WSWHE Wisdom

Regardless of what system you use, printing and replacing spine labels and barcode labels can be a sticking point. Here are some suggestions and alternatives that might help.

• Handheld options for under $50 (These are totally independent of whatever computer you may have, are battery powered with a built-in keyboard, and only require purchasing cartidges/tapes)
• SUPVAN Handheld, portable label maker machine
• Brother handheld label maker machine
• Bluetooth-enabled, rechargeable label makers can connect to an app on a laptop/phone and often have label options of various sizes:
• SUPVAN ;Bluetooth Label Maker Machine
• NIIMBOT B1 Label Maker Machine (comes with 2" x 1.18' labels)
• I bought a NIIMBOT and played with it yesterday. Super cool! Here's a quick review.

We are learning that there are LOTS of different label options lurking in people's libraries. Some you ordered...some you inherited. You may or may not even know what they are. We try to help make magic happen, but our magic is sometimes limited.

Things to try:

• Print to plain paper first, to check
• Try saving as a PDF before printing (that sometimes helps)
• Download a template you keep in Word/Google Docs as a backup plan
• Try a different page orientation in your printer/copier

We are often asked questions that boil down to, "I have labels where the template is portrait, but the printer is landscape." See if you can find a way to print in the direction the labels were designed to run (it might mean using a bypass).

Unfortunately, there are so many tiny variables out there (not just with labels, but with the printers, and the printer drivers as well) when taking something meant for one format and trying to make it fit a different one, and no programming is perfect. This is one area that tends to cause folks the most grief, and the answer is likely to try a backup plan, a different label type, or a handheld label printer. (We have some magical powers, but they are limited.)

Some folks may think they have to use a brand-new barcode when an item comes back that is missing its original barcode. (Or, if the barcode is damaged or dirty and is no longer readable.) TLC allows you to print barcodes from an item space, and portable printing devices (such as the ones listed above, as well as the solid standby, DYMO LabelWriter) have the capability of printing a new barcode as well. Karin can help you if you have questions.

New report: My Borrowers with Items from other locations

This report will show you what ILLs you may still have floating around your building that need to go back to their home locations.

Intra-Location Items Checked Out

This report will show you what ILLs you may still have out to other libraries, in case you want to ask for them back.

Want to schedule or bookmark reports? This slide deck has instructions.

WSWHE SLS Professional Collection

If you haven't checked lately, we continue to add new titles to our professional collection. We recently added new physical copies of books, and we purchase Sora copies of professional materials, as well. If you click on the link above to go to our catalog, you'll see that we have a tab for Sora titles, and a tab for new print books.

1. To check out a Sora title, simply click on the item in the catalog, or go to Sora, and you can check it out there. (We can also assign titles.)

2. To request a physical item:

• Try seeing if you can place a hold via TLC!
• We do still have our Request Form (it's a link in the upper left of our catalog page) if you want to go that route.
• You can also just email us as well. We don't get a huge amount of requests for our physical books, so it's exciting when we get asked. And yes, we're totally fine with loaning out items over the summer!