SpineOMatic Features Overview
You can use either Ex Libris’ spine label parsing, or you can let SpineOMatic parse the labels for you. SpineOMatic’s parsers can format spine labels for:
- Library of Congress and LC Children’s Literature
- Dewey Decimal
- National Library of Medicine (NLM)
- Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc)
- Other (user-defined) schemes
When you use SpineOMatic’s parsers, the “Tweak and Test” panels let you customize parsing behavior and to quickly test how different types of call numbers will parse. Tweak and Test also lets you change the way SpineOMatic parses Holdings, usually found in the <issue_level_description> XML element.
You can optionally add holdings information (from the <issue_level_decription> field) to the spine label, and add any other value in the Alma Item XML file (such as “<copy_id>”, “<library_name>”), or even a string of free text.
Ex Libris has added a parsed holdings statement to the item’s XML file. You can select it by using the element name “<parsed_issue_level_description>” in the “Include holdings” box.
When you select <parsed_issue_level_description>, SpineOMatic’s Tweak & Test Holdings feature will not be used. If you request Ex Libris’ parsed holdings but they are not present in the XML record, SpineOMatic will attempt to parse the <issue_level_description> textual holdings instead, and indicate which holdings were actually used on the User Interface.
If an item is not shelved in the general collection, additional text (such as “MEDIA,” “OVERSIZE” or “Ref.”) can automatically be added above the call number on the spine label. You create a table that associates a Library Name and a Location Name to the desired text. This table can be built on one machine and copied to other PCs, or it may be kept on a server and downloaded to each workstation when SpineOMatic starts. See the “Label Prefixes” section below for more details.
You can specify whether margin settings and other measurements are expressed in inches or in centimeters. You can also select whether a period or a comma is used as the numeric decimal mark.
From one to 99 copies of a label can be sent to the printer for each scan. When sending multiple copies to the Desktop printer, the print button becomes a “Stop print” button. Click it to stop sending labels into the Windows print queue. For Batch (and for FTP) printing, a warning message is displayed any time you try to batch or FTP-print 5 or more copies of a label.
Each workstation that runs SpineOMatic can track usage by the name of the workstation and (optionally) by the station operator’s user ID. You can assign each workstation a name that uniquely identifies it, and you may optionally require that station operators provide a short ID, such as their initials. This information will allow basic labeling activity to be reported by date and time, such as how many labels were produced by user, library and location for a given date range. The “Reports” panel allows you to run and view basic activity reports.
Besides standard spine labels, SpineOMatic can also create custom labels. These labels can include any values from the item’s XML file, lines of free text, a “<current_date>” field, or any combination thereof. Two user-defined label formats can be saved and recalled as needed. One format can be used to print flag slips for inserting into items that cannot have adhesive labels attached, and the other might be used to create current periodical labels. Formatting codes allow you to print barcodes, add extra blank lines, wrap long lines, and parse call number or holdings text.
Note: If you need to print barcode labels, make sure to use a barcode font that meets your needs. If your barcode numbers must include spaces or special characters, be sure to select a barcode font that uses the entire ASCII character set. For Code39 users, this would mean using a 3 of 9 Extended font. There are many free versions available on the Web.
The “Pocket Label” option prints a spine label along with one or two pocket labels, based on the standard OCLC SLB, SL4 or SL6 format that displays call number, author and title. You can also create your own pocket label format using up to four XML fields, and any line spacing you like.
Each type of label (Spine, Custom, Flag Slips and Pocket Labels) remembers its printer settings. Margins, orientation, line and character limits, as well as the number of rows and columns for multi-label batches, are stored and then recalled when you again select that type of label.
A barcode number must be attached to an item in Alma before a label can be created. For items without barcode numbers, such as current serial issues, SpineOMatic can generate a dummy barcode number that can be dragged and dropped into Alma in order to provide the required number. The same number can then be dragged into SpineOMatic’s input box, allowing it to retrieve the item’s XML file and create a current periodical label.
The item’s Alma XML file is viewable from within SpineOMatic. This feature helps to configure SpineOMatic, and also helps resolve problems due to field names or values being different than expected.
Clicking the “Check for Updates” button checks to see if a newer version of SpineOMatic is available. If there is, the user has the option to download the newer version of SpineOMatic. (The older version is renamed, but it is left in the SpineOMatic folder.) When SpineOMatic is closed and restarted, the new version is run. The settings used by the older version will be preserved, and, where applicable, will be used by the new version.
The text of Reports and the text of the Current XML panel (illustrated above) can be copied to your Windows clipboard. This makes it easier to send reports to the printer, or to get a quick copy of the item’s XML file to use for diagnostic purposes. When copying the Current XML panel, you have the option to include SpineOMatic’s settings from the “settings.som” file to aid in diagnosing problems.
When the “Show Tips” box is checked, hovering the mouse pointer over any button or text area on the SpineOMatic window will pop up a tooltip with a brief description of that element.