What are barcodes and how can they be identified?
What are barcodes?
Barcodes are unique numbers, manually applied to all items on a Koha system. Unlike item numbers, which are automatically generated by the system as items are created these are assigned by the library as item records are created. Generally, barcodes appear on the item records, unless they have been set to be hidden.
For more details on hiding and revealing fields on the item record field, please check our Help Centre or contact Interleaf Technology directly.
What are they used for?
The main use for barcodes is to allow individual items to be checked out to patrons on the system. They can also be used to identify records within the SQL database.
How can they be found?
Barcodes can be found on item records and specific barcodes can be searched through the catalogue.
Barcodes can also be found through SQL report, for example:
SELECT items.barcode
FROM items
It should be noted that this is the report at its most basic and if there are many items on the catalogue it could slow the system searching for them.
For advice about the different ways to limit reports, please check our Help Centre for report information or contact Interleaf Technology directly.