Operators are technically patrons; they just have more program permissions and access (District Administrators, Librarians, Student Aides, and more). Their records are created and managed in Patrons Management just like regular patrons. Program access is determined by a patron's Security Group, which is designated on the Personal Info tab of a patron record.

Security Groups

Security Groups determine what actions operators or patrons are permitted to perform. By default, newly created patrons are assigned to the Patron (5) Security Group. This level doesn't allow any access to the Data Station or management-side of the program. Change their Security Group by editing the Personal Info tab of their patron record.

To determine the specific permissions each Security Group has, go to Security Preferences. By default, Administrator-level access (1) are the only security groups that allow you to make modifications.

All Operators

• Any operator with access to Preferences will only be able to modify Security Groups below their own. For example, an operator with Librarian-level security access (2) can modify preferences; however, they are unable to change the Librarian, Library Administrator, or District Administrator Security Groups.

• Most patrons won't need to have their Site Access indicated. However, if you intend to give your new patron any sort of operator or library management privileges (e.g. Student Aide or Librarian), use the Site Access selection to mark the sites that your patron is permitted to access.

• When creating a new patron with security equal or greater than Library Aide, the patron's assigned site is automatically added to their site access list when the record is saved, if it has not already been added.

• Set up usernames and secure passwords for those with special access.

• If an operator also participates in circulation, we recommend setting up two different accounts: one for special access and one for circulation. This will prevent potential problems later.

District Administrators

• Your first operator must be a District Administrator with equivalent Security Group access.
  • If your library is Cloud Hosted, your District Administrator was created for you.
  • If your library is Self-Hosted and you haven't yet created a District Administrator for your union, you will be prompted to the very first time you attempt to access one of Alexandria’s online modules (e.g. /librarian, /researcher, etc.).

• The District Administrator security group is only meaningful for Centralized Catalog, multi-library collection licenses; for all other licenses, the District Administrator security group is analogous to the Library Administrator.

• The District Administrator security group has full access to all areas of the program. For that reason, it can't be modified or deleted.

• Only District Administrators can make other patrons District Administrators. Before your old District Administrator leaves, make sure they grant those permissions to at least one other user. If you get a new District Administrator but didn't have the old one grant those permissions before they left, contact our Support team at 1-800-347-4942. They will confirm the new District Administrator's identity and grant those permissions.

Librarians

Adding new librarians is easy. After creating a new patron record, assign them the Librarian (2) Security Group and give them a username and password. They will then be able to log in and perform all of the actions their Security Group allows.

Library/Student Aides

If you have students or patrons help in the library sometimes, they can be assigned a security group that will allow them to assist with inventory, circulation, and more.

Consider creating one general Student Aide account for all assistants to log into when they're helping. However, if you would prefer to track exactly who's doing what, create a separate account for each aide. To see logs showing operator actions, contact our Support team at 1-800-347-4942 or run the Export Log export.

New Operator Resources

We provide several resources that new operators may find useful as they get used to navigating Alexandria:

• Video Directory. Watch videos to learn how the program works. Several helpful categories include Alexandria University, Librarian, Researcher, Workshops, and Tip of the Week.

• Tip of the Week. Sign up to receive weekly emails highlighting various tips for efficiently working in Alexandria.

• Getting Started Resources. Check out our Getting Started Guide, Basic Training Guide, and more.

• Keycode Directory. Learn Support Center shortcuts for searching certain topics.

• Hotkeys. Learn program keyboard shortcuts. 

• Support team. Contact our 24/7 Support team at 1-800-347-4942 or support@goalexandria.com for additional help.