Online Borrower Registration RFC

From Koha Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Online Borrower Registration RFC

Status: unknown
Sponsored by:
Developed by: ByWater Solutions
Expected for: Unsure
Bug number: Bug 8502
Work in progress repository: No URL given.
Description: This development will add the ability for a new patron to register himself or herself. The self-registration will attempt to match this newly inputted data to any existing patrons and if any possible matches are found, ask if the patron is sure he or she doesn’t already have an account at the library. A system preference may be set to prevent patron self-registration if the system detects the possibility that the person may already have an account.

Once the patron has registered, passing a captcha (or similar bot-stopper), the patron will then be optionally verified a second time via email. At this point, the patron will be able to print a temporary library card (optional by system preference), and will be provided any details necessary to access electronic resources (this body of text would be a template in the slips and notices system). At the library's choice, this new patron would either be set to a temporary patron status (patron type set via system preference), or a fully-fledged patron (allow patron type to be determined by age and/or other attributes).

Assuming the library uses temporary patron types for OPAC registrations, this patron will next enter a queue and would need to physically enter the library to verify himself and become a fully-fledged patron (most likely by bringing in physical proof of address, etc.). The librarian would look up the patron record and modify the patron type. If a temporary patron has not been verified within a certain time frame (defined by a system preference), the patron record will be deleted from the system via a cron job.

For registered patrons, the system will allow each person to also update his or her personal data via the OPAC. When a patron updates his or her information, the changes will be entered into a queue to be verified by a librarian (preventing a patron from inputting obviously bogus data). The staff client home page will display the number of patron records with changes awaiting approval. A librarian would then be able to click through a list of modification requests, and approve or deny each (with approval and denial alerts being sent to the patron via the standard messaging system).

Work to be done:

1. Create six new system preferences: - PatronSelfRegistration - PatronSelfRegistrationDetectDuplicates - PatronSelfRegistrationVerifyByEmail - PatronSelfRegistrationPrintTemporaryCard - PatronSelfRegistrationUseTemporaryStatus - PatronSelfRegistrationExpireTemporaryAccountsDelay

2. Create one new notice and one new slip (both customizable through Tools > Notices & Slips): - Verify by email notice - Temporary card slip

3. Create one new cron job: - To delete the unverified patrons based on the length of time specified in the PatronSelfRegistrationExpireTemporaryAccountsDelay

The patron will register from self_registration.pl, linked off opac-main.pl if enabled. The registration page will be translatable to other languages in the same way that existing templates are.