Table of Contents
Before importing and/or adding patrons be sure to set up your patron categories.
Patrons are added by going to the 'Patrons' module.
Click 'New'
The fields that appear on the patron add form can be controlled by editing the BorrowerUnwantedField system preference.
First enter the identifying information regarding your patron
Required fields are defined in the BorrowerMandatoryField system preference
Salutation is populated by the BorrowersTitles system preference
Next enter the contact information
For contact information, note that the primary phone and email addresses are the ones that appear on notices and slips printed during circulation (receipts, transfer slips and hold slips). The primary email is also the one that overdue notices and other messages go to.
If this patron is a child, you will be asked to attach the child patron to an adult patron
Click 'Set to Patron' to search your system for an existing patron
If the Guarantor is not in the system, you can enter the first and last name in the fields available
The relationships are set using the borrowerRelationship system preference
If this patron is a professional, you will be asked to attach the patron to an organizational patron
Click 'Set to Patron to search your system for an existing patron
Each patron can have an alternate contact
An alternate contact could be a parent or guardian. It can also be used in academic settings to store the patron's home address.
The library management section includes values that are used within the library
The card number field is automatically calculated if you have the autoMemberNum system preference set that way
Note
For a newly installed system this preference will start at 1 and increment by 1 each time after. To have it start with the starting number of your barcodes, enter the first barcode by hand in the patron record and save the patron. After that the field will increment that number by 1.
If you accidentally chose the wrong patron category at the beginning you can fix that here
Sort 1 and 2 are used for statistical purposes within your library
Next, the Library Setup section includes additional library settings
The registration date will automatically be filled in with today's date
If your patron cards expire (based on your patron category settings) the Expiry date will automatically be calculated
The OPAC Note is a note for the patron - it will appear in the OPAC on the patron's record
The Circulation Note is meant solely for your library staff and will appear when the circulation staff goes to check an item out to the patron
The Staff/OPAC asks for the username and password to be used by the patron (and/or staff member) to log into their account in the OPAC and for staff to log in to the staff client.
Staff will only be able to use this log in info to log in to the staff client if they have the necessary permissions.
If you have set additional patron attributes up, these will appear next
Finally, if you have EnhancedMessagingPreferences set to 'allow,' you can choose the messaging preferences for this patron.
Important
These preferences will override any you set via the patron categories
Important
These preference can be altered by the patron via the OPAC
Once finished, click 'Save'
If the system suspects this patron is a duplicate of another it will warn you.
If you have set a minimum or upper age limit on the patron category and are requiring that the birth date be filled in, Koha will warn you if the patron you're adding is too old or young for the patron category you have selected:
