Reference
Item condition flags
What each copy flag means, and how a book's display status is worked out.
A copy in BeeShelf doesn’t have a single status. Instead it carries condition flags, and any combination can be true at once. That way a book can be, say, both damaged and not for loan, which a single status field could never capture. You set these in the copy editor; see Adding by hand and editing copies.
The flags
| Flag | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not for loan | The copy stays in the library. Common for reference books. It can be found in the catalog but not borrowed. |
| Damaged | The copy is damaged. Use it alongside a condition note to record the detail. The copy then shows as In repair. |
| Lost | The copy can’t be found. A stocktake can set this for you, and clear it if the book turns up. |
| Withdrawn | The copy has been removed from the collection for good. |
| Restricted | Borrowing is blocked while this is set. Use it for copies with limited access, for example on-site or supervised use only. It’s a blanket block, not a rule that lets some members borrow and not others. |
How display status is worked out
What a reader or a librarian sees, for example “Available” or “On loan,” is worked out from the flags plus whether the copy is currently lent. Because several flags can be true at once, BeeShelf shows the single most blocking one. The order is: Withdrawn, then Lost, then In repair, then Not for loan, then Restricted, then On loan, then Available. So a copy that’s both damaged and not for loan reads “In repair”. The flags both stay set, and the status names the most serious of them. It’s never stored as a separate field that could drift out of step with reality. Change a flag, and the status updates with it.
The practical upshot: you manage the facts about a copy (it’s damaged, it’s not for loan), and BeeShelf decides what that means for lending. A copy that’s lent shows as “On loan” whether or not it’s past its due date. Overdue is a fact about the loan, not about the copy, so it shows on the Circulation “Currently out” worklist and in the reader’s account rather than on the copy’s status. A copy marked not for loan shows as not borrowable even though it’s on the shelf.