Start by exporting the necessary data from your student information system (SIS) in a tab-delimited text format. This file can be imported into Alexandria Librarian to add new patron records and update any existing patron records simultaneously.
You’ll need to create a saved import. Go to the import you want and click Create Saved Import at the bottom of the window. Then you’ll need to enter a name and fill out the Settings tab with your preferences. Lastly, go to the File Source tab and select FTP or FTPS from the Protocol dropdown. Enter your FTP/FTPS server’s information.
If you don’t have your own server, COMPanion offers secure and private folders on our FTP server! If you do have your own server, make sure that it’s using up-to-date technology.
Want to check if it works? Click Test FTP Connection. From there, you can run the import whenever necessary.
 | We recommend using FTP imports for larger files like patron pictures and BestMARC imports. |
See also Patron Imports Best Practices.
Go to Operations Management from your sidenav, or by clicking on the operation (wrench) icon at the top, and click on the blue “i” icon.
When importing files from a vendor, the correct default settings will already be set, and you can simply select “Run.” If you have a custom import or specific needs when updating your titles or copies, we recommend calling Customer Support for assistance.
Learn more in our Import New Books scenario.
Usually this is not necessary. The session start date is set when you scan your first item. You’ll only want to adjust the start date if you scanned an item elsewhere or in the wrong session, to ensure all your items are counted correctly in this session. For that reason we recommend waiting to complete sessions until you are finished with your whole inventory.
Yes you can! Inventory Management sessions will allow you to run reports on anything that has been inventoried in that session range. Exceptions will only show for items scanned in the inventory window, however, you can see exceptions for your transaction script when you import it > Operations > download the summary file.
Nope! When running inventory either through the circulation screen or inventory management, the info is stored in the copy information. Basically, your inventory info is saved each time you scan an item!
See Collection Statistics for the reports we recommend for gathering statistics.
Oops! To prevent this in the future, remember to always use the correct start date and double check which items will be set to lost before completing inventory.
If you caught this quickly, you can restore from a previous archive (usually one from the night before). Please contact Customer Support so they can guide you through this process.
If your library had a lot of circulation or you made significant changes to Alexandria before catching this, you may need to plan a full inventory. You could use the Inventory Bookdrop Suppressed mode in Circulation to quickly scan items back in. This allows you to run your library as usual until you have time to do inventory again.
 | Run a Copies Not Inventoried report before setting anything as lost. That will give you a list of what will be set to lost, and you can correct any mistakes before making a big change. Also be sure to run the Lost Copies report and Discarded Copies report before permanently removing lost or discarded copies. |
Tip: Weeded or discarded items can be removed using a similar Utility called Remove Discarded Copies