Koha Tutorial Videos
Monday Minutes: Checking In Items
by Kelly McElligott on Jan 22, 2024
In this week's Monday Minutes, Kelly and Jessie discuss the check-in process within Koha. We discuss system preferences and the process itself.
System Preferences
Within the Administration Module in Koha, the Global System Preferences are organized by sections. Those sections can also have sub-sections. For example, the circulation system preferences, when clicked on the left-hand side, can be expanded out to see the subsections. This is a super easy way to look through the system preferences for something specific without having to remember the name of the preference. In our example, we chose to search for the term 'check-in' and from those results also choose the sub-section 'Interface' within Circulation.
Some of the system preferences we discussed were specific to the check-in process:
FineNotifyAtCheckin - should staff be alerted at check-in if the patron has fines
ShowAllCheckins - should all items in the "Checked-in items" list, even items that were not checked out.
WaitingNotifyAtCheckin- should staff be alerted at check-in if the patron has holds waiting for them
SpecifyReturnDate: can staff specify a return date for a check-in.
numReturnedItemsToShow- how many last returned items should show on the check-in screen.
Checking In Items
There are two main ways to check-in material from a patron. Choosing "Check-In" from the top green bar on the staff interface, a barcode can be scanned right into that box. Alternatively, going to the Circulation Module, staff can choose the 'Check In' option.
Circulation Settings
From this screen, check-in settings can also be adjusted, such as: specify return date, forgive overdue charges, and book drop mode.
Specifying Return Date will allow staff to alter what date this item/s is recorded as being returned. For example, if the library had to close early unexpectedly due to a power outage or snowstorm.
Forgive Overdue Charges will allow staff to forgive all overdue charges for items that are getting checked in.
Book Drop Mode will allow staff to check-in items with the last date the library was opened according to the Library's Koha Calendar.
Additional Resources
Read more by Kelly McElligott