Numbering your books
Most libraries will want to track individual copies of books. This lets you keep track of which borrower has which copy. To do this with Readerware there are two requirements:
Each copy must be entered into the database separately
Each copy must have a unique ID
Adding books to your database
To add each copy to the database separately, simply use auto-catalog as normal and scan the ISBN on each copy.
There is one change you may have to make first. By default Readerware rejects duplicate ISBNs. You change this setting in preferences. Select the Preferences menu item, then Database, then Preferences. Make sure that the
Allow Duplicate ISBNs
option is checked.
Assigning a unique ID to every copy
As you add each book to the database Readerware assigns it a unique ID, we call this the Book ID. You can add the Book ID column to the table view and see the ID assigned to each book.
As you are adding each copy separately, each copy will have a unique ID.
The ID will be unique and will never change. As you delete books from the database, there will be gaps in the ID. This is normal, a Book ID is never reused.
This is the easiest way to assign a unique ID to every book, let Readerware do it for you. You can then print Book ID barcode labels for your books from within Readerware.
However there may be times when you want your own IDs. Readerware has a database column for this called User Number. If you prefer you can enter your own IDs in the User Number column. Again, you can then print User Number barcode labels for your books from within Readerware.
There are also companies that will print asset tags and asset barcode labels for you. If you prefer to go this route all you need to do is place the barcode label on the book and then scan it into the Readerware User Number column.
Checking books out
The fastest way to check a book out is to simply scan the ID barcode on the book, this identifies the particular copy you are checking out.
If you are using the Book ID column, select a Book ID search and scan your barcode.
If you have assigned your own numbers, select a User Number search and scan the barcode.
Remember to setup the
default search
to whatever ID field you are using.
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