DBTextCheck will check exported borrower, catalog or loans files for blank records or missing required fields. The name of the file to be checked is the only required parameter. Blank record output defaults to DBTblanks.csv. Records missing required fields will be written to DBTinvalid.csv.
DBTextCheck will produce a summary of each field showing the field name, blank count, maximum length and number of CR/LFs in the field. DBTextCheck can be downloaded here Continue reading
These are the various categories and codes used by Koha to describe patrons and items in the catalog.
DBText originally didn’t differentiate borrowers; as long as their expiration date hadn’t passed, they could take out books. I added a select-code field into which we could put various tags such as: IND, FAM, BoD, Vol, PUB PR and a whole bunch of others whose meanings have been lost.
Koha has patron categories, which control dues and borrowing profiles (how many and for how long.) We can add attributes to be used by search filters. Many of the select codes above will go here with descriptions.
We have been running DBText for Libraries for about seven years. During that time a lot of garbage has accumulated in the database. There are three areas of concern. I will be covering them and my solutions later. Continue reading