[Koha-devel] Returns and transfers

[Owen Leonard]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in improving the management of items between branches, and
there are a couple of things on my list for how to do this:

1. Display more information in returns about an item's
homebranch/holdingbranch
2. Allow for easy updates of an item's homebranch via the Transfers process

At NPL books move between branches very frequently, but almost always need
to get back to their home branch after they're checked in.  It would be
useful to us if the returns process displayed an item's homebranch so that
librarians can easily see if an item needs to be put in a cargo bag for
transport.

Along those lines, it would be good for there to be a simple process for
changing an item's homebranch, just as there is now for changing an item's
holdingbranch (via branchtransfers.pl).  Perhaps branchtransfers.pl could
be altered to allow for either holdingbranch updates /or/ homebranch
updates.  Or it could be a whole new page.  Either one would work fine for
us.

I've been looking through the returns and branchtransfers script in the
last couple days, and I see there's some kind of allowance for 'permanent'
branches.  I'm assuming this is a Katipo-specific thing?  Maybe Chris could
chime in and explain how that's supposed to work so that if the scripts get
changed we won't break something. To my untrained eye it looks like
returns are designed to work with a specific branch category 'PE,' which
designates branches as permanent?

I'd love to hear comments about all this. I'm curious how this sounds with
regard to your own library procedures.

thanks,

  -- Owen