in the Leader/06.

A pop-up helper in the basic editor does also provide a hint to that link: "Select a type of material to specify the variable values. Default selection is based on value in Leader/06." However, the Leader/06 is what actually determines the value in the 008, so a change to material type needs to begin with editing the Leader/06.

Additional Resources

Monday Minutes: Cataloging Tips