FAQ

I noticed that I have ten extra patrons that I was not aware of. Who are these additional patrons?

The ten additional patrons you see are default System Patrons in Alexandria. These specific patrons cannot be removed, but they can be very helpful to you and your library. To learn more about System Patrons, please visit our System Patrons support center page.

How do I check in a Temporary item barcode?

Temporary items are checked in the same way as other items. However, once the temporary item is checked back in, the transaction record and temporary item (barcode) information are removed from Alexandria. As a result, you will no longer be able to see any information regarding the temporary item after it has been checked in.

I am adding several eBooks to our collection. How should I catalog them?

Cataloging eBooks is simple but slightly different from what you may be used to. Unlike a book with a physical copy, eBooks do not require a copy barcode. Please visit our free online support center for Best Practices for eBooks to find out all the steps you will need to catalog your eBooks.

I have multiple copies of the same book with different title records. Is there a way to combine them?

Yes, merging the title records is an easy process. Please follow the steps below to complete this:

Open Items
Search for the title records you wish to merge and choose the one you want to keep
Unlock the program
Select the Actions Menu
Choose Move Copies to Title
Enter the barcodes of the copies you want to move
Select Save

Once you have moved the copies, you can delete the title record you no longer need.

How can I add an email address to send out notices?

To start sending email notices, you must first configure your email preferences. Please refer to our email preferences page for step-by-step instructions.

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.