Athenaeum Structure

It is helpful to build a mental map of how the parts of Athenaeum fit together.

Modules

The map above has the main menu at the top middle, with the catalogue modules to the lower left corner, borrower modules lower right and issue (circulation) and issue history modules lower middle.

The admin area is off to the right and is normally less used than other areas.

The search box is where non-admin users normally start.

The modules are colour coded and reflect the colour themes you see when using Athenaeum. Colours are used as a visual clue to where you are.

module	colour	shortcut	notes
Menu	blue	1	starting point for most operations
Admin	blue	a	configure your administrative preferences here
Catalogue			"catalogue" collectively refers to titles, copies and archive (not shown)
Titles	bronze	t* or c	main entries in the catalogue
Copies	copper	p or c*	each holding (e.g. each book) in the catalogue - a title may have one, more or zero copies
Borrower	green	b	the library patrons who borrow, reserve and review items and to whom you might levy fees
Types	green	t*	the collection of privileges for each type of borrower
Circulation (issues)	blue	i	the collection of copies that are currently issued to borrowers
History	blue	h	the historical record of issues, including current issues
[module descriptions (shortcuts with an asterisk can be customised)]

Knowing the modules and how they fit is important because - amongst other things - reports are normally generated in the modules that contain their content.

For example, - overdue reports and letters are generated in circulation - historical issue analyses are generated in the history module - annual summaries are generated in the catalogue module.

Navigating

You can navigate around the Athenaeum modules using the buttons on the main menu, or you can quickly navigate using keyboard shortcuts. In many instances you can also navigate from one module to "related" data in other modules (e.g. while viewing a borrower, you can see their historical issues in history with a click of a button).

Take some time to learn the shortcuts for the main functions and modules and then when you are comfortable with those, learn a few more.

Main Commands

Use the following keyboard shortcuts from virtually anywhere to:

Function	Windows Shortcut	Mac Shortcut
Main Menu	CTRL 1	command 1
Search	CTRL 2	command 2
Issue	CTRL 3	command 3
Return	CTRL 4	command 4
Extend	CTRL 5	command 5
Check	CTRL 6	command 6

Single Key Navigation

When you are not editing text in an Athenaeum field (that is, you are not typing something), you can press the following keys to perform these functions.

Key	Function
1	Menu (go here if you are lost)
2	Search
3	Issue
4	Return
5	Extend
6	Check
a	Admin screen
b	Borrower list
c	Catalogue: either Title or Copies list depending upon the setting in admin
d	When viewing the title or borrower lists, will take you to the detail view of the current record
f	Fees list
h	Issue History
i	Circulation list
m	MARC
n	Show navigation menu
p	catalogue coPies list
q	QuickMARC
r	Catalogue archive list
t	Title list or Borrower types depending upon the setting in admin
u	Navigates to utility screens in some modules and the audit layouts when you are in the admin module
w	Resets the Athenaeum windows according to your preferences and tries to position them in line with the main window (this only works on the main menu and admin)

Common Functions

At the top of most screens, the toolbars contain common buttons that execute or reveal relevant commands and functions for the current module. The toolbars are displayed in the modules current colour and may show fewer or more options.

From left to right, the common functions are

single and double arrows left and right

jump to previous, first, next, last record in the found set

counters showing x of y (zzz)

current record number of the found set of y records (total records in database in parenthesis)

if an additional number appears above the parenthesis, then this is the total number of records for the selected library

menu

click to return to the main menu

find

either switch immediately to find mode or perform the find, or show a menu of find options

utility

show a pop-over of lesser options or options for performing special commands on the found set of records of the current module

issue

an issue menu with issue/return/extend/check borrower functions

command

perform commands that operate on the found set of records of the current module (such as listing records related somehow to the current found set, but in a different module)

filter

applies find functions or filters on the current module - some filters modify an existing found set and some filters override the current found set. That is, some filters discard previous found sets before performing their function.

print

shows a menu of print functions and reports relevant to the found set of the current module

Found Set

A fundamental concept in Athenaeum to reporting or manipulating large amounts of data is that of the found set.

The found set is merely the set of results from a find action; show related action or show all action. However, that result is then used to generate a report, print data, export to a spreadsheet, replace in bulk, bulk dispose or stock take, etc.

By finding different sets of data, you can use the same report function to produce different reports.

Most screens display details of the found set. There will be three or four numbers depending upon whether your Athenaeum is configured to use Libraries and whether you have selected a library.

For example, in the screen shot below, the library filter was set to the "McRobert Branch" and a search was performed for "people":

Those four numbers indicate, in turn:

• the "current" record is the 2nd record in the found set
• there were 7 records as a result of the search (so the the found set is 7)
• there are a total of 754 titles in the McRobert Branch library
• 2901 in parentheses is the total number of titles, regardless of how many are shown or hidden

Any time you perform a find or apply a filter, for example, those numbers will likely change.