KeepnTrack

Space shortcuts

Page tree




Versions Compared

Old Version 6

changes.mady.by.user Morgan

Saved on

compared with

New Version Current

changes.mady.by.user Myra

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.
Content Layer
id334032731

Update Expired Cards

(warning) Skip if card expiration dates are disabled.

Do you use expiration dates for patron library cards? Run the Renew Patron Cards utility to update the expiration dates for the new year. It will reset and update the Card Exp. Date for all matching patrons to a date X number of days from when the utility is run, as specified in their Patron Policy.

For example, if the patron's policy has Days Patron's Card is Active set to 365 and the utility is run on May 30, 2019, the patron's new expiration date would be May 29, 2020.

Content Column
id334032735
Before running any of the data-changing utilities described in the steps above, create an archive

so

you have a restore point if something unexpected happens.
Content Block
nameAgenda
id334032734


Info

NEW https://support.keepntrack.com/knowledge-base/beginning

Beginning

-of-year-

Year Procedures

procedures/


Prepare for a smooth start to Here are some answers to common questions and tips for beginning your school year with KeepnTrack. Prepare for the new school year with KeepnTrack KeepnTrack by following these steps. 


1. Remove old records
(Remove Person Records utility) - How can you clear

Clear out old, unused people records

in KeepnTrack to keep them from clogging up

so they don't clog your lists and

slowing down your processes?

  • Some people delete ALL their visitors (period!) during the summer, to get rid of extraneous records. In the Remove Person Records utility Selections, check the box for “Exact classification Selection” and UNCHECK all the classification types. That means, implicitly, it will select people who are Visitors only (because you don’t want to delete your visitor volunteers!).

  • You can select by Status and remove all your Inactive people.

  • If you use Expiration dates, you can select by expired people and remove those.

    • (note we talked about possibly removing graduated students, but there is no way to select by that; we also talked about setting everyone to status Inactive and importing new people as Active then removing all Inactive… but there’s no Change Information utility so we can’t. So we’ll just not mention these things.)

    slow things down. Once you navigate to Tools > Utilities > Remove Person Records, there are three common ways to clear out old records:

    • Remove all of your visitors by checking the Exact Classification Selection box. Then make sure that all of the classification types are unchecked. This will just remove people who are only visitors.

    • Remove people with an inactive status by selecting Inactive in the Status drop-down menu. 

    • Remove people who have expired by filling out the Expiration Date selection. The utility will remove everyone who expired during the date range you enter. Also, check the Exact Classification Selection box and the relevant classification(s) so that you don't accidentally remove people with multiple classifications.

    Once you have chosen the option(s) that works best for you and made the necessary selections shown above, click Run Utility.


    2. Import new records

    If you get exports from your student information system (SIS), you’ll want to import those records into KeepnTrack. How do you import records in KeepnTrack? Refresh your memory on how to do that by reading over our Imports Import article. http://support.companioncorp.com/display/KnT/Import


    3. Process volunteer applications

    Get those volunteers ready for the new year! Unless you automatically approve /or reject volunteer applications, you’ll need to use manually screen your applicants. Read about the Volunteer Application Management window to screen your applicants. Read up on how it works http://support.companioncorp.com/display/KnT/Volunteer+Applications ;learn how to do this.


    4. Check your alert preferences

    Things change , and people move around . In your KeepnTrack Preferences, go to between school years. That's why it's important to make sure all contact information for alerts is correct. Go to Tools > Preferences > Alerts and double check that the phone numbers and emails listed are the current ones for people who need to be notified. ( If you are alerting alert campus security, you might double-check with them also, want to remind them about KeepnTrack so they remember where these alerts are coming from!)


    5. Check your hardware

    Test that your printers and scanners are working, so you don’t get caught up in that when the first people walk through the door and can’t get their badges.to make sure they're working correctly. This will prevent problems when people are trying to sign in and get their badges!


    6. Check your kiosks

    For all your kiosks ( each separate kiosk machine), review your Workstation settings(http://support.companioncorp.com/display/KnT/Workstation+Management) to  to ensure sign-in processes run how you expect them toas expected. Sometimes your workstation settings will also be cleared if browser data is cleared, it will clear your workstation settings, so… check it.

    Note
    Content Block
    nameAdvance Patrons
    id334055002

    Advance Patrons

    (star) Beginning or End of Year

    Advance patron grade levels and remove patrons who have graduated or transferred to prepare your system to import new students for the next year. Some libraries do

    it

    at the end of the year, and others do it at the beginning of the year. Either way is fine, just don't skip it.

    Multiexcerpt include
    MultiExcerptNameV7007 Advancing Patron Grades
    PageWithExcerptALIB:V70 Tech Videos

    Advance patron grade levels

    (warning) Skip this step if you manage patron data with SIF or Clever.

    There are two ways to advance your patron grade levels for the next year. Advance All Grades in Patron Preferences is the easiest option, but the Advance Patron Grade utility allows you to advance a more select group of patrons. Patrons who advance past the final grade in the grade table are assigned the value for Last Grade, which is usually "Graduated".

    Advance All Grades

    Advance all of your patrons to the next grade level at the same time.

    1. Go to Tools > Preferences > Patrons.
    2. Open the Grade Table tab.
    3. Double-check the grade table and the Last Grade field for accuracy.
    4. Check the Advance Grade After date, and change it if necessary. This is usually the graduation date or the last day of school.
    5. Click Advance All Grades.

    Advance Patron Grade utility

    Need to be more precise about which patrons to advance? Select patrons by one or more options, including status, security group, policy, homeroom, grade, last name, and barcode.

  • Go to Tools > Utilities.
  • Select Patrons > General category on the left.
  • Choose the Advance Patron Grade utility on the right.
  • In the Selections tab, enter the criteria needed to select the patrons you intend to update.
    • Click Run.
    Change patron policies

    Do your patron policies match your patron grade levels? Then you need to update each patron record so their policy matches their new grade. Run the Change Patron Policy utility for each grade.

  • Go to Tools > Utilities.
  • Select the Patrons > General category on the left.
  • Choose the Change Patron Policy utility on the right.
  • In the Selections tab, enter the criteria needed to select the patrons you intend to update. 
    1. Patrons with a Status of: Limit the operation to one particular status, like Active, or choose Any to include them all.
    2. Patrons in Grade: Enter the user-defined value for the grade that needs to change (e.g. 8th), as defined in Grade Table preferences.
  • In the Options tab, choose the policy that will be assigned to the selected patrons.
  • Run the utility.
    • Repeat steps 4-6 for each grade, as needed.
    Tip
    titleDo you keep records for graduated patrons?

    Run this utility to assign the Graduated policy to your recently graduated patrons. If you don't have a Graduated policy, create one first.

    Content Block
    nameImport Records
    id334487609

    Import patron records

    (warning) Skip if your patrons are synced with SIF or Clever.

    Patrons will transfer in and out of your school. You'll want to clear out patrons who have left, add new patrons to Alexandria, and update existing patron information. You can do this all through imports.

    Patron information can come from any source that provides a text file in a tab-delimited file format; most word-processing and spreadsheet applications support files in tab-delimited format. In most cases, patron data is readily available in a machine-readable format from your school’s front or district office. Others schools automatically import updated patron information from a Student Information System (SIS). Since all libraries import patron information a little differently, check with your school or district office to find out how patron data is maintained.

    Multiexcerpt include
    MultiExcerptNameV6551 Clean Up Your Records with Patron Imports
    PageWithExcerptALIB:V65 Quick Tips Videos

    Before you import new student records, the following steps can help you determine which patrons are no longer enrolled at your school and should be removed from the database. Run the Change Patron Location utility to change the Homeroom for all active, currently-enrolled students to "Gone".

    Change Patron Location utility

    If your tab-delimited import file includes patron Homeroom, change the Homeroom for all of your currently-enrolled students to the same value. This example will replace the Homeroom for all of your currently enrolled students to “Gone”.

    1. Go to Tools > Utilities.
    2. Select the Patrons > General category.
    3. Choose the Change Patron Homeroom utility on the right.
    4. In the Selections tab, choose the options needed to select a group of student patron records.  For example, you may want to select a student-only policy and/or security group — you don't want to accidentally update Operators and/or Staff records.
      1. Patrons with a Status of: Active
      2. Patrons in Security Group: Patron
      3. Patrons with a Policy of: (Student)
      4. Patrons from: Homeroom
        1. Leave the From and Through fields blank if you want to update them all.
    5. In the Options tab, type “Gone” in the Change Location to field.
    6. Run the utility.

    The Homeroom field for all of the patrons matching your selections will be changed to "Gone". Next, import your new student records from your SIS. 

    Import Patrons

    Quick Patron Import

    A new import at this point will update the Homeroom for all patrons who are returning for the school year. Those who are not returning will retain the Homeroom "Gone".

    1. Go to Tools > Import.
    2. Select the Patrons category on the left.
    3. In the Imports pane, click Choose File. Locate the import file on your computer.
    4. In the Settings tab, make the following selections:
      • Skip First Record: Check if the first record in your import file is an unrecognized header.
      • Patron Updates: Allow Import to Modify Existing Records
    5. Run the import.

    The Homeroom for all returning patrons will be updated. The next step is to remove the other patrons, the ones with the Homeroom "Gone". 

    Remove Patrons utility

    Now that your student records have been updated, run the Remove Patrons utility to remove those patrons who aren't returning.

    1. Go to Tools > Utilities.
    2. Select the Patrons > General category on the left.
    3. Choose the Remove Patrons utility on the right.
    4. In the Selections tab, choose the criteria for the patrons whose records should be removed. Make sure Patrons from Homeroom is set to "Gone".
      1. Patrons at Site:
      2. Patrons with a Status of:
      3. Patrons in Security Group:
      4. Patrons with a Policy of:
      5. Patrons from Homeroom: Gone
    5. In the Options tab, choose if you want to remove patrons matching your criteria who still have items checked out or outstanding financial items. (Optional)
    6. Run the utility.

    And that's it! You may need to run this utility a few times, depending on your selection criteria.

    Remove graduated patrons

    (star) Beginning or End of Year

    (warning) Skip this step if you keep records for graduated patrons.

    Run the Remove Patrons utility to remove graduated students from the database. You may need to run it multiple times with different selections, depending on your needs.

  • Go to Tools > Utilities.
  • Select the Patrons > General category.
  • Choose the Remove Patrons utility on the right.
  • In the Selections tab, enter the criteria needed to select the individual patrons or groups of patrons you intend to remove. 
    1. Patrons with a Status of: Limit the operation to a single status, like Active or Transferred, or choose Any to include them all.
    2. Patrons in Grade: Enter the user-defined value for Last Grade (most commonly "Graduated"), as defined in Grade Table preferences.
  • In the Options tab, choose if you want patrons to be removed even if they have items checked out or outstanding charges.
    • Click Run.
    Image Removed

    's important to check.


    7. Train everyone on KeepnTrack
    Whether you are brand new to KeepnTrack or just need a quick refresher after summer break, it's a good idea to make sure you and your team understand the software workflows and facility policies. In addition to the general Support Center, there are a number of great training resources for both new users and those who just need to brush up: Training and Installation Guides, video tutorials, one-on-one training, and free webinars
    Content Block
    nameGraduated Patrons
    id334496018
    Tip
    titleDo you manage patrons with SIF or Clever?

    When patron data is synced with Alexandria via SIF or Clever, patrons who have an active record in Alexandria but are no longer included in the synced data will be marked as Transferred. Those patron records will need to be removed manually. Run this utility to remove patrons with a status of Transferred.

    Content Block
    nameUpdate Cards
    id678456591
    Multiexcerpt include
    MultiExcerptNameV6556 Update Expired Patron Cards
    PageWithExcerptALIB:V65 Quick Tips Videos

    1. Go to Tools > Utilities.
    2. Select the General > Patrons category on the left.
    3. Choose the Renew Patron Cards utility on the right.
    4. In the Selections tab, enter the criteria for the patrons whose cards you want to renew. To renew ALL expired patron cards, leave the default settings.
    5. Run the utility.
    Content Block
    nameBackups
    id335456651

    Backups

    (warning) Self Hosted, only. Skip if your library is Cloud Hosted.

    Finally, create a complete backup of your Alexandria Data folder. Unlike an archive, backups are considered a "last resort" in case everything else fails.

    Don't store your backups on the same device as your library data station. We recommend storing your backups with a file hosting or cloud storage service, like Dropbox or CrashPlan, which are specifically designed to backup to other machines or off-site servers. If you use an external hard drive, we suggest storing it in a fire-resistant safe in an off-site location. It may seem extreme, but you never know what will happen, and we want you to be prepared for the worst.

    This is also a great time to review and possibly revise your backup strategy. Read Back Up Your Data to learn more.

    © 2020 COMPanion® Corporation | All Rights Reserved

    © 2023 COMPanion® Corporation | All Rights Reserved