Print Patron Barcodes

Destiny lets you print patron barcodes as labels – either individually, as a sheet, or as a list.

The following information is provided in this topic:

Print a Single Patron Barcode Label

Print Several Patron Barcode Labels or a List of Barcodes

Test Barcode Labels for Usability

Content of the Barcode List or Labels

Approved Label Stock

Count Used Labels on a Partially Used Sheet of Labels

Center the Printing

Command Barcodes

Export to Microsoft Excel

Print a Single Patron Barcode Label

  1. Print an individual label in one of the following ways:
    If you select...Then...
    Admin > Manage Patrons
    1. Search for a patron.
    2. Click Edit next to the patron record.
    3. At the bottom of the page, select the Print Label on Save checkbox.
    4. Click Save.
    Circulation > Patron Status
    1. Search for a patron.
    2. If a list of patrons appears, click the patron's name.
    3. Click Print Label.
  2. When the Print Patron Barcodes page appears, if you do not want the eye-readable number on the label, deselect the Barcode number checkbox.
  3. Choose to output the report as Export to Excel® or Use label stock. If you choose Export to Excel, continue with step 5.
  4. If you chose labels, use the drop-down to choose one of the preloaded label stocks:
    1. Enter the number of the next available label in the Start on label field.
      Note: With Destiny, you can continue using previously-used label sheets so you do not waste any labels. To determine the Start on label, see Label Numbering.
    2. If a page needs to be moved left or right (horizontal) or up or down (vertical), enter the appropriate setting in Printer offset to center the printing.
  5. Click Run Report. Report Manager opens.
  6. When the status changes to Completed, click View.
  7. After positioning the label stock in the printer, use Adobe Reader's Print option to print the labels.

Print Several Patron Barcode Labels or a List of Barcodes

You can print an entire group of barcode labels, a list of barcodes for existing patrons or new barcode labels that have not been assigned to patrons yet.

Print Used (Assigned) Patron Barcodes

  1. Select Reports > Patron Reports.
  2. Under Labels/Card, select Barcode Labels.
  3. Click the Used sub-tab.
  4. A district user with the Manage patrons for the District permission can select a site from the For list.
  5. From the Select by drop-down, select how to identify patrons to include in the report.
  6. If selected Patron Name, Grade Level, Graduation Year or a user-defined field, select the range and do one of the following:
    • Leave both fields blank to include all of the patrons.
    • Leave the From field blank and enter a name or number in the to field. Destiny includes all those up to and including the name in the to field.
    • Enter a name or number in the From field and leave the to field blank. Destiny includes that name or number and all those after it.
    • Enter the same name or number in both fields. Destiny includes only that one name or number.

      Note: Destiny does not support the use of wildcards (?, *) in ranges.

    If you selected Homeroom, only homerooms to which patrons are currently assigned appear in the From and to lists.

    If you selected List of Patrons, click Update to build a list by searching for and retrieving patrons.

    If you selected Date Patron Added, select a phrase from the list, and then enter or select a date. Click the calendar icon for a calendar.

    If you selected Barcode List, either browse to an existing file, or create a list:

    • To create a list, place the cursor in the Create a barcode list field and scan the barcodes, or type the barcodes and click Add. To remove a barcode number from the list, select it and click Remove.
    • To select and find an existing file, click Browse.
  7. Choose from the Sorted by options to define how to sort the barcodes: Patron Name, Grade Level, Homeroom or one of the User-Defined fields.

    Note: If you choose a field other than Patron Name, then, sub-sort the barcodes by another of the fields listed in the step. Within each group, the barcodes print in patron name order.

  8. Use the Limited to patrons option to select the patron types and statuses to include.
  9. If you do not want the eye-readable number on the label, deselect the Barcode number checkbox.
  10. From the Formatted for options, choose from the following: (Lists are not available in Media Manager.)
    To...Then...
    Print labels
    1. Select Barcode labels.
    2. Choose to output the report as Export to Excel® or Use label stock.
    3. If you chose labels, use the drop-down to choose one of the preloaded label stocks:
        • Enter the number of the next available label in the Start on label field.
          Note: With Destiny, you can continue using previously-used label sheets as to not waste any of the labels. To determine the Start on label, see Label Numbering.
      • If the page needs to be moved left or right (horizontal) or up or down (vertical), enter the appropriate setting in Printer offset to center the printing.
    Print a list
    1. Select Use at the circulation desk.
    2. To start a new page whenever the Sorted by field changes (and if you chose to sub-sort the list, whenever the second Sorted by field changes, select the Start a new page for each group checkbox.
      Note: If you chose to sort by Patron Name, you cannot include page breaks.
    1. To print command barcodes at the bottom of each page, select Include Circulation command barcodes.
  11. Click Run Report. Report Manager opens.
  12. Click View to open the label report.
  13. After positioning the label stock in the printer, use Adobe Reader's Print option to print the labels.
    Important: If printing labels, make sure to set Page Scaling to None on Adobe's Print pop-up. If printing a list with command barcodes, set Page Scaling to Fit to Printable Area.

Print Unused (Unassigned) Patron Barcodes

  1. Select Reports > Patron Reports, and (under Labels/Cards) select Barcode Labels.
  2. Click the Unsed sub-tab.
  3. A district user with the Manage patrons for the District permission can select a site from the For list.
  4. In the Number of Barcodes field, enter the quantity of labels needed.
  5. In the Starting Barcode field, enter the starting barcode number.

    Notes:

    You can enter your highest barcode, or, if you would like to fill gaps in your number sequence, enter a lower number. Destiny prints only barcode numbers that are not in use; it skips any used barcode numbers.

    To identify (and copy, if desired) the next available barcode number, click the symbology name next to Starting Barcode field.

    If the barcode number entered is more than 7 characters, its symbology must match the symbology that appears in brackets. If it does not, change the symbology in Admin > Site Configuration before generating the labels.

  6. Choose to output the report as Export to Excel® or Use label stock.
  7. If you choose labels, use the drop-down to choose one of the preloaded label stocks:
    1. Enter the number of the next available label in the Start on label field.
    2. If pages need to be moved left or right (horizontal) or up or down (vertical), enter the appropriate setting in Printer offset to center the printing.
  8. Click Run Report.
  9. Report Manager opens. When the status changes to Completed, click View.
  10. After positioning the label stock in the printer, use Adobe Reader's Print option to print the labels.

Test Barcode Labels for Usability

The first time you print barcodes, print a few samples on plain paper, and do the following:

  • Make sure that your scanner, PHD or wireless handheld device can read the barcodes. The quality of the printout varies from printer to printer; some older printers cannot produce scanner-readable barcodes.
  • If you are printing labels, make sure the barcode is centered. Scanners require some white space at either end of the black lines.
    If not, adjust the offsets and try again. When you print, Destiny saves the offset settings you used so you do not have to set them again.

Content of the Barcodes List or Labels

For used barcodes, the labels or the two-column list contain the patron's scannable barcode, the eye-readable number (if selected), and the patron's name (Last, First Middle).

For unused barcodes, the labels contain the scannable barcode and the eye-readable number.

Approved Label Stock

You can use one of these label stocks. Stock from other vendors may work as well. Make sure to print a test page on plain paper and adjust the offsets as needed.

Item # Labels per sheet Label size
H × W in inches
Avery 5160 3 × 10 1 × 2-5/8
Demco 14218050 3 × 10 1 × 2-5/8
Sagebrush Laser 0370-00000001 3 × 11 7/8 × 2-7/8
University 9-62450-16
3 × 10 1 × 2-5/8

Count Used Labels on a Partially Used Sheet of Labels

Destiny counts labels from left to right, then top to bottom.
To start printing on a label other than the first one on the sheet, set Start on label to the label number where printing should begin.
For example, to start printing on the second label of the third row of a 3 × 10 sheet, enter 8.

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10 11 12
13 14 15
16 17 18
19 20 21
22 23 24
25 26 27
28 29 30

Center the Printing

Use the Printer offsets to fine-tune printing alignment on the labels. The Horizontal and Vertical offsets let you adjust the left and top margins, respectively. Each increment is equal to 1/10th of a millimeter. Keep in mind that the offsets needed for each label stock vary from printer to printer.

The first time you select a label stock, print a few tests on plain paper to ensure that the printing is aligned correctly.

When you print, Destiny saves the offset settings you used so you do not have to set them again.

For the Horizontal setting, find your stock in the following table, and enter a number within the allowable range:

Item # Minimum setting Maximum setting
Avery 5160 -10 10
Sagebrush 0370-00000001 -10 10
University 9-62450-16 -23 22

For the Vertical setting:

Item # Minimum setting Maximum setting
Avery 5160 -36 36
Sagebrush 0370-00000001 -49 49
University 9-62450-16 -36 36

Any offsets you define for barcode labels are in addition to the unprintable area defined in your printer's properties.

Command Barcodes

Command codes are barcodes that tell Destiny the type of transaction you want to perform. To switch between the options in Circulation, you scan the command barcode that indicates what you want to do. This means ou do not have to use the mouse or keyboard. Scanning the command barcodes in conjunction with the patron and copy or item barcodes lets you process your patrons' transactions rapidly.

You scan a library command barcode to start a Check Out, Check In, Patron Status or Reset transaction.

Textbook command barcodes let you start aCheck Out Text to Patron, to Teacher, Check In Text or Reset transaction.

Resource command barcodes let you start a Check Out Items to Patron, to Location or Reset transaction.

You can also use the command barcodes when circulating offline with Follett Remote, Destiny Remote or a PHD Dolphin+.

Export to Microsoft Excel

You can export content to a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (.xls) format, providing ways to manipulate the generated report data.

  1. Select the fields that meet your requirements.
  2. Click Export to Microsoft Excel.
  3. Click Run Report.
  4. Click Refresh List until the report status displays Completed.
  5. Click View. Microsoft Excel launches, and the report with preselected fields appears.