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Inventory
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Exceptions
Problems encountered during inventory are called “exceptions” (e.g. when scanned items are checked out to a System Patron, from the wrong site, are out of Call Number order, are not of the specified policy, or have an unknown barcode). The Exceptions tab provides a summary and tallies the number of Exception Notes triggered during the current session. Exceptions are grouped by type; you may access (and print) lists of items that caused exceptions by clicking on the name of the exception type (e.g. Lost Items Inventoried or Unknown Barcodes Scanned). Once you have dealt with your exceptions, full inventory reports are available from the Review tab.
Out of Call Number Order
Clicking on one of the exception types (e.g. Items Out of Call Number Order) will trigger a roll-down dialog (shown below), which allows you to view (and print) a list of items that triggered inventory exceptions.
Exceptions Selections
- Include Exceptions From. The selection you make from this drop-down menu will filter the Exceptions tab to only include exceptions for All Days, Last 7 Days, Yesterday, and Today.
- Items Checked Out to System Patrons. Scanned items were checked out to a system patron and the session was not configured to automatically check these in during inventory.
Review
The Review tab is used to prepare and process helpful summary reports detailing the items inventoried during the current session.
- Email Reports to. Can be sent to multiple email addresses by separating them with commas. For example: emails@domain.com, emails2@domain.com
- Inventoried Items Report. Creates a list of barcode for all of the inventoried copies in the call number range you specified in the Sessions tab settings.
- Missing Items Report. A report that includes all copies with Available statuses which have not been inventoried, but belong in your specified call number range.
- Site Inventory Statistics Summary Report. Displays inventory statistics for the entire site, not just this session.
- Site System Patrons Analysis. Displays site-based inventory statistics for items checked out to system patrons.
- Run Selected Reports. The selected reports are queued for for immediate execution in the Operations Management window which can be accessed from the Operation Management icon in the upper-right corner of the window.
The Purpose of a Complete Inventory
It is critical to account for items and materials that are loaned from your collection at regular intervals.
Reasons to periodically inventory your collection are: To correctly update the catalog listings of all the items in your Alexandria database so that they appropriately correspond to the items that can be physically located in your collection. Your patrons rely on the catalog to locate items. If the catalog listing is outdated, then items that are no longer in the collection will still be shown as available, and patrons will waste valuable time searching for them. To determine what materials are missing and need to be reordered. To evaluate the physical condition of your materials and discard or repair damaged items. To appraise the significance of your materials and then archive or discard those items which are no longer relevant. To generate a complete list of existing materials for insurance purposes. To sort out, tidy up, and place all materials in their proper order.
To summarize, performing an annual inventory will ensure that materials can be found in the correct location within your library, provide information on items that are missing from the collection, allow you to assess the physical condition of the items in your collection, and allow you to accurately estimate the value of your collection. The inventory process insures that your database is tidy and organized along with your physical collection.
Inventory Methods
- Inventory Management. Alexandria provides an Inventory Management window, designed to simplify the inventory process by providing quick and convenient access to all of the reporting and utility tools needed to analyze and organize your collection.
- Inventory through Circulation. We recommend that most Alexandria users perform inventory by using the Inventory Management module. However, if you use call numbers in a non-standard way, or if you have a process in place where you have used the Circulation window for inventory in the past that you don’t want to change, using the Circulation window to perform your inventory may be a better option for you.
