Kia ora/Hello Koha community,
I am currently working on reviving bug 25090 ( Moderate OPAC self-registrations before a patron account is created ).
New proposed functionality:
Step 1: The library enables
both the new 'PatronSelfRegistrationModeration' syspref and
the existing 'OpacResetPassword'
syspref.
Step 2: When a user submits an
OPAC self-registration their Koha patron account is not
created immediately - i.e. they cannot yet log into the OPAC.
Step 3: A pending registration
link appears at the bottom of the staff client home page (like
what's currently done with new purchase suggestions, or OPAC
patron modification requests).
Step 4: Librarians can click on the link to go to a page to approve or decline the registration.
Step 4a: If approved the user
is sent an email notice, containing their Koha username and an
OPAC reset password link.
Step 4b: If declined the user
is sent a different email notice.
The rationale for adding
this feature:
You
can currently limit the circulation of self-registered patrons
- by using the PatronSelfRegistrationDefaultCategory syspref
and creating circulation rule(s) for that category.
However, users only need an
OPAC login (without the ability to circulate) to access
electronic content providers (integrated with Koha via
STunnel/SIP2). Some electronic content providers charge
libraries based on their usage. Meaning it might not be
optimal having anyone from around the world self-registering
for a library OPAC login and accessing electronic content from
some providers, therefore, incurring extra costs for the
library.
Bug 25090 was originally
developed in the early days of the pandemic to ensure new
self-registering OPAC users accessing 3rd party databases were
coming from acceptable locations i.e. they were members of the
organisation the library is in.
More details can be found
here: https://www.catalyst.net.nz/blog/mental-health-education-resource-library-now-offers-online-self-registration
Q1: Are you in favour of this
as a new feature in Koha?
Q2: Would you prefer a new database table be added for self-registrations awaiting approval, or should I use the borrowers_modifications table - as is used by OPAC patron modification requests?
Q3: How would you envisage this self-registration moderation feature fitting in with the existing PatronSelfRegistrationVerifyByEmail and PatronSelfRegistrationDefaultCategory sysprefs?
Any thoughts much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Alex