From COMPanion

This section documents functionality that is nearly identical to both Alexandria and Textbook Tracker. Therefore, the contents of this page will use generic terms and images (from both Windows and Macintosh versions) except when describing features that are unique to one or the other.

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For more generalized information on how to use the Item Management window, please refer to the Item Management Window Basics section.

The Item Management window contains information about all the items in your database. All items that circulate (books, magazines, audio video media) are accessible through the Item Management window.

The term “item” can also mean “title”, “issue”, or “copy” depending on the context. An item can be a book, video, filmstrip, newspaper, or any other form of media in your collection and each title can have multiple copies.

Title Information consists of data that is identical for all copies of a particular item, including author, publication, and notes.

Copy Information consists of data that is specific to a given copy.

Alexandria creates, stores, and updates MARC records with the information you enter on the Items Management window, which allows you to manage the item information for your library.

If you are using a multi-collection license for Alexandria, all libraries share title information, thus, all other libraries can view the changes you make.

• The Librarian Workstation allows you to view and edit titles from every collection in your district, but only your title statistics and copy information may be modified from your workstation.

• The District Librarian Workstation allows viewing and editing of all database information across all collections.

To open the Item Management window, select Items under the Show menu. If there is an item current in the Item Card section of the Circulation window when the Item Management window is launched, this will be the default record that is displayed in Item Management window.

If there is no item current in the Item Card section of the Circulation window when the Item Management window is opened, the default selection will be the last fifty modified titles. If your database contains no item records, COMPanion will always offer a sample record—the Alexandria User's Manual.

If the Item Management window is launched while the <Alt>/<Option>-key is depressed, the default selection will be the last fifty titles added to Alexandria, ordered by Sequence Number.

The Items Management Window In More Detail

The Items Management window consists of two distinct areas:

The left hand side of the Item Management window belongs to the Item Records List and related tools.

The larger, right-hand portion of the Item Management window consists of the Current Item Record pane where the selected item record is displayed, in full, along with associated Tools that help perform operations on said record.

Item Records List and Associated Tools

The left-hand section of the Item Management window contains the Item Records List pane, where all item records matching an operator's Find (Ctrl+F) (+F) selection criteria will be displayed in the user-specified Sort By order (see the Item Selection Window for more information). Highlighting/selecting an entry in the Item Records List will make that item record current in the right-hand section of the Item Management window.

The area situated below the record list field contains several tools icons that are used for adding, removing, browsing, and finding item records.

Add (“”)—Clicking this icon performs the New Record (Ctrl+N) (+N) command and opens the Title Assistant window, allowing you to add new items to your database. If the <Alt> / <Option>-key is depressed when clicking this button, it performs the Duplicate (Ctrl+D) (+D) command.

Remove (“”)—Clicking on this icon, when enabled, will perform the Remove Record (Ctrl+R) (+R) command.

Actions (“”)—This gear/cog icon contains record-specific actions and other tools.

• First (Ctrl+Shift+[ ) (++[ )—Moves the selection bar to the very first item record in the Record List.
• Last (Ctrl+Shift+] ) (++] )—Moves the selection bar to the very last item record in the Record List.
• Previous (Ctrl+[ ) (+[ )—Performs the same action as pressing the <up> arrow key on your keyboard; moves the selection bar to the previous item record in the Record List. On the first record, or if there are no records available, this option appears disabled.
• Next (Ctrl+] ) (+] )—Performs the same action as pressing the <down> arrow key on your keyboard; moves the selection bar to the next item record in the Record List. On the last record, or if there are no records available, this option appears disabled.

• Find (Ctrl+F) (+F)—This selection opens the Item Selection Window.
• Duplicate (Ctrl+D) (+D)—This selection opens the Duplicate Title Window, allowing you to make copies of existing titles.

• New Record (Ctrl+N) (+N)—Use this selection to add a new title record to your database via the Title Assistant window will appear.
• Remove Record (Ctrl+R) (+R)—This selection permanently removes the selected title and all its copies.

• Export—Opens the Quick Export Window, which saves the selected item record to a file in MARC, MicroLIF, or Tab-Delimited format.
• Import—This selection opens an operating system standard explorer window, allowing users to import item export files.

• Most Recently Modified—This selection populates the Item Records List with the last fifty records modified.
• Most Recently Created—This selection populates the Item Records List with the last fifty records created.
• Modified Today—This selection populates the Item Records List with any records that were modified today.
• Created Today—This selection populates the Item Records List with any records that were created today.
• Modified in the Last Week—This selection populates the Item Records List with all the records that were modified within the last week.
• Created in the Last Week—This selection populates the Item Records List with any records that were created during the last week.

Previous (“”)—Clicking on this “up arrow” icon, when enabled, will perform the Previous <Ctrl+[> command. If the <Alt> / <Option>-key is depressed when clicking this button, this icon performs the First <Ctrl+Shift+[> command. On the first record, or if there are no records available, this icon appears disabled.

Next (“”)—Clicking on this “down arrow” icon, when enabled, will perform the Next <Ctrl+]> command. If the <Alt> / <Option>-key is depressed when clicking this button, this icon performs the Last <Ctrl+Shift+]> command. On the last record, or if there are no records available, this icon appears disabled.

Find Icon (“”)—Clicking on this Find icon performs the Find <Ctrl+F> command—opening the Item Selection Window.

Current Record Pane

The right-hand section of the Item Management window is dedicated to the current item record, which displays full record details for the record selected from the items list on the left.

At the top of the current item record pane is a long, rectangular area used for displaying status information; Save and Revert, the Online Help icon, the Lock/Unlock icon and a second Actions icon which contains functions specific/unique to the current record.

Unlock/Lock Icon (“”)—Before records can be modified, they must first be unlocked. For example, when the Items management window is opened, the default state of the window is usually “locked”. When locked, records can be viewed but can not be edited. Clicking on the lock icon unlocks the window; it stays unlocked until the operator clicks on the lock icon again or the window is closed. However, you can choose whether you want to have records automatically locked or unlocked by default using the Database Management Windows Locked By Deafult option in the Site Information System Preferences.

Actions (“”)—This gear/cog menu contains record-specific actions and other tools that don’t fit as well with the Add, Remove, and Find functions offered in the Records List gear icon.

• Unlock/Lock Record (Ctrl+U) (+U)—This selection locks/unlocks the window, it stays unlocked until the operator makes this selection again, or the window is closed.
• Switch to MARC/Item View (Ctrl+M) (+M)—This selection will transform the Current Item Record pane; you can toggle between the normal Item View and the more advanced MARC View.

• Duplicate—This opens the Duplicate Title Window window which allows you to add a number of copies to the title record.
• Title Assistant (Ctrl+Shift+M) (++M)—This selection opens the Title Assistant window.
• Mitinet Management—This selection opens the Mitinet Management window.
• Item Utilities—Opens the Titles tab under the main Utilities Window.
• Copy Utilities—Opens the Copies tab under the main Utilities Window.
• Copy List—Opens the Copy Select Window which contains a list of all the copies for that title.

• First Copy (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+[ ) (++[ )—Displays the first copy according to the Browse Copies By order; Barcode, Copy ID, Copy Call Number.
• Last Copy (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+] ) (++] )—Displays the last copy according to the Browse Copies By order; Barcode, Copy ID, Copy Call Number.
• Previous Copy (Ctrl+Alt+[ ) (++[ )—Will cycle (left arrow) through copy records based on the order selected from the Browse Copies By drop-down menu; Barcode, Copy ID, Copy Call Number, and Copy Sequence Number. The left arrow to the left of the Browse Copies By field performs the same function as the Previous Copy command.
• Next Copy (Ctrl+Alt+] ) (++] )—Will cycle (right arrow) through copy records based on the order selected from the Browse Copies By drop-down menu; Barcode, Copy ID, Copy Call Number, and Copy Sequence Number. The right arrow to the left of the Browse Copies By field performs the same function as the Next Copy command.

• Add Copy (Ctrl+Y) (+Y)—This selection performs the Add Copy command and adds a new copy to the title. Remember, new copies are part of the title record and will not be added until you click Save.
• Remove Copy (Ctrl+Shift+R) (++R)—Selecting this option will remove the current active copy whether it is Lost or Available. This selection is only available when there are copies available in the Copy Information tab.
• Copy History—If a copy has a transit history, this selection will open a VWP window that contains a summary of the copy's transaction history.
• Move Copy To This Title—Opens the Move Copy window. Use this feature when a copy is mistakenly imported (or added) to the wrong title.

• Browse for Item Picture—This selection opens an operating system standard explorer window, allowing operators to guide Alexandria to the location of your saved item image. You can use GIFs, BMPs, PICs, JPGs (or most standard image files) as viable formats to add an item picture to the item record. When applicable, the picture will appear in the Publication subtab of the Title Information tab (in the Items management window) and in the Current Item section of the Circulation window.
• Paste Item Picture—If you have a picture stored on your operating system clipboard, this command will paste it into the item picture field. Alternately, you can use the contextual menu, or drag and drop valid picture files onto the item's picture field.
• Copy Item Picture—This selection will copy the current item picture in its native resolution to your default operation system clipboard.
• Remove Title Picture—This selection clears the current title picture.
• Sneak Peek Picture—This selection downloads the latest item cover art from Sneak Peek.

• Assign New Barcode—This selection forces Alexandria, according to your system preferences, to assign a new barcode number to the selected copy.
• Don't Show In Researcher—This selection prevents the viewing of this copy from the Alexandria Researcher. The copy can still be viewed from the Librarian Workstation.

• Show—This selection allows you to open windows that accommodate various types of information correlating to the Item Management window.

Show Details—This selection opens the Item Details window; essentially the same as clicking the Item Details button on the main Circulation window. This window displays the status of all copies of this item, including their status, the patron who has each copy—if checked out—and the due date, the bibliographic record, and any attachments.

Show Title Editor—This selection opens the Title Editor Window.

Show Author Editor—This selection opens the Author Editor Window.

Show Series Editor—This selection opens the Series Editor Window.

Show ISBN Calculator—This selection opens the ISBN Check Digit Calculator Window.

Show Search Details—This selection opens the copy's details page in your default web browser. Essentially, it allows you to see how the copy record will be viewed by patrons using the Alexandria Researcher.

Sequence Number—A unique number assigned to new items by Alexandria. This number is useful for browsing by order of entry.

Online Help (“”)—Performs an online Item Management window help query to our Online Help in an external browser window.

Current Record Pane (Continued)

The very top of the Current Record pane contains the Call Number, Policy, and Title for each item record. This portion of the Items Management window is always visible regardless if you have the Title Information or Copy Information tab selected.

The fields at the top of the Items window are as follows:

• Title—A title is required; the record will not be saved unless a value is entered in the Title field. The title is saved under MARC field 245_a.

In the Title field, if you enter a title that is longer than the line, the text wraps to the next line. To enter a subtitle, press <return> on the keyboard and enter a colon (“:”) followed by the subtitle. When you save the record, it is displayed with the colon and subtitle on the second line. This is saved under MARC field 245_b. You can also use the equals sign (“=”) in the 245_b tag to designate a subtitle. However, the (“=”) is mainly for multilingual titles.

For example:

If you want to continue manually entering or editing MARC information from the Title field, you can enter statements of responsibility and general material designation. Begin a statement of responsibility (245_c) with a front slash (“/”) and enclose the medium in brackets (“[]”). All subfield information must begin on a new line in the Title field.

If you enter a medium, it will be saved (but not shown in the title field), only in the drop-down menu.

If you enter a statement of responsibility, and preferences are set to not show this, it will be saved, but not displayed.

If you enter title information and then <option-tab> (Macintosh) or <ctrl-tab> (Windows) out of the Title field (or if you have Enable Authority Control checked in the Miscellaneous, Display Settings preference window), an Authority Control Title Search window will appear, allowing you to see if this title is already in your collection. If it is, the Authority Control window will not display.

Underneath the Title field is the # of Non-Filing Characters drop-down menu with the digits 0-9. Use this drop-down menu to specify the number of characters in the title to ignore when indexing the title. Thus, the title The Wizard of Oz should have a “4” selected so the book is sorted (indexed) as “Wizard of Oz”. The final character to ignore must be either a space or punctuation character. If this indicator is set incorrectly, Alexandria will revert the # of Non-Filing Characters setting to zero rather than ignore a partial word.

• Call Number—Each title is assigned a call number. The call number designates the location of an item in the library. Because call numbers are site-specific rather than universal (such as LCCN and ISBN), you must enter call numbers that are specific to your library. The title call number is saved in MARC field 900_a.

Depending on their source, imported MARC records may or may not include a call number for your items. Alexandria formats call numbers to remove control characters and double spaces, thus correcting incorrectly formatted numbers.

Copies “inherit” the title call number unless a specific copy call number is changed.

• Item Policy—The policy determines the circulation rules for a particular group of items. Every title is given a policy. In addition to enforcing circulation rules, an item's policy is used to group items for statistical analyses and reporting purposes.

Copies “inherit” the title policy unless a specific policy is assigned.

Current Record Tabs and Subtabs

The greater half of the Current Record pane consists of the Title Information and Copy Information tabs and relevant subtabs; these tabs contain the editable fields, drop-down menus, and checkboxes that are used to manage information related to the resources in your collection.

Title Information—The Title Information tab and related subtabs contain pertinent information for each title record. Within these tabs and subtabs, you may view or edit information about each title.

Copy Information—The Copy Information tab and related subtabs contain information about each copy belonging to the title. Within these tabs and subtabs, you may peruse or edit additional information about each copy.

You cannot view or edit Copy Information until the primary Title Information is saved.

Title Information tab

• Publication subtab
• Subjects subtab
• Terms subtab
• Notes subtab
• Summary subtab
• Statistics subtab
• Links subtab
• SP (Study Program) subtab
• Misc subtab

Copy Information tab

• Copy Info subtab
• Copy Notes subtab
• Copy Stats subtab
• Transit History subtab