November 27, 2023

Miss Honey knows that curating Researcher is an important part of empowering students to utilize the library. The different Searches available with Alexandria can be customized for your school based on the needs of your students–in Builder.

November 20, 2023

Miss Honey moved some shelves around in the library, and needs to add updated maps into Researcher. When she logs into Alexandria, Maps looks different! Here’s the low-down on the updated Maps interface.

November 6 / 13th, 2023

Miss Honey read all about slideshows and explore panes in our last few tips, but both of them use search strings... and she doesn't remember how to make them!

So how do you generate search strings? 

Creating search strings

1. In /search click on the ampersand (&) flag.

2. Choose a search selection from the drop-down menu in the top box (i.e. Author, Series, Title, Popularity etc.) and enter your criteria.

3. Choose the Boolean modifier you wish to use (And, Or, And Not) from the drop-down menu on the left and enter the additional criteria you are wanting to search. The Researcher supports up to four levels of Boolean searching.

4. Click Search and results will display below the Advance Search pane.

5. Click the Share Titles icon to copy the search string.

Need help? Feel free to reach out to our support team at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

October 30, 2023

Miss Sanderson has been using the Popularity search to find which items in the library are getting the most use. But how can she highlight the popular items for students? Easy–with a Researcher Explore button. 

Last week we went over Creating a slideshow, this week, we'll review how to create an explore button in researcher–specifically for the most popular items. 

Creating an explore button

1. Go to Builder > Explore Builder.

2. From the Panes List on the left, select the pane that you would like to add your new popular items button to

3. With the appropriate pane selected, select the space that you would like to add the button

4. Select Perform Search from the Action menu and enter ((popularity::90)) (see more about  search strings)

5. Enter the Label and add an icon by clicking Add Icon from the Actions drop-down menu – Icons + Images

6. When are you finished, click Save in the upper-right corner of the window.

If you want to put the popularity explore button on the main researcher page, check out Modify the Researcher Pane. 

Watch our Explore Builder Preferences Workshop for additional tips on using Explore Builder, or feel free to reach out to our support team at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

October 23, 2023

Want a hand with making slideshows, or any other tasks in Alexandria or Textbook Tracker? Our support team can help! (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

What are your favorite haunted reads for Halloween? Tell us in the comments! 

October 16, 2023

Miss Spellman was always reminding her library student aides (and sometimes the other librarians) how to use the System Patrons in Alexandria–until she set up system patron alert notes. 

If you have any questions about system patrons, alert notes, or anything else in Alexandria, reach out to our support team at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

October 9, 2023

To run the Copy Notes Report –

1. Go to Operations > Reports > Copies > Information > Copy Notes

2. Use the Selections tab to select the copies you want to show on the report (leaving the default selections will show all copies with the selected notes)

3. On the Options tab, select the type of notes and how to sort the report

4. Click Run

To run the Patron Notes Report –

1. Go to Operations > Reports > Patrons > Information > Patron Notes

2. Use the Selections tab to select who you want to show on the report (leaving the default selections will show all patrons with the selected notes)

3. On the Options tab, select the type of notes and how to sort the report

4. Click Run

How do you utilize Copy notes and Patron notes? Let us know in the comments! 

Want some help navigating notes, reports, or anything else in Alexandria? Contact our amazing support team at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

October 2, 2023

Janet's mother asked Miss Zarves to make sure her daughter doesn't check out any movies from the school library that aren't G-rated. But what's the easiest way to keep track of that–especially if multiple parents are asking for different restrictions on what their kids can check out from the library? 

From Circulation: 

1. Make the patron current in circulation by using the patron barcode, Patron Lookup, or the Homeroom tab

2. Click the actions menu on the Patron pane and select Notes (can also use the + command)

3. Enter the restricted items to the Alert Notes

4. Save

You can also create Item Policies, and set the policy to No Loan Period under the checkout tab to restrict a specific group of items.

If specific students have opted-in to be able to check those out, you could add patron General Notes (the same steps as above except using the General Notes field). That way, when a restricted item is brought into circulation you will get a message that a checkout is not allowed because of the policy, but you can check the General notes to see if you should override the policy and check out the item anyway.

You can read more about patron notes, and as always, you can reach out to our support team with any questions at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

September 25, 2023

This week we're highlighting the Loaned Items Notice. Usually notices are sent to the individual patrons–but what about utilizing them for teachers as well? 

For example, Mrs. Krabappel’s class comes in once a week, and you want to automate an email to her with a download link to the Loaned Items Notice for her class. Here's how!

1. Go to Operations > Reports > Circulation > Notices > Loaned Items Notice.

2. On the Selections tab, select Krabappel in the Patrons from Homeroom fields
   (remember that Homeroom is a terminology that can be changed in Preferences, so your organization might use a different term).

3. On the Options tab, select 2 Per Page as the format and make any other customizations you’d like such as modifying the notice text and selecting if you want to show cover art

4. Click Create Saved Report

5. Type a name for the report and click OK. (e.g. Loaned Items Notice - Krabappel)

6. The report will move to the Saved tab, with additional settings.

7. On the Schedule tab, schedule the report and set the frequency and when you want the report to run.

8. On the Notification tab, select Enable Email Notification and enter the homeroom teacher's email address into the Email Notification and Download Link To field (e.g. ekrabappel@myschool.org).

   1. This will send a link to download the PDF straight to Mrs. Krabappel.

   2. If you need to send the report to multiple emails, separate them with commas.

9. Click Save.

September 18, 2023

Students often (always) need reminders to return overdue books, which is why we recommend making it easier on yourself! Schedule overdue items notices to send out automatically. 

Let's say you have your Policy Preferences set to mark items as lost after they have been overdue for 28 days, and you want to have different overdue items notices sent automatically to patrons based on how close they are to the 28-day limit. 

To set up the first scheduled notice (this example is for items that are one week and under overdue, focused on overdue items and not charges):

Repeat the steps for however many notices you want, focusing on how many days the items are overdue and the specific notice text. For example, set up another notice for items 7–14 days overdue, and a third for items 15–27 days overdue, with varying levels of urgency!

As always, our support team is ready to help if you need it at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com.

September 11, 2023

We talked about Password management: best practices a few weeks ago, but this week we are diving deeper into passwords and how to keep your data secure. 

When adding a patron, in the Patron > Access tab, if another password isn't set, it will default to the patron's last name. Patrons with special characters or accents in their last name will be prompted to create a new password when logging in, as diacritical letters are not supported in the password field. For security reasons, passwords are never shown anywhere in Alexandria.

When set, patron passwords must meet the following requirements according to the Password Strength setting of their Security group:

• Weak: At least 6 characters.
• Regular: At least 8 characters, including at least one letter (a-z) and one number (0-9).
• Strong: At least 10 characters, including at least one letter (a-z), one number (0-9), and one symbol (!@#$%^&*-=+.,).

Passwords are not case sensitive.

To modify a username or password from Patrons Management:

1. Unlock  the record.
2. On the Access tab, update the Username, Password, and Confirm Password fields.
3. Click Save.

To modify multiple usernames and/or passwords at once using the Reset Patron Accounts utility:

1. Go to Utilities > Patrons > General > Reset Patron Accounts.
2. On the Selections tab, select which patrons need to have their usernames and/or passwords updated.

3. On the Options tab, choose to which format you want to change patron usernames and/or passwords. 

   See Reset Patron Accounts utility for more information on each option.

4. Click Run.
5. Check the Summary File  to make sure no patrons were skipped.

Review our Password Management Best Practices page for more information, and as always, feel free to reach out to our stellar support team  at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com. 

September 5, 2023

Problem: homerooms are showing up that I no longer need

The Homeroom tab in Circulation lists homerooms that are currently in use, which means listed in at least one patron record. So, the best way to ensure your homerooms are up to date is by cleaning up your patron records and using Patron Imports or the Change Patron Location utility to batch modify patrons into the correct homerooms. Then the updated list will show up in Circulation! 

Want easier patron management? Ask us about GG4L at sales@goalexandria.com.

Problem: misspelled homeroom

When adding patron homeroom information, there is a list that pulls from Authority Control. Authority Control tracks every homeroom entry, even if it is no longer in use. To update the list, navigate to Tools > Authority Control > Patrons > Homeroom. Use the actions menu at the top of the screen and select Remove Unused Homeroom Terms.

For any remaining terms you want to modify, select the homeroom and click "edit," enter any corrections, and confirm. 

August 28, 2023

There is nothing worse than forgetting your password and being locked out–especially when it's the start of the school year and you have to get right back to work ASAP! We've created the Password Management Best Practices page to help with all your password needs. 

Emails 

• ALWAYS add a valid and current email to an operator patron record so that the operator can recover their password if needed. 
• Make sure to whitelist noreply@goalexandria.com, which is the email address any password reset emails will come from. This might need to be done by a district or facility IT team.
• Password recovery when there is no email associated with the user account is a long process, so make sure that all your operator accounts are attached to a valid email address. 

Clean up operators

• COMPanion suggests regular audits of who has operator access to Alexandria, and if old operators should be removed. There are multiple security group levels; all may need to be cleaned up. See the associated section on Password Management Best Practices for more details. 

We encourage you and your team to make a plan for password management, and feel free to reach out to customer support with any questions at (800) 347-4942 · support@companioncorp.com. 

August 7, 2023

July 17, 2023

Summer is in full swing, and even though most of the school libraries are closed, public libraries are going strong with summer reading programs and more! So this week, we're going over how to print library cards in Alexandria. 

Pick your paper

First, what type of paper should you use? We recommend Business Cards 250 count: Avery 5371, 2” x 3 ½”. These are standard card stock business cards, which is what the Library Card report is designed for. You can also use Mailing labels 250 count: Avery 8163, 2” x 4”. These are stickers, if you want to place the library cards on a blank card, folder, or student book. 

Print the library cards

• To print, open the PDF in your browser or application (like Adobe Reader).
• Make sure the view is set to "Actual Size," and then hold your paper up to see how the format looks, and make any adjustments as needed.
• Place your paper in the printer (usually, you want the "front" of the labels facing down in the tray, but this varies depending on your printer).
• In the PDF, choose a print option and make sure the scaling is set to 100%. We recommend printing a single page first, to make sure everything looks good.