bar codes

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bar codes

1FRJDC
feb 11, 2021, 12:14 pm

I know I have read before that there is no way to download the barcodes from tiny cat and that they must be ordered from the site. Is this true still or has it changed? Is there a way to download the barcodes so I can print them onto my own labels? Thanks in advance.

2WholeHouseLibrary
feb 11, 2021, 3:02 pm

Yes, there is. Download your catalog (perhaps, just the columns you wish to see) into a file that is compatible for import to a spreadsheet application.

Once it's in there, you can set a new column to display the barcode font.

I presume you want the barcode for the ISBN.
Let's pretend that the human-readable ISBN is in column D.
And that the new, barcode-font column is column F.
In the F1 cell, type =D1
Then grab the lower right corner of that cell, and drag it to the last row.
Adjust your column width, and you can then select just that column to print.

If you also want the title to print in microbe-sized font beneath it, I can tell you how to do that, too, but this will need to be done first.

3FRJDC
feb 12, 2021, 9:24 am

Thank for the info. I've done this but there is no barcode being generated. The only thing in the cells is the A1 (isbn readable in column a) thru A2902, the number of books we have.

help if you can plz

4kristilabrie
feb 12, 2021, 10:03 am

Are you looking to generate your own barcode labels?

If so, you can generate your own labels by exporting your book data from LibraryThing (https://www.librarything.com/more/import) and running a Mail Merge of sorts.

There's a Talk thread where other members discuss what they've done here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/97585 ( https://www.librarything.com/topic/97585 ). I hope this helps.

5FRJDC
feb 12, 2021, 10:35 am

yes, Thx.. I will try there.

6FRJDC
feb 12, 2021, 10:38 am

I am not seeing where it discusses generating a bar code.

7FRJDC
feb 24, 2021, 12:30 pm

>2 WholeHouseLibrary: Yes to the title printing please.

8kristilabrie
feb 25, 2021, 11:03 am

>6 FRJDC: Ah, sorry. Generating a barcode would mean deciding on a barcode symbology (like a code) for your labels, finding a barcode font you can download and use that follows that symbology, and then formatting your labels with the appropriate code for each barcode using the spreadsheet and then Mail Merge process. Googling around a bit should help with this process, and we also have the "Librarians who LibraryThing" Group that might be helpful in supporting your endeavor here: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/78/Librarians-who-LibraryThing. I hope this helps!

9WholeHouseLibrary
feb 25, 2021, 1:25 pm

>7 FRJDC: Very good. Please tell me which columns contain the Title, the Author, and bar code.

Still cleaning up downed trees and branches from last week's glacier, but it's supposed to rain for the next several days, so it'll be a fun indoors project for me.

10bnielsen
feb 26, 2021, 1:24 am

// >9 WholeHouseLibrary: we had minus 20 degrees C here (Denmark). So I looked at my indoor/outdoor termometer in the morning and I remember thinking it was broken because it showed the same outside as inside. Then I noticed the "-" sign to the left of the outdoor temperature :-)

11bnielsen
feb 26, 2021, 1:30 am

A small word of caution:
I generated barcode labels for a couple of the libraries here. For a while I also printed them, but later they decided that I should just sent it via email and they could print the pdf. We did have some problems with that because their pdf-viewer would add a slight margin when printing and then autoscale the page 99.5% to fit. The "microbe-sized font" in >2 WholeHouseLibrary: didn't look so nice after that.

Hopefully you don't run into that.