How to Create the Anonymous Patron
Step 1 - Creating an Anonymous patron
It is possible to allow a patron account that already exists on your system to be set as the Anonymous Patron, however, it can be clearer to create a brand new patron the sole purpose of which is to act as the Anonymous Patron.
Go to Patrons > Quick Add New Patron and choose a patron category from the dropdown list.
For creating an anonymous patron it is important to choose a patron category that is designated as either adult or staff.
Fill out and save the Quick Add form. As this form can be edited to suit the exact content may vary but the screenshot below shows an example of this form.
When creating this patron, it is important to use an intuitive name, like Anonymous Patron, in order to make it clear in any context that this is a patron account with a specific purpose that won’t reflect the usage patterns of the average patron.
Once the patron account has been created, take note of the borrower number associated with the patron.
Step 2 - Define the AnonymousPatron system preference
Once the Anonymous Patron has been determined it is necessary to put their borrower number into the AnonymousPatron system preference.
Go to Koha administration > Global system preferences and search for AnonymousPatron.
This will bring back a variety of system preference options because the Anonymous Patron is used for several different functions within Koha.
The preference we are addressing here is AnonymousPatron.
This system preference will automatically be populated with the borrower number 0. Borrowernumbers are unique internal database ID numbers that Koha automatically assigns to all patrons added to the system. The numbers are assigned in a numerically ascending order and are mainly used in the context of reports.
Insert the borrowernumber of the Anonymous patron you have defined into the AnonymousPatron system preference.
Hit Save all OPAC preferences.
Whenever a patron’s data is anonymised it will be associated with the Anonymous patron that has been created.
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