[OPEN-ILS-DEV] Auto-generate Barcodes - Use case, possible patch

[Dan Wells]

Hello all,

This email will explain my library's need for auto-generated barcodes and also provide our currently deployed patch to accomplish them.  We are certainly open to alternatives for meeting our peculiar needs.

First, concerning the need, as a State and Federal repository, we house tens of thousands of government documents.  We do not take the time or expense to put actual barcodes on these items, and the records are bulk-loaded.  We want these items to have usable IDs (entries in the asset.copy barcode field), but we do not particularly care what they are until they are needed for use (which is rarely).  Because of the bulk-loading requirement, and because of the unique constraint on item IDs (barcodes), barcode auto-generation seems like the best solution for us.

With that in mind, I set about creating a simple trigger for this table.  It creates barcodes in the form of '@@record_id.digit', e.g. @@90234.1, @@90234.2 for two items with auto-generated copy barcodes attached to a call number attached to a record with an id of 90234.  Any form of the word 'AUTO' in the barcode field will cause this trigger to fire.  This is similar to how our old system worked, and we never had problems with it.

So, the questions are:

1) Do we want this as a feature, or is there a more forward-thinking solution out there?

2) Do we like this auto-generation format, or should we go with something else?

3) Are there necessary enhancements for the proposed trigger code?

Thanks,
Dan


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Daniel Wells, Library Programmer Analyst dbw2 at calvin.edu
Hekman Library at Calvin College
616.526.7133


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