Inventory on a Shoestring

1
Inventory on a Shoestring

• J. David Bavousett
• System Administrator
• Abilene Library Consortium

2
A Few Disclaimers

• Im not Virginia or Jon.
• I dont do this in real life. Im a system
  admin who works for the Consortium.
• Some of this requires API.
• Your mileage may vary.

3
Method 1 Wired

• Hook up a laptop or PC on a cart, with a long
  network wire, and haul it around the library
• Use the Inventory Item wizard
• After scanning a location or call range, run
  List Items for all items with an inventory date
  lt your scan date.
• It will tell you some useful things.

4
Method 1 DRAWBACKS

• Just how big is your library, anyway?
• Long cord can pose trip hazard
• Gives no help with items out of shelf order
• Have to deal with items that check in or out
  during this process.

5
Method 1A Same, only wireless

• Use a wireless laptop, but everything else is the
  same.
• Drawback of trip hazard goes away, but how long
  will your battery last?

6
The Better Way Scanner

• Scan in transactions using handheld PDA or scan
  wand, store one-scan-per-line in Notepad.
• API Upload notepad file to system, modify into
  an Inventory item transaction, and feed to API
  server

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The Better Way Drawbacks

• Need an API geek in the library
• Still doesnt help with mis-shelved items!

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The Best Way

• Scan in barcodes with SirsiDynix purchased
  scanner, or if you have an API geek around, any
  scanner that can return one-barcode-per-line.
• Upload using the Scanner Transfer Utility.
• (API) If you used a non-SirsiDynix scanner, you
  need to fix them to work

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The Best Way, continued

• Run the Load Scanned Transactions report. It
  tells you whats missing, and whats out of
  order.
• Run a List Items, looking for items not
  inventoried since before you ran inventory (and
  NEVER).

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The Best Way ADVANTAGES

• Mis-shelved item information
• More accurately handles checkin/checkout
• No hauling a big ol laptop or PC around on a
  cart

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The Best Way is NOT Perfect!

• Substantial API knowledge is needed to make it
  go. You can hire that in, if you need it, but
  its not trivial.
• You never get rid of the need to manually wand
  all those barcodes, unless you go to RFID.

12
New Directions

• RFID is not the be-all-end-all you might think
  it will tell you what is on the wrong shelf
  group, but not if the item is out of order on the
  right shelf.

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Sharing/Questions