Bookworm
Media Catalog System
User Guide Table of Contents
Special Controls
General
Main Menu and Toolbar
The menu and toolbar shown above
are the primary means of navigation to the different tasks in the system. The most common tasks are available on the
toolbar. All tasks are available on the
menu. Each task is explained in more
detail throughout this document.
Login
The Bookworm application requires a
user to specify credentials in order to gain full access to the
application. Credentials are not
required if the only access needed is to search the inventory of media. If this is the case, press the “Student
Access” button to obtain search only capabilities to the application.
NOTE: Credentials are setup through the School
Administration System.
Catalog
Enter New Media
The catalog of
books and other media contained within the library can be entered into the
application through the New option on the Catalog menu, or by pressing the New
button on the toolbar. The following
information can be collected about each media item.
|
Accession
Number |
A unique
number for each media item. See Using Accession Numbers for more
information. The Accession Number is
always required. |
|
ISBN |
ISBN number
found on the book. The ISBN number is
required if online retrieval is used. |
|
Location |
This is
always a value of “Library” in this version. Future versions may support other locations |
|
Call Number |
Call Number
of the book |
|
Binding |
Type of
binding; paperback, hardback, etc. |
|
Media |
Type of
media; book, DVD, newspaper, magazine, etc. |
|
Series |
The series
of the book, such as “Harry Potter”, “Dr Seuss”, etc. |
|
Book Number |
The book
number as specified within the series |
|
Title |
Title of
the book or media |
|
Author |
Name of
author. Up to 4 authors can be specified. NOTE: It is recommended entering the author in LastName, Firstname format. |
|
Reading
Level |
Grade level
in which the media is targeted. |
|
Interest
Level |
Estimated
age range of student which may be interested in contents of media. |
|
AR Book |
Is this
book an Accelerated Reader Book? |
|
AR Points |
If it is an
AR Book, how many points is it worth |
|
AR Test |
Does the
library currently have the AR Test for this book? |
|
Subject |
Helpful for
search for different types of books.
The subject is a generic term that can be determined by the library. |
|
Description |
Description
of book, often times this is the description from the back cover of book or
the copyright page. Description can
also be retrieved online. |
|
Genre |
Genre of
book; such as Religious, Fiction, etc.
This is provided to allow searching for groups of media. Genres cam be determined by library. |
|
Purchase
Location |
The
location the media was purchased |
|
Purchase
Date |
Date of
purchase |
|
Purchase
Price |
Cost of
media |
|
Notes |
Free form
field. Any information can be
entered. |
|
Medal
Winner |
If the book
is a Medal Winner, specifies the
source. |
|
Proofed |
Has media
been proofed? See Online Retrieval |
|
Review
Source |
Where this
media was reviewed |
|
Priority |
Priority of
media to obtain. |
Search/Edit
Media
To search an edit media select the Catalog | Edit menu option or select Edit
from the toolbar. The search/edit is
comprised of three screens, each described below…
The first screen is
the Search screen. This provides a wide
variety of ways to search for media.
The search is an inclusive search, which means that all values specified
will be included in the search. For
example, if values of 3.5 and 6.0 are
entered into the Reading Level AND a value of “Fiction” is entered into the
Genre then the search will find all media that has a Reading Level between 3.5
and 6.0 AND a Genre of “Fiction”. The
only exception to this is the Accession Number; if this is specified then all
other search criteria are ignored. The
order of the media can also be specified using the Sort By drop down. Once the
criteria is specified press ENTER or the Search
button and the search will take place.
If only one media is found in the search, the Edit screen is displayed; otherwise the List screen will appear.
The List screen
contains summary information about the media.
The media that is highlighted may be selected by pressing ENTER or the Select button (you can also double-click
on any line to select that media). This
will take the screen to the Edit
screen for that particular media. To
return to the Search screen select the Search
hyperlink at the top of the screen.
NOTE: If the current status is blank this
indicates the media is currently in the library.
The Edit screen contains the detail
information about the media. The Proofed check box should be checked once
all the information for the displayed media has been reviewed. The Description
and Notes can be expanded by clicking the left mouse button on the
Description label (shown as a hyperlink).
The Description provides information about the contents of the
media. For example, if the media is a
book, often times the information from the back cover of the book will be
entered here. This information is shown
to students when only Student Access
is granted. The Notes field is a free
form text used by the Librarian to specify anything about the book deemed
important to the Librarian. This value
will not be seen when only Student Access
is granted.
Also notice the
internet can be searched using the
button to the right of the ISBN value to provide title, author and
description information (see Online Retrieval).
The left and right
navigation buttons will move forward and back through the list of media based
on the selection criteria. These
buttons are disabled when only one media is found. Information is automatically saved when using these navigation
buttons so there is no need to explicitly save any changed information.
To navigate back to
the List screen press the List hyperlink at the top of the screen.
Online Retrieval
Entering
media information into the application is a time consuming process. The application has the capability of
searching the internet for three of the stored values; title, author and
description. Since the description takes
a large portion of the data-entry time this feature should help cut down on the
data entry time significantly.
Note:
The administrator or
technical support staff will need to turn this capability on before it can be
used.
The Internet Search feature uses the
ISBN Number to search the internet for the book information. Therefore the ISBN Number is required before
the search will take place.
One
method of searching the book information is during the data entry of the
book. To search using this method
select the button to the right of the ISBN Number after the ISBN Number is
entered
Depending
on the speed of your internet connection it could take anywhere from five to
thirty seconds to search each book.
Because of this, a better method for searching is through the Online Retrieval batch process. To access the batch process, first enter
the Accession Number and ISBN Number using the Data Entry process (see Enter New Media).
Other information may be entered but the Accession Number and ISBN
Number are the only required pieces of information.
Note:
If you wish for the online retrieval process to retrieve the title,
author and description, do not enter this information. The online retrieval process will not
override any information entered manually.
After
entering as many books as desired, select the Online Retrieval process from the Catalog menu (see Figure 1).
The screen that is displayed will show the number of books that are
ready to be searched. Press the
Execute button to begin the online retrieval process.
Note:
The application uses a
service called ISBNdb for its online searching. This service allows 500 searches a day at no cost. If you require the capability to search for
more than 500 books a day please contact your Administrator.
Although
the batch process will fill out the title, author and description, it may not
always properly format the information.
Therefore it is recommended that the information be proofed after the
process is complete. To do this go to
the Catalog Edit screen, enter “Not
Proofed” from the Include drop down
and press Search. This will give you a list of all books that
have been processed online but not yet reviewed. Select any record in the list to go to the detail screen. You can quickly navigate from one record to
another using the navigation buttons.
Information is automatically saved when using the navigation buttons so
there is no need to select the Save button.
Figure 1
Circulation
This
section describes the means to track the circulation of media. Most screens within the Circulation module
require the selection of the student, the media or both. The containers used to select students and
media are the same for most screens within the Circulation module therefore
they are described here.
Student Selection
Figure 2
See
the Student Selection Control section
for information on how to select a student.
In addition to the selection of the student, this section displays the
Birth Date and Grade Level of the student to help verify the selected student
is the correct student. The Notes field
provides a way for the user to enter special notes about the student. These notes will appear anytime this student
is selected throughout the application.
The right hand side displays the historical information of the media for
the student. It shows what media has
been checked out in the past and what is currently checked out. It also shows what media is being held for
the student, and anytime a media is lost or damaged by the student. Any information in red indicates the media
is still recorded in the system as checked out.
Media Selection
Figure 3
See the Media Selection Control section for
information on how to select media. In
addition to the selection of the media, this section displays the ISBN Number
and Author to help identify the media as the correct one. Also the AR Points, AR Test and Reading
Level are displayed for the librarian to assure the student is checking out
books suitable for them. The right hand
side displays the historical information of the students who have checked out
this media or have this media on hold.
Any information in red indicates the media is still recorded in the
system as checked out.
Informational Messages
On occasion a yellow
“message” box will appear below the student or media section. (See Figure 3 for an
example). The messages indicate the
system has recognized something unusual.
In the example in Figure 3 the selected media is
shown to be currently checked out by another student. This means either the incorrect media was selected or the media
was not recorded into the system when it was checked in. These messages will sometimes prevent you
from continuing until another action is taken.
Other times, as in the case in the example, the application will
automatically execute a default action if the current process is
continued. In the example in Figure 3 if the media is checked out to John Doe the
application will automatically mark the media as checked in for Jane Doe.
Check Out
Use this feature to track the media
that is checked out by students. Both
the student name and the media are required.
The upper section is the Student Selection. The middle section is the Media Selection.
The lower section contains the Check Out and Due Dates. By default the Check Out date is the current
date and the Due Date is seven days from the check out date. These values can be changed when necessary. See the Date
Control for more information about how to enter dates.
Use this feature when the media is
returned to the library. This not only
pertains to media that is checked out of the library, but also media that is
lost or damaged. If media is lost and
later found, use the Check In feature to record that it is returned to the
library. If the media is damaged and
then repaired, use the Check In feature to record it as returned to the library. When checking in media, only the media or
the student needs to be entered. Choose
which piece of information to enter by selecting either the “By Media” or “By
Student” hyperlink at the top of the page.
Figure 4 shows an example of the screen when “By Media” is
selected. Once the media is entered the
student information will automatically be displayed in the lower half of the
screen. The check in date defaults to
the current date but this can be changed.
Figure 5 shows an example of the screen when “By Student”
is selected. Because Jane Doe has two
books checked out, the lower half of the screen displays a list. Using the checkbox on the far left of the
list, select all media being checked in.
If only one media is checked out to the specified student, the lower
half of the screen will show the one media in a more detail view instead of
showing the media in a list.
Figure 4
Figure 5
Renew
Use
this feature to extend the time period the current student has the media
checked out. Like the check in feature,
only the media OR the student needs to be specified to find the circulation
information.
Note: Media
may also be renewed by using the Check Out feature. This method requires more steps and time because it requires you
to specify the media and the student but nevertheless is can be used if you
prefer staying on the Check Out screen.
Use
this feature to reserve media for a student when the media is currently not
available to be checked out. Both the
student and media information needs to be specified to place media on
hold. At the bottom of the screen enter
the release date, which is the date the media is automatically released from
hold status if not checked out by that date.
The release date defaults to seven days from the due date. Media can be place on hold multiple times. When media is placed on hold multiple times,
the default release date is seven days from the previously held release date.
Use
this feature to record media as being lost.
The selection of media is required but the student is optional. If the name of the student who lost the
media is known, it is recommended to record that information; but it is not
required. If a media is later found, it
can recorded as returned to the library by using the Check In feature.
Damaged
Use
this feature to record media that has been damaged. As with Lost, the selection of the media is required but the
student is optional. If the name of the
student who damaged the book is known, it is recommended to record that
information. Once the media is repaired
it can recorded as returned to library by using the Check In feature.
Discard
Use
this feature to record media being discarded.
Media can be discarded for a number of reasons, such as being too
damaged to repair or media that contains material regarded as
inappropriate. The reason is recommended
but not required.
The
Maintenance feature provides a way to fix any errors that may have occurred
using any of the above circulation features.
It gives full access to all the circulation information and allows
modification of any data, including the ability to delete it. The screen is organized differently than all
the other screens in the Circulation module but the information is the same.
Here
are some common scenarios where the Maintenance feature will be used…
-
Media is checked out using the incorrect check out date. To
correct this error, select the media using the Media
Selection Control and then enter the correct date in the lower right hand
corner of screen.
-
Media is checked out to the wrong student. To
correct this error, select the media using the Media
Selection Control and then enter the correct student using the Student Selection Control (see figure 7).
-
The wrong media is checked out to a student. To
correct this error, go to the “By Student” screen and select the student using
the Student Selection Control and then enter
the correct media using the Media Selection Control
(see figure 8).
Because
the Maintenance feature should be rarely used, it is not available on the
toolbar. The Maintenance feature is
available from the Circulation menu.
Figure 7
Figure 8
System
Most
of the drop down lists contained within the Catalog information can be
modified. New items can be added to the
list; existing items can be changed or reordered. This can all be done using the Codes Editor accessed through the
System menu. To modify information, first select from the
category of items at the top of the screen.
The list of current items for that category will then be displayed.
Select
the New button to add a new item to the list.
A new item is added to the bottom of the list with a blank description. Type the new description in the “Change
description” box. Press the TAB key for
the changes to be reflected in the list.
Note:
The order of the list can be changed by dragging[1] the button on the left of the item in the
list.
To modify an existing item simply highlight
the item in the list and change the value in the “Change description” box.
Items cannot be
removed from the list but they can be marked as obsolete. By marking the item obsolete, the item will
no longer show up in the dropdown list unless the item has already been
specified for the media currently being viewed.
Once the necessary
changes have been made select the Save button to make the changes permanent.
Figure 9
Purge Circulation History
As the application is used over the
years the historical information becomes less important. This module will remove circulation
historical information that occurred before the Purge Date.
Note: This information is permanently
deleted. Please be sure not to enter a
current date.
Accession Number
Accession Numbers provide a way to
easily identify media entered in the application. The Accession Number is required when adding new media in the
application. The following is the
recommended method of assigning accession numbers to media.
-
Pre-print a list of accession numbers using
the Print Accession Numbers feature.
-
Have a sheet of these pre-printed numbers at
hand when entering the media into the application.
-
Just before entering the media into the
application attach an accession number to it.
Select a location that is easily accessible since this will be the most
often used means of identifying the media.
For books, a convenient location is on the top right-hand corner of the
first page (open the cover).
-
Now that the accession number is attached to the
media you can start entering the information into the application, starting
with this accession number. A barcode
scanner can be used to enter the accession number throughout the application.
Printing Accession Numbers
Accession
Numbers can be printed from the Print
Accession Numbers feature under System menu. To print accession numbers you will need ¾” x 1” labels (there
are 7 labels in one row and 14 rows of labels on an 8 ½ x 11” sheet of
paper). If you have a bar code scanner
or plan to use a bar code scanner in the future then check the Print Bar Codes option. You can then specify the Next Accession
Number to print. This should be one
number larger than the last accession number printed previously. Accession Numbers that have already been
entered into the application will not be printed. For example, if you specify the Next Accession Number of 15032
but accession numbers of 15034 and 15036 are already assigned to a book entered
into the application, these numbers will be skipped when printing the accession
numbers.
SPECIAL NOTE: The application is only able to identify accession numbers that
have been entered into the application.
If you have printed accession numbers but have not recorded them in the
application, they will print again if requested.
The last item to
specify is the number of sheets you wish to print. Once this is entered the number of actual labels that will print
is shown to the right of this value (there are 98 labels per sheet).
Once you have
specified all the necessary values and have placed the labels into the printer
press the Print button and the labels
will print.
Reports
There
are several reports in the application.
These reports can be accessed from the File menu.
The
far left hand list provides a way to filter the reports. The middle list contains the list of
available reports, and the right hand view provides a description for each
report. The description is shown for
the highlighted report.
Before
any report is printed a dialog screen appears which allows additional options
to be selected for the selected report.
Each report can be printed immediately or
previewed on the screen. This option
is on the lower left hand side of each selection criteria screen.
When previewing a
report an additional toolbar is displayed.
The first five buttons provide a way to navigate the report. The drop down provides a way to zoom the
report in and out. The next three
buttons specify the number of pages to display at one time. The next button exits preview of the
report. The last button prints the
report. A Windows Print dialog will
always display before printing so information about the printer can be
specified.
Special
Controls
This section describes the controls
used throughout the application. It is assumed the user is familiar with the
Windows controls, therefore only the controls special to the application are
described here.
Student
Selection Control
|
|
This control is
the means of selecting students. You can search by student name or student
ID. If a number is entered it is
assumed to be a student ID. If
alphanumeric characters are entered it is assumed to be a student name. As characters are typed, student names
that match the value will show in a list below the value. The match can occur
anywhere in the name. This gives great flexibility when searching; searching
can take place by last name, first name, or anything in between. For example,
if Kathy comes into the library but you are not sure if she spells her name
with a “K” or a “C”, you can type in “ath” and both spellings will appear in
the list. The list will only appear when at least one, but no more then
twenty names match the typed value. Highlight a row using the up and down
arrow keys (or the mouse) and press the ENTER or TAB key to select a student.
|
Media
Selection Control
This control is the means of selecting
media. You can search by Title or by
Accession Number. If a number is
entered it is assumed to be an Accession Number and will select the correct
media based on the entered value. If
alphanumeric characters are entered it is assumed to be a Title (including the
Series). If a value is entered which
happens to uniquely identify the media then the media will be selected,
otherwise a list of media matching the value will be displayed. The button on the far right of the control
provides a way to quickly edit the selected media information.
Date/Time
Control
|
|
The calendar
control is a robust control which gives the user the ability to easily enter
a date and/or time. In some cases the date and time are both shown, in other
cases only the date or the time are shown. But in all cases, the control
works the same. The most obvious way to enter a value is to type the
appropriate characters. There are many other alternatives to facilitate easy
entry of a value. One way is to use the buttons on the control. The button
just to the right of the date will drop down a calendar. The Less Than |
and
Greater Than