[Archivesspace_Users_Group] barcode validation for ASpace

[Alexander Duryee]

Benn,

It's possible to validate barcodes for length via ASpace by modifying
config.rb (ref.
https://github.com/archivesspace/archivesspace/blob/master/docs/user/configuring-archivesspace.md).
If the min and max values are set to the same length, then barcodes will
only validate if they're either 0 or that exact length.  You won't need to
do anything elaborate to implement this - just add the correct values to
config.rb and restart ASpace, and it'll immediately go into effect.

I'm not aware of anything in ASpace that will do more elaborate validation
(e.g. verifying that a barcode's check digits are correct); this would
likely require either a plugin or feature request.

Thanks,
--Alex

On Fri, Jun 21, 2019 at 1:39 PM Benn Joseph <benn.joseph at northwestern.edu>
wrote:

> Good afternoon,
>
> Over the past few years, our standard procedure when processing a new
> collection has been to barcode the finished boxes and assign those barcodes
> to their Top Containers in ASpace.
>
>
>
> ArchivesSpace does a great job of keeping a user from assigning a barcode
> that has already been assigned elsewhere--which we recently discovered
> after mistakenly being given a sheet of piggyback barcodes that had already
> been assigned to various other collections. The system reports an error:
> “Barcode – A barcode must be unique within a repository”. Great!
>
>
>
> One thing it doesn’t do is check for valid barcodes against a schema. For
> instance, we try to be very careful about only using barcode scanners to
> enter barcodes into ArchivesSpace, but every now and then one will get
> entered by hand, or there will be an accidental keystroke after scanning.
> In those cases, it would be ideal if ASpace were able to validate this
> number to ensure that it’s correct (I understand that Alma does this using
> a Codabar 13 validation routine, though there are other validation options
> that would also look for a check digit). Would this be a plugin? A feature
> request? Would it even be possible?
>
>
>
> The reason it’s important for us to ensure barcode accuracy is that a
> large volume of our collections get sent offsite to a facility that uses
> GFA as their inventory system. So, if we enter the barcode for a box that
> is incorrect in ASpace and GFA records it differently, it ends up being
> very difficult to recall that box if a researcher requests it.
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> --Benn
>
>
>
> *Benn Joseph*
>
> Head of Archival Processing
>
> Northwestern University Libraries
>
> Northwestern University
>
> www.library.northwestern.edu
>
> benn.joseph at northwestern.edu <benn.joseph at northwestern.edu%0d>
>
> 847.467.6581
> _______________________________________________
> Archivesspace_Users_Group mailing list
> Archivesspace_Users_Group at lyralists.lyrasis.org
> http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/mailman/listinfo/archivesspace_users_group
>


-- 
Alexander Duryee
Metadata Archivist
New York Public Library
(917)-229-9590
alexanderduryee at nypl.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lyralists.lyrasis.org/pipermail/archivesspace_users_group/attachments/20190624/fb9153aa/attachment.html>