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Recently switched to 7? Get your questions answered.
Inventory FAQs
Make your inventory quick, easy, and extremely efficient.
Reports FAQs
Learn how to make the most of report templates.
Items FAQs
Maintain a clean and searchable catalog.
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Makeover FAQs
We are thrilled to announce our Alexandria and Textbook Tracker Dream Makeover! Yep, that's right. We're giving the programs a new look while adding various improvements, such as responsive design and exciting features. Learn more about it!
Beginning-of-Year FAQs
End-of-Year FAQs
Please learn more about modifying your Grade Table here. Watch our Inventory Workshop. Check out our YouTube channel! Visit our Support Center. Oh man! We have a great workshop for you.How can I modify my Grade Table?
Where can I learn more about inventory and weeding?
Are there more training workshops that I can view?
Where can I get more information on the End-of-Year Procedures?
You mentioned the Alexandria Best Practices for Patrons, where can I get more information on that?
Patrons FAQs
Yes, if a barcode is not included within the import file, Alexandria will automatically assign a barcode to those patrons. You can! First, navigate to Tools > Preferences > Patrons > Patron Defaults tab. In the Barcode Settings section, specify the beginning number for auto-assigned barcodes – choose a number that doesn't conflict with your item barcodes and has enough room to continue sequentially for all future patrons. Learn more in Patron Defaults. This is generally used when importing patrons with SIF. Entering a date will not automatically advance the Patron Grades. Learn more about Grade Table preferences. How do you want notice to be sent? If you'd like the program to do most of the work for you, try Automatic Email Notifications. Go to Tools > Preferences > Circulation. In the Circulation Settings tab, click the Enable Automatic Email Notifications checkbox. This feature automatically sends email notices to the patron's email address for in-stock holds, overdue fees, and a number of other things. Read more about it in Circulation Settings. For those of you who want greater control over your notices – such as when they go out and to whom – use scheduled notice reports. For example, you could set up an Overdue Items and Unpaid Charges Notice report for each grade or homeroom and schedule it to email the teacher every month so they can help remind students. Or a Needed for Reservations Notice report could be sent to the librarian every week. 1. Go to Tools > Reports, and choose the Circulation category and Notices subcategory. And if you find it meets your needs, you can even use both methods at the same time!Can Alexandria assign barcodes to imported patrons?
Can I choose the next patron barcode Alexandria will assign?
When a date is entered to the Advance After field in Grade Table preferences, will grades advance automatically after that date?
What's the best way to automate my patron overdue or hold notices?
2. Test out a few of the reports to see which ones work best for your situation. When you’ve found one, click Create Saved Report at the bottom right.
3. Next, go to the Saved tab, select the report, and unlock it for editing.
4. Build your report in the Selections and Options tabs.
4. In the Schedule tab, schedule the report to run at a specific frequency and time.
5. In the Notification tab, enable email notifications and specify to whom the notices will be sent. Separate email addresses with a comma.
Items FAQs
Genre information is pulled from the 655_a MARC tag. You can view and modify the data in the Items module using the Items Editor or MARC View Editor. Yes! Add as many genre fields as you need for your patrons to find the item in Search. Keep in mind that only one genre will be displayed in the Items module, but you can click on the pencil icon to open the Genre Editor and view the rest. The easiest way is to ask your vendors to include genre information in the 655_a field of the MARC record, so it's added upon import. You can also add it by editing your records manually or by using the MARC editing tools, such as certain Utilities or Authority Control. Resources Description & Access (RDA) is a newer standard in which mediums are stored in the 336, 337, and 338 fields and have three components separated by dashes, such as text-unmediated-volume (this one is equivalent to book). Since this medium format is a little harder for patrons to understand, you can add aliases (i.e. alternative names) that will show in Researcher instead. Note that Alexandria prioritizes RDA mediums over General Material Designation (GMD) mediums, so you'll need to remove RDA mediums if you want the GMD mediums to show instead. (GMD mediums are stored in the 254_h field and enclosed in brackets, such as [book]). Whether adding series information manually or automatically via an Import or Utility, make sure the series is being cataloged in the 830 MARC field so the item displays and sorts correctly in Search. Title Assistant uses Z39.50 servers to search for items, so you may need to add more. Check out the z39.50 Preferences page for a list of resources you can use to bolster your Z39.50 list in Alexandria. You'll also find instructions on adding servers, creating sets, and more. If you have overlapping call numbers in Maps, Alexandria will display a duplicate title or a duplicate copy. If the copies can be modified but were not intentionally added, this may be from an import running too many times and adding a new copy each time.Where is the genre information located within Alexandria?
Can I enter more than one 655_a genre field to my Item records?
How do I get genre information into my item records?
What are RDA mediums (text-unmediated-volume) and how do I make them understandable in Researcher?
Where should my series information be located?
Why can't I find the item I'm looking for with Title Assistant?
Why are copies being randomly added that can't be selected or modified?
Researcher FAQs
Yes, any person added to your system will be given access to Patron Status and other patron-facing portions of Alexandria. Yes, with your Security Group preferences you have the ability to control how much information (if any) that your patrons can edit. Yes! After you've performed a search, you can share the entire list of results or information for individual item information. You can also create a custom search list and share that with anyone you like. That's all done through Explore Builder, which we'll be going over in a future workshop. First, go to the top right corner of the window and log in to your account. Next, search for and select an item, then click on the rating stars in the center of the window to view the reviews.Do all users have access to Patron Status and the ability to make holds and reservations?
Can I control what information a patron can change when they're logged in to Patron Status?
Can I share search results and item information from Alexandria?
What is the difference between a Public and Private list?
How can I make changes and updates to my Explore search buttons?
How can I see and write reviews on Items?
What is the difference between Search and Scout?
You can create a map using any type of image creation software, like Photoshop, Illustrator, Paint, etc. You can also take pictures of your shelves or hold an art contest with your students. This article from Classroom Architect might help. Absolutely! You can have as many maps as you need to accurately show your item locations. Though you may need to get creative with your call numbers if you're running the same call-numbered materials in different locations (i.e. 100S - 300S for a storage location and 100 - 300 for shelved items). While you can only have one Slideshow active from the primary /slideshow location, you can always show additional Slideshows by creating Explore buttons that link to a Slideshow URL. Bulletin Boards and their bulletins are created from Tools > Bulletins in Alexandria. Select a board on the left, or go to the Actions menu to add a new one. Then click the plus icon to create a bulletin for the board you've selected. For the bulletin you want to display first, check Show Bulletin at the Top of the Board on the bulletin – but you can only choose one; all other bulletins are stacked according to content and bulletin size. However, Alexandria does try to keep everything in a roughly boxed-out shape to utilize the displayable area. Bulletin content is entirely up to you. Use them to showcase things happening at your school or facility, let your patrons know about upcoming releases or seasonal items; you can even give specific individuals the ability to manage and create bulletins for specialty groups and organizations. Read about Bulletins for more ideas.How do I create a map to use in Alexandria?
Can I have different maps for different rooms?
Can I have more than one Slideshow?
How do I create a Bulletin Board?
How do I organize my bulletins?
What all can I show on my Bulletin Boards?
As long as there are no conflicting dates between the reservations, there is no limit to how many reservations an item can have! Patrons can place a reservation up to 90 days in advance. Yes! As long as the reservation is placed for a date that the item will be available, such as after the due date of the current check out period, then there is no issue with placing reservations for items currently checked out. Yes and no, depending on the situation. If a patron tries to check out an item but their transaction period interferes with the reservation, then they will not be able to check the item out. However, if the transaction does not collide with the reservation, then they can still check out the item. Check out our articles on the Reservations tab in Librarian and placing a reservation through Search for more information. Holds are placed on either a title or copy record when a patron would like to check it out as soon as it is available. However, a reservation is placed on an item for a specific date range. Generally, you will see On-Shelf Holds on items that were “Available” when the hold was placed, meaning it should be on the shelf. Once you've pulled the On-Shelf Holds from the shelves, bookdrop them to change their status to In-Stock. Then place them in the holds area of your library for patrons to check out. For more information on the two, see our "In-Stock vs On-Shelf—New holds procedures" Tip of the Week. There sure is! You can choose to automatically show or hide checked out items in the results list by using Scout Preferences. From your Circulation screen, go to Tools > Preferences > Researcher > Scout. Then go to the Results List tab. In the Default Visibility section, check whether you want to hide or show unavailable items. Patrons do need to sign in to the Researcher to write a review. The default Alexandria login information is Username = Barcode and Password = Last name. See our step-by-step instructions on writing reviews and accepting or rejecting reviews.Is there a limit to how many reservations can be placed on an item at once?
How far in advance can reservations be placed on items?
Can patrons reserve an item that is currently checked out?
When a book has a reservation, can other patrons still check it out?
What is the difference between a hold and a reservation?
What is the difference between on-shelf holds and in-stock holds?
When using Scout, is there a way to automatically show all items that are checked out?
Is it required that patrons log in to write reviews?
Inventory FAQs
Absolutely. You can use an iPad or Chromebook to perform Inventory. If you are using an iPad, you will also need a compatible wireless scanner. Ask our Sales team what they recommend. YES! You can inventory while you are circulating, and circulate while you are in the inventory process. Just be sure to keep track of your Inventory Start Date. Well, we recommend using Inventory Management, which keeps track of inventory sessions and can save you time when performing inventory. But if you are doing inventory in Circulation, use Inventory Bookdrop (IB) with a wired scanner, or Inventory Bookdrop Suppressed (IBS) with a wireless scanner. If, for example, you're inventorying classroom sets checked out to teachers, you would choose Inventory (I) or Inventory Suppressed (IS) mode so those items are not bookdropped. In the Inventory Module, this means checking or unchecking the options for Audible alerts, and “Bookdrop items scanned during inventory”. For more information, read about our Circulation Inventory Commands. Run a report. In the Review step of the inventory process, run the Inventory Items Report. And in the Reports module, run the Copies Inventoried or Copies Not Inventoried reports. Don’t forget about items that aren’t on your shelves! Items in classrooms, book rooms, or on display can be easy to overlook. Inventory these items before you declare a missing item as lost. If you're using Sessions in the Inventory module, this may mean waiting until you have finished all of your inventory, and using utilities to declare items lost. Also, if you are running your session by a call number range, we recommend using call numbers that are the same length with only whole numbers (no decimals). Using irregular call number lengths can lead to inaccurate estimates.Can I use an iPad to do inventory?
If I start inventory now, can I still check out items?
Which inventory mode should I use?
How do I see which items have been inventoried?
Is there anything I should know before running the Declare Missing Items as Lost utility?
Reports FAQs
Alexandria has a wide range of reports to both assist in getting the proper information to those that need it such as Overdue Lists and Notices, Patron and Item Details, Charges and Fines, Item Barcode Labels, Patron Library Cards, and other such things for the day to day running of a library. See the Complete Reports List for more information. When it comes to finding reports in Alexandria most are clearly labeled, but you will want to get into the proper category (list on the left) to give you a smaller list to view. Though, to really find something quickly, I recommend using the search feature in the upper right hand corner. Not at all. Any time you customize a report to perform a specific search, you can always click Create Saved Report to save your changes and make it easier to find in the future. You probably used a quick report last time! Quick reports are used for running one-time reports and do not save selections. However, saved reports are frequently-used reports with saved selections and options that can be favorited, shared, and scheduled. If you want to save a report, select a report and click Create Saved Report at the bottom right-hand corner of the window. When you run reports in Alexandria the most common process will be to print off the paper copy or save a digital copy on your desktop. However, there are additional options for delivery in the case of features like the Email Notices option and the ability to have the PDF report sent directly to the person that requires the information. Because Alexandria v7 is a web-based app with no local installation on your computer, all of the reports are created and generated on a separate server and need to be downloaded to your local computer to see them in full. We strongly recommend modifying your browser settings to automatically open any downloaded files, which will save you a mouse click after you've download it. Currently, all reports in Alexandria are PDF only because the various template and layout requirements require more controlled formatting. You can, however, export information into a tab-delimited file that can then be opened in Excel and sent to whomever needs it.What types of reports can I run in Alexandria?
How can I find the right report quickly?
Do I have to create the report from scratch every time?
Why isn't my report keeping the selections I used before?
Are reports only able to be printed, or are there other delivery options?
Why do I have to download a PDF before I can open and view the report information?
Can I get a Report in a format that I can open in excel?