How to create a new patron account
This document will outline how to manually add a new patron account.
Find the tool to add new patrons
Go to Patrons module on the homepage.
There will be two options for adding new patrons, the + New patron button and the + Quick Add new patron button.
Clicking on either button will create a dropdown with a list of all patron categories on your system. These will vary from system to system as they can be deleted or added to as needed by library staff, however you should choose the category that is most appropriate for the type of patron being created e.g. first year, staff, external student etc.
+ New patron vs. Quick Add New Patron
The + New patron option is longer with more fields to be filled out. Although there are more fields, they are not necessarily mandatory. The aim of the + New patron function is to give you the option of adding a lot of information to a patron account as it is being created.
The + Quick add new patron is shorter, usually around five fields, but can be as long as the library needs. The aim of this form is to get new patrons registered quickly. Accounts created using this feature can be edited at a later point when library staff has time to add more data.
In both situations, fields marked in red are mandatory and fields in black are optional.
In both cases it is a good idea to make the card number field mandatory for a number of reasons.
1. If this field is non-mandatory and is left blank KOHA will automatically generate a cardnumber for the new patron. This gives the library staff less control and ability to record the numbers being given out.
2, In order to check items out all patrons will need a cardnumber so it is good to monitor that they are being assigned correctly.
3. A mandatory field will encourage all library staff to have a procedure for assigning library cards, creating a standard and intuitive sequence for the library cards.
If you are a school library using Scooter, you should use the student’s number from the school administration system (VSWARE/Facility/ePortal/Compass) as the cardnumber. This will ensure that the student is recognised when the data is updated each year.
It is possible to change the library card number after it has been assigned.
Short form example:
Long form example:
The above should act as examples for how the forms may look. It is possible to add or remove the different information fields, as well as changing the title of the section they occur in.
Other important features of this functionality include:
If you leave the username and password field blank, Koha will automatically fill them in.
The username will be made up of a composite of the first and second name fields, or the email fields, depending on what has been filled in.
The password will be randomly generated, but will be encrypted, so in order to sign in a new password will need to be actively assigned.
To add a new patron using either option, fill in the mandatory fields on the form and any optional ones that your library identifies as useful. Once you are happy with how the form is filled in, hit Save and you will be taken directly into the patron record you just created.
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