Offline Circulation Tool

Koha Offline Circulation Tool

The Koha Offline Circulation Tool that was created by Kyle Hall for Windows. The offline circulation tool for Windows will generate a KOC (koha offline circulation) file that you can upload into Koha once your system comes back up. This tool works great for those without access to the internet.

The program can be downloaded from GitHub.
Notes
The desktop offline circulation app is only compatible with Windows computers.

Warning
A Firefox add-on is also available, but it is not recommended due to potential data loss. Setup instructions for the add-on are available in the Koha Manual.


The offline circulation app creates a .koc file. There are three parts to the Offline Circ module in Koha:
  1. Creating the .koc file (staff checking out items)
  2. Uploading the .koc file to Koha
  3. Processing the .koc file

Setup Steps

  1. Go to GitHub and download the link referenced above.
  2. Save it to your computer and run the program.
  3. The Koha Offline Circulation Icon will appear on your desktop- double click this to open the program.
  4. On the left-hand side, there are three tabs available: issues, returns, history.
  5. Select a borrowers DB file
    1. If ByWater is providing hosting, we can set up an automatic generation of this file
  6. Set default KOC file path
    1. where your file will download
Notes
Be sure to make note of where the KOC file will be saved.

Issues/Checkouts

  1. To begin, scan in a patron’s barcode and hit accept.

Notes
Offline Circ can be used for patrons who are picking up holds, but the items must be checked out on the card the hold is attached to.  
  1. Below the Borrower card number area is the Item Barcode area. Scan in the item that the borrower is checking out.
  2. Hit Add items after each scan of a barcode. At the end of the transaction with the patron, click OK.
  3. After the first transaction, you will be prompted to save the file.
  4. After you save this file, continue with the next patron in the checkout process. Any subsequent transactions will be saved to this file.
  5. If the offline circ module is closed, you will need to indicate where the file needs to be saved. If at all possible, do not close the offline circ module during the day. Fewer files are better. Do not attempt to open or edit the .koc files.

File Naming Conventions

Once the program has opened, select File, Save As, and save the file as directed by your library system.  This is absolutely critical that the file is named and stored as directed. There should be a folder for each library, labeled by the branch code.  Each file should be labeled with a standard naming convention.  For instance, the Independence Free Public Library would be using a folder labeled IND (their branch code) and each file would be named IND_Sat_10 (this indicates the branch, day, and time the file was created).  If you need to have a second file for that same day, name it IND_Sat_2 indicating it was created on Saturday at 2 pm. It is important to indicate branch and date so the transactions are loaded correctly.  Once the file is saved, you will see the pathway indicated in the top of the window.  In the example below this file for the Main branch, created on Friday at 10 is saved at C:/Users/This PC/Desktop/M/M_FRI_10 - the file will always be a .koc file.

Returns

  1. Scan in a barcode under the Returns tab and hit enter.
  2. This will store all the previously scanned barcodes.

History

All the transactions that have been performed during the time this program was open will be stored in History. When you close out for the day, make sure you save the file. The next day, the first transaction will again need to be saved, but this history will show everything that has happened during the time it was opened.

Using a Borrower File

  1. Go to Settings after opening the tool.
  2. Choose Select Borrowers DB file and retrieve it from your computer.
  3. Then proceed with transactions. When you scan a barcode of a patron, their details will populate on the right-hand side.
  4. The rest of the process is the same as above.

Once internet is restored

Make sure you are logged in at the branch where the transactions occurred. In Circulation > Offline circulation, select “Upload offline circulation file (.koc). This will load the file into Koha as pending transactions. 

Staff will need to process the Pending Transactions at their location and note any exceptions that need to be addressed. It is vital that staff are logged in at their correct library and only process their own files. Since the .koc files are not created in an interactive mode, it is possible that a patron barcode or item barcode is incorrectly scanned.  Having staff process the pending transactions allows them to see a list of errors and correct them as needed. 

Processing Pending Transactions

If the tool was used as part of a migration, staff should first check in any items on the waiting holds shelf.

To do this, go to Circulation - Pending offline circulation transactions

You will see the pending transactions, sorted by time stamp.  In this first example, we can see there is a transaction in red - this indicates an error.  In this case, both the item barcode and cardnumber were not found. This transaction will need to be noted and staff will have to determine what the correct info should have been in order to process. 

Use Check all to select all the transactions, then uncheck any that should not be processed, such as the incorrect one, then select Process.



There will be a pause as Koha processes these transactions - do not click the process button again.  Wait for the response from Koha that the process is done.  Staff will see the results, indicating successful completions.


In the example below, we can see a different error - the barcode of the item was not recorded. Notice the blank space.  This means the third item that was scanned for borrower 102 did not register. When staff process the file, they will see the error noted below, Item not found.



Once the pending transactions have been completed, staff may then continue with checking in items that were returned over the weekend, followed by running the holds queue.

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