FAQ

Which MARC tag and subfield do I use?

In Alexandria, it’s easy to catalog items whether you understand MARC tags and subfields or not. However, if you can’t find a spot for the information you want to add in a title record, you may need to switch to MARC View and add it that way. So… where can you go to find information about what each tag and subfield represents?

The Library of Congress (LOC) website has a special section devoted to MARC tags and fields, which shows what each tag and subfield represent and examples of how each is used.

To get to the Library of Congress MARC webpage:

Go tohttp://www.loc.gov/marc.
Click on Bibliographic under the MARC Formats section or Bibliographic under the MARC LITE section.
Use the Table of Contents to select a portion of MARC information you would like to learn about.
Use links from the resulting page to view specific tag information.

You can also click Read About This Tag when looking at a specific tag in MARC View to go straight to the relevant LOC page.

Now that I have done my inventory, how can I remove my lost and discarded copies?

Before making any changes, it is recommended that you run the Discarded Copies and Lost Copies reports to get a list of what will be removed. To do this, follow these steps:

Go to Operations
Select Reports
Categories: Copies
Select Lost Copies
Select Run
Repeat the steps for Discarded Copies

Once you have reviewed your reports and are ready to remove the lost and discarded copies, follow these steps:

Go to Operations
Select Utilities
Categories: Copies
Select Remove Lost Copies
In the Selections tab, you can enter the selections you want to filter your utility. You can just leave this section blank to remove all discarded or lost copies.
Select Run
Repeat the steps for Discarded Copies

Please keep in mind that using these utilities will permanently remove all lost and/or discarded items from your Alexandria database.

How can I get a list of all items that are checked out and their due dates?

To get a list of all the items that are checked out along with their due dates, follow these simple steps:

Select Operations
Select Reports
Categories: Circulation
Select Loaned Items Information
Select Run

Once the report is generated, you can see all the checked-out items along with their due dates. Any due date that appears in red indicates that the item is overdue.

Can I change the Browse by options?

At this time, you can’t pick exactly which browse by options you want to show. However, you can control if Top Rated and Study Programs show, by turning on/off those features in Builder > Searching.

We have a new librarian. How can I add them as an Alexandria operator?

To add an Operator, you need to create their record in the Patrons Management just like you would for any other patron. Then, you should grant the new operator the appropriate access permissions by navigating to the Access tab and adjusting the security settings. If you’re unsure about which access permissions to assign, please refer to Security.

Remember If you select the Librarian Security group or a higher level, the account will need to have an email address associated with it. In addition to reviewing the security groups page, please also see our Password Management Best Practices.

How do I perform a full inventory?

Performing a full inventory is easy with the help of Alexandria’s Inventory Helper. You can access all the necessary inventory information on our free online support center, HERE. Additionally, we highly recommend checking out our YouTube channel HERE to view short videos that provide more helpful tips on inventorying your collection.

I’m having an issue where my barcode labels are printing off the label sheet. Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this problem?

If your barcode labels are misaligned, overlapping, or off-centered, troubleshoot the issue with Barcode Your Collection.

How do I manually add a new book to my catalog?

Adding a new book to your Alexandria catalog is easy with the SmartMARC Title Assistant. View a step-by-step video tutorial HERE.

What barcode Symbology does Alexandria Use?

Alexandria uses Code 39 or Code 3 of 9. For more information on barcodes, see Barcode Your Collection

School has started and I want to clean up my item records. Is there an easy way to clean up mediums and genres?

You can do this in Authority Control, which is the part of the program that helps a user manage terms and edit, modify, or even remove them when no longer in use. To access Authority Control go to Tools and select Authority Control. You will find terms listed under both patron and item field headings.

By using the gear at the top you can select “Remove unused terms” to clean up some of these fields. This will only remove a term if none are entered into an item or patron record under the corresponding field. If you have any questions about best practices for managing Authority Control terms we recommend you call Customer Support for guidance and advice.