Authorized values management

Koha allows you to restrict the values that catalogers can place in some MARC subfields to certain pre-defined "authorized" values. These authorized values are defined here.

• HINT : if a subfield is non mandatory, Koha automatically adds an empty value to the authorized value list, that is selected by default. If the subfield is mandatory, no empty value is added (and you should NOT add it in the list, as it's an illegal value !)
• HINT2 : in the MARC editor, the list is ordered by Text, NOT by value. So you can define a default value by putting a space before the value you want to see first. For example, if your list is related to language, you can set "ENG" as authorized value and " English" as text. The space will order "ENG" as first default value, and the space won't be shown (because HTML automatically discard useless spaces). Super hint : you can put a value 1st with N spaces, then another one 2nd with N-1 space,..., a value in Nth position with 1 space. Don't abuse of this feature, it's easier to find a value in an alphabetical order. It should be used only to have a default value

Koha automatically sets up authorized value categories for your item types and branch codes, and you can link these authorized values to MARC subfields when you set up your MARC tag structure.

Why would I want to define authorized values for MARC tags?

Authorized Values create a 'controlled vocabulary' for your staff. As an example, let us assume that your Koha installation is used by several libraries, and you use MARC 21. You might want to restrict the 850a MARC subfield to the institution codes for just those libraries. In that case, you could define an authorized values category (perhaps called "INST") and enter the institution codes as the authorized values for that category.

• Asort1
  • attached to acquisitions, that can be used for stats purposes
• Asort2
  • attached to acquisitions, that can be used for stats purposes
• Bsort1
  • attached to patrons, that can be used for stats purposes
• Bsort2
  • attached to patrons, that can be used for stats purposes
• CCODE
  • collection code (appears when editing at item)
• DAMAGED
  • descriptions for items marked as damaged (appears when editing an item)
• HINGS_AS
  • holdings coded value??
• HINGS_C
  • holdings coded value??
• HINGS_PF
  • holdings coded value??
• HINGS_RD
  • holdings coded value??
• HINGS_UT
  • holdings coded value??
• LOC
  • shelving location (usually appears when editing an item)
• LOST
  • descriptions for the items marked as lost (appears when editing an item)
• NOT_LOAN
  • reasons why a title is not for loan
• RESTRICTED
  • ??
• STACK
  • ??
• SUGGEST
  • list of patron suggestion reject or accept reasons (appears when managing suggestions)
• WITHDRAWN
  • description of a withdrawn item (appears when editing an item)

• To view the authorized values defined for a category that already exists like 'Lost', choose 'Lost' from the category dropdown menu
• Then, you can see the values defined for the category "Lost" and edit them if you like.

• To add a new value under an existing category, click "New authorized value for"
• Enter the value and description and choose an icon if you'd like
• When finished, click 'Save'

Edit authorized values

• Choose a category from the 'Show Category' dropdown menu
• Click 'Edit' beside the authorized value you wish to edit
• Make the changes you'd like and click 'Save'
• TIP: Be careful about changing the 'Authorized value' as it may be associated with existing records.

Add a new Authorized Value Category

• To add a new category, click 'New Category'
• Fill in the 'Category', 'Authorized value' and 'Description' fields
  
  • IMPORTANT: The category name must be 8 characters or less. Also, just input one authorized value for the category. You can edit and add more after you save the category.
• Click 'Save'
• You've added a new category and can immediately start adding more authorized values to that category by clicking "New authorized value for..."