Glossary

Backup

A copy of the library's data (books, copies, patrons, loans, photos and covers) to use if the original data are lost or damaged. BiblioViva makes one every night and normally keeps them for 30 days, in the backups folder next to the installation files; they can be seen and downloaded from Administration → Backups. A copy that stays only on the BiblioViva computer does not protect against a failure of the computer: it is better to keep a copy on a USB drive or a network disk. See Backups.

Barcode scanner

The USB device that reads the barcodes of cards, copies and books. It plugs into the desk computer and behaves like a keyboard: it types the code it read in the active field and presses Enter. It is BiblioViva's normal tool; the phone with its camera is an optional extra. If it types wrong characters in place of the hyphen, see Scanner that types strange characters.

Call number

The code that says where a book stands on the shelves, for example B 4 DEL. It appears on the copy's record and on the spine band. BiblioViva always uses this word, and not "location".

Card

The cardboard with the barcode that identifies a patron. At the desk the card is read with the scanner and then the copies to lend are read. The number of the card can never coincide with the code of a copy. It is printed from the Patrons page; the template is edited from Administration.

Code 128 and Code 39

The two types of barcode that BiblioViva reads. New cards and labels are printed in Code 128; Code 39 is accepted when reading because older cards and labels used it. The barcode scanner reads both without settings.

Computer name

The name by which the computer introduces itself on the network. In this guide the BiblioViva computer is called biblioviva: it is chosen when the computer is prepared and it serves to reach it with SSH and, with the local network, for the address biblioviva.local. See Prepare the computer.

Copy

The single book standing on the shelf, with its barcode; a title can have more than one. At the desk a copy is lent and returned, not the title. The word "specimen" is not used. The barcode of the copy never coincides with the number of a card.

DHCP reservation

The request to the router to always give the same numeric address to a certain computer; it is also called "reserved address" or "address reservation". Without it the address can change at every restart, and the bookmarks that use the number stop working. It is asked of whoever manages the school's network, giving the computer's name. See Prepare the network.

Docker

The program that runs BiblioViva in a closed container, separate from the rest of the computer, with everything it needs. Thanks to Docker the installation is the same on a PC and on a Raspberry Pi, and the update replaces the container without touching the data. The installation program puts it on the computer if it is missing. See Install BiblioViva and the official Docker documentation.

HTTPS

The secure way of opening a web page: the address begins with https:// and the browser shows a padlock. Browsers allow the camera and the installation as an app only on pages with HTTPS. With Tailscale BiblioViva has an HTTPS address; with the local network the address begins with http://, without the padlock, and for this reason the camera does not work. See Choose the network.

ISBN

The international number that identifies an edition of a book, usually of 13 digits, printed on the back above the barcode. In BiblioViva it serves to look up the book's data (title, author, publisher) when cataloguing it. It is read with the barcode scanner in the search or cataloguing field.

.local name

The address made with the computer's name followed by .local, for example biblioviva.local, which works on the school's network in place of the number. A service of the computer makes it possible (avahi-daemon, which the installation program adds if it is missing) and the device that opens the address must be able to resolve it: some cannot, and then the numeric address is used. See Address that does not open.

Local network

The school's existing network, to which the computers are connected. It is one of the two ways to reach BiblioViva: it requires no account and works without internet, but only inside the school, without the camera and without installation as an app. The other way is Tailscale. See Choose the network.

MagicDNS

The Tailscale function that gives devices a readable name in place of a number, so that BiblioViva opens with biblioviva.<tailnet>.ts.net. It is checked in the "DNS" page of the Tailscale console and must be on. See the official page MagicDNS.

Patron

Whoever borrows the books: a student or a teacher. A patron does not enter BiblioViva, which is used only by the library staff: a patron is a record with the class and the card. Not to be confused with the staff account, nor with the computer's user, the name by which one signs in to the computer's system.

Performance profile

The choice that tells BiblioViva how powerful the computer it runs on is, so that it asks for the right amount of memory and work. There are four profiles: micro (minimum computer, 512 MB), small (Raspberry Pi 4 with 2 GB and SD card), medium (older PC with a hard disk) and large (PC with an SSD). A profile too high for a small computer makes it slow. The installation program proposes it; it is changed from Administration → Configuration → Performance, in the Computer field. See Install BiblioViva.

Reading level

A code, of a scale of the library's own, that says at what difficulty level a work of fiction is written, to recommend it to whoever has a certain reading grade. It sits on the book's record or, if the library chooses so, on each copy. The scale is edited from Administration.

Sample data

Invented patrons, books, copies and loans that the guided setup loads if Load sample data is chosen. They serve to try BiblioViva before entering the real data. With the sample data all the accounts use the same password, known to everyone: they must be removed, with Clear sample data in Administration, before using BiblioViva for real.

Shared account

A BiblioViva account used by several people instead of one. BiblioViva has five, one per role, created at the first setup: admin (everything), prestiti (the circulation desk, shown as "Loan management"), catalogo (the catalogue), tessere (patrons and cards) and report (the reports). Each account allows only the work of its role. The passwords are handed over in person; they are changed from Administration → Staff accounts. See Connect the devices.

Spine band

The adhesive strip stuck on a book's spine that carries the call number, with a pictogram showing the genre or the subject. It is printed together with the label with the barcode, as a pair per book. See Print the book labels.

Tailnet

The name of the private network that Tailscale creates for the school, among its devices. It ends with .ts.net and is read in the "DNS" page of the Tailscale console; it appears in BiblioViva's address, biblioviva.<tailnet>.ts.net. See Prepare the network and the official page Tailnet name.

Tailscale

The service, free for a use like this, that links the school's devices in a private network across the internet and gives BiblioViva an address with the padlock. With Tailscale the camera, the installation on the phone and the use from outside the school work; its application must be installed on every device. It is not mandatory: the local network is the alternative. See Choose the network and the official site Tailscale.

Terminal

The text window in which a command is typed and the computer's answer is read. The installation commands are copied and pasted into the terminal of the BiblioViva computer; with a Raspberry Pi, which has no keyboard or screen, the terminal is opened from another computer with SSH, a program that links the two computers across the network. See Connect to the computer.

Volume

A folder in which BiblioViva keeps its data, outside the container, so that they survive the updates. There are three volumes: the configuration (config, settings and print templates), the data (database, photos, covers) and the backups (backups, the folder next to the installation files, which is copied like any other folder). See Backups and, for the details, the technical page Deployment notes (technical).