Adding a bookmobile or outreach location to Aspen

Adding a bookmobile or outreach location to Aspen

There may come a time when your library decides to add a new place for users to access library resources, such as a bookmobile or another outreach location. Thankfully, Aspen Discovery allows for great flexibility when it comes to adding and setting up new locations at any time.

Configuring a New Location

If using either Koha or Polaris for your ILS, start by creating the location there. Once set up in the ILS, Aspen will pull in the new location automatically. Next, edit the new location setting and adjust preferences as needed.

If using another ILS, create and configure the location there, then add the corresponding Location setting manually into Aspen. Let’s walk through the essential settings you’ll want to enter in and make decisions about.
  1. From Aspen Administration, head to Primary Configuration > Locations > click Add New.
  2. Enter in the Code for this location. This must match what you have set up for the bookmobile/outreach location in your ILS.

  1. Enter in the Display Name. This is how you would like the location to display throughout Aspen, whether that’s in copy information or in the list of locations and hours.

  1. Make sure the appropriate Library system setting is selected under Library. This would be the library the bookmobile or outreach location “belongs” to.

  1. Next, decide whether or not you want this location to appear in the Library Hours & Location screen. This information is accessible from the hamburger menu (☰) on every page. If you don’t want this location to appear there, uncheck Show in Locations And Hours List.
If you do want this location to appear, fill in any applicable location information – address, phone number, and/or email address. (No need to enter in address latitude/longitude/units for distance – if the address is filled in, Aspen auto-calculates this for you via our Google Maps API.)

Then, scroll down the page until you reach the Hours section where you can enter in any regular schedule for your location. Use the Notes field to add extra information about specific days/hours.

If none of these fields are quite right for your location’s needs, you can also add more details in the Description field, which will appear on the Hours & Location
screen under “Additional Information.”



Here’s an example of what all these fields together might look like in action:



  1. If this new location “owns” any materials, scroll to the bottom and create an entry for Records Owned. (This will already be created for you if using Koha or Polaris.) Leave the Indexing Profile Id as “ils,” then fill in the location’s code in the Location field. If the location will not have any circulating materials attached to it, you can skip this step.

  1. Finalize your setup in the Location settings by answering the following questions:
    1. Should this location show on the Donations page (if applicable)? If No, make sure “Show Location on Donations Page” is unchecked.
    2. Should users be able to select this location as a pickup location for holds?
    3. If No, go to ILS/Account Integration > Valid Hold Pickup Branch? and select Not Valid. Otherwise, select the setting that’s right for your location.
    4. Should users be able to select this location when registering for a card online? If No, go to ILS/Account Integration > Valid Self Registration Branch? and select Not Valid.
  2. Finally, if this location will circulate items, consider whether or not you’d like these items to be available in the catalog(s).

If you do not want items at the location to show in search results for any library (whether using a single or multiple catalogs), you can suppress the items using the location code from:

Aspen Administration > ILS Integration > Indexing Profiles > Locations to Suppress.



If you only want to suppress this location’s items for specific catalogs (when multiple catalogs are involved), you can suppress the items using the location code in:

Aspen Administration > Primary Configuration > Library Systems > edit the setting(s) > add the location code to “Locations to Exclude” under Records to
Include.



These steps and questions should work great for the majority of scenarios, but if you have any questions about how to configure settings for your library’s unique
situation, please submit a support ticket and we’ll be happy to help.

Spread the Word

Now that your location settings are in place, you can use Aspen to promote your new location and services, too. If your location has a tie-in with any special collections or resources, promote them with placards! Using Aspen’s web builder, you can also create an informational page about your new location with images,
videos, and more. System messages are also another useful tool when it comes to communicating info to all users.