[Koha-bugs] [Bug 21978] Add middle name field

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.koha-community.org]

https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=21978

--- Comment #4 from Sally <sally.healey at cheshiresharedservices.gov.uk> ---
Hi Katrin,

Ah yes, sorry, I can imagine that the differences between countries are quite
pronounced - I think Christopher is in the US, but I'm in the UK.  It's much
more common here to have a middle name than not - there's a bit on Wikipedia
about it, which refers to the UK and the US: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_name

Koha has a comprehensive 'borrowersunwantedfield' system preference, so it
would be great if we could offer this functionality because for those
geographic areas where it's not relevant, it could be easily disabled.

The issues with using Initials / Other Name:

1)  Initials and Other Name are located at the foot of Patron Identity when
joining a patron - this is not logical for a middle name, it should be Surname
/ First Name / Middle Name or First Name / Middle Name / Surname.  

The Patron Identity fields aren't trivial to move around with jquery (I think,
please correct me if I'm wrong - I'm fairly new to jquery and happy to learn
more).

2)  If using Initials, the patron's middle name is never formatted within the
patron's name on the checkout or details pages - it looks bizarre to UK eyes to
have Mr John Smith on the details screen, and then the middle name below the
patron's phone numbers; all of the names should be grouped together.

3)  If using Other Name, the patron's middle name is bracketed - e.g. John
(David) Smith, or quoted:  Mr John Smith (card number) "David" - again, this
looks really strange to UK eyes, because quotes and brackets imply that the
name is fake or optional.  This makes sense because that field is designed to
be for a nickname that the patron prefers to be called - but it doesn't work
for middle names at all.  

It's hard to explain, but I guess I would say that when it comes to identity,
your middle name is a key part of your name - just as much as your first name
or surname is.

It would be great if:

- Koha accepted middle names in a properly designed field
- The middle name input field was located next to first name / surname on the
patron identity screen
- The content of the middle name field is displayed in context - e.g. on the
details screen, instead of Title / First Name / Surname, it should be Title /
First Name / Middle Name / Surname - Mr John David Smith.
- It should be possible for the field to be entered into the
borrowersunwantedfield system preference so other regions can switch the
feature off

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