📚 Cataloguing

🏷️ Barcode Labels

Generate and print barcode and spine labels for your stock items. The screen supports two approaches to barcoding — printing labels after cataloguing, or pre-printing blank labels to apply as you accession books — along with several options for reprinting existing labels by range or individual selection.

ℹ️ Overview

Every physical copy (stock item) in Papyrus Cloud needs a barcode label applied to it. The Barcode Labels screen provides all the tools to generate and print those labels, whether you are working through a fresh batch of new arrivals or reprinting individual labels that have been lost or damaged.

There are two fundamentally different barcoding workflows:

Approach How it works Best for
Method 1 — Print after cataloguing Accession each book in a cataloguing tool first. The stock date is recorded and the item is marked "not yet printed". Once a batch is done, open Barcode Labels and print all unprinted labels, then mark them as printed. Libraries that catalogue before labelling
Method 2 — Pre-print labels Print a sheet of sequential barcode labels before any cataloguing begins. Peel and apply each label as you accession the corresponding book. Record the barcode in the stock entry. Keep a note of the last number used for the next batch. High-volume processing; preferred method

Both methods use the same physical label sheet. The label format and size are configured in Parameters → General Parameters → Barcode Settings.

⚙️ Label Layout Settings

Before printing for the first time, confirm that the label dimensions, column count, and row count in Barcode Settings match the physical label sheet loaded in your printer. The Starting Row (max 8) and Starting Label (max 3) fields on this screen let you resume part-way through a partially used sheet — but only if the Barcode Settings correctly describe how many labels appear per row and how many rows per page.

💡
Print a test page on plain paper and hold it against the label sheet before committing to a full print run. This catches any offset or scaling issues without wasting label stock.
1

Printing Barcodes of Books That Have Been Catalogued

Use this method after you have catalogued a batch of books using EasyCAT, QuickCAT, FastCAT, or AdvanceCAT. Each stock item receives a date-stamp when it is added and is initially flagged as unprinted. This section collects all such unprinted items and generates the label sheet.

Catalogued since today — Print
Control Description
Print Barcodes Generates a standard barcode label sheet for all qualifying stock items. Opens in a new browser window (pop-ups must be enabled).
Print Spine Labels Generates a spine label sheet (call number / Dewey labels) for the same set of qualifying items.
Location Filter labels to a specific branch or location — for example print only Cape Town items or only Sport Department items. Leave set to All Locations to print everything.
Only new labels When ticked (the default), only stock items that have not previously been marked as printed are included. Untick to include previously printed items as well.
Pages The number of label pages to print in this run. Defaults to 1.
Starting Row The row on the first sheet where printing should begin (1–8). Set this to 3 if, for example, the first two rows of your current sheet have already been used. This prevents waste when resuming a partially used sheet.
Starting Label The label position within the starting row where printing should begin (1–3). Combined with Starting Row, this lets you resume printing from any exact label position on a partially used sheet.
ℹ️
The "Catalogued since today" label means the system works backwards from the current date — the most recently catalogued items print first. There is no date range to set; the "Only new labels" filter handles the scope.

✅ Marking Items as Printed

After a successful print run, mark the batch as printed so those labels are not included in the next run. This is the "Mark all new books as printed" action.

Control Description
Mark Sets all currently unprinted stock items as printed, so they will be excluded from future "Only new labels" print runs.
Except the last x Labels Before marking, hold back the most recent x stock items so they remain flagged as unprinted. Useful when you want to reprint the last batch — for example, if the printer jammed on the last page. Set to 0 to mark everything.
⚠️
Mark after confirming the print was successful. Once items are marked as printed they will not appear in the next automatic batch. If you mark before checking the output and labels are missing, use the Reprint section below to regenerate them individually.
2

Pre-printing Barcode Labels (Preferred Method)

Pre-printing is the recommended approach for most libraries. A sheet of sequential numbered labels is printed before any cataloguing begins. As each book arrives, peel a label, apply it to the book, and type the barcode number into the stock section of whichever cataloguing tool you are using. No "mark as printed" step is needed because the labels are not linked to catalogue records until you apply them manually.

Keep a note of the last barcode number used at the end of each printing session. Use that number as the starting point for the next batch.

Generate New Barcode Labels
Field Description
Print Generates the pre-printed barcode label sheet and opens it in a new window.
Pages The number of pages to generate (1–10). Each page holds multiple labels according to your Barcode Settings layout.
Prefix An optional text prefix added before the sequential number on every label — for example TB/ for textbooks or F/ for fiction. Up to 16 characters. Leave blank for a plain number.
Barcode Length The total number of digits in the numeric part of the barcode (3–20). Leading zeros are added to meet this length — so if length is 8 and the number is 6071, the barcode prints as 00006071.
Starting from The first number in the sequence. Set this to the number after the last one used in the previous batch. The screen shows the current value (6071 in this example) from the last session.
Make Acc No the Barcode When ticked, the accession number and barcode will be the same value. This simplifies stock entry because you only need to record one number per item. Ticked by default.
💡
Use a meaningful starting number — many libraries begin at 10000 or use a year prefix such as 2025001. This makes it easy to estimate how many items were accessioned in a given period just from the number range.

🔁 Reprinting Barcode Labels

If a label is damaged, lost, or was not printed correctly, use one of these targeted reprint options. All generate barcode labels (not spine labels) and open the output in a new browser window.

Print by Acc No Range

Enter a From and To accession number. All stock items whose accession number falls within that range will be included in the print run.

Field Description
From The first accession number in the range (up to 15 characters).
To The last accession number in the range (up to 15 characters).
Print by Barcode Range

Enter a From and To barcode. All stock items whose barcode falls within that range will be printed. Useful when the accession number and barcode differ.

Field Description
From The first barcode in the range (up to 20 characters).
To The last barcode in the range (up to 20 characters).
Print by Shelf Range

Print labels for all items whose shelf location falls within a given range — useful after a relabelling project or when re-shelving a section. The Publication Type filter can narrow the output further.

Field Description
From The starting shelf value (up to 20 characters).
To The ending shelf value (up to 20 characters).
Publication Type Optionally restrict to a single Publication Type (Fiction, Non Fiction, Textbooks, etc). Leave as {All Publication Types} to include all types within the shelf range.
Print by Barcode or Acc No (individual selection)

Enter a list of specific barcodes or accession numbers, separated by semicolons. This is the most targeted option — ideal for reprinting just one or two labels at a time.

Field Description
Selection (text area) Enter each barcode or accession number separated by a semicolon. For example: 00003078;G003;2022/1005. Mixed barcode and accession number entries are accepted.
ℹ️
You can paste a list of values directly from a spreadsheet column — replace line breaks with semicolons before pasting.

📐 Shelf and Spine Labels

Shelf and Spine Labels are a more detailed label format that includes both the barcode and call number / spine text in different sizes on the same label. Use this section if your library applies spine labels that are wider or taller than the standard barcode labels, or if you need the full bibliographic detail on the label itself.

Print by Barcode or Acc No (individual selection)

Enter one or more barcodes or accession numbers separated by semicolons in the single text field, then click Print.

Print by Barcode or Acc No Range

Enter a From and To value to print spine labels for all items in that barcode or accession number range.

Field Description
From First barcode or accession number in the range.
To Last barcode or accession number in the range.
Print by Shelf Range

Print spine labels for all items shelved within a given call number range — useful for re-labelling a section after a reclassification.

Field Description
From Starting shelf / call number value.
To Ending shelf / call number value.

🔁 Recommended Workflows

Method 1 — Cataloguing first, then printing labels

  1. Catalogue a batch of new books using any of the four cataloguing tools. Each stock item added is automatically flagged as unprinted.
  2. Open Barcode Labels. Select the Location if you are printing for a specific branch only.
  3. Ensure Only new labels is ticked. Set Starting Row and Starting Label to match the first unused position on your label sheet.
  4. Click Print Barcodes. A new window opens with the label sheet. Print it from that window.
  5. Check the output against the books. If any labels are missing or misprinted, use the Reprint section to regenerate those individual labels.
  6. Once satisfied, click Mark to mark all newly printed items as done. Leave "Except the last x labels" at 0 unless you need to hold some back.
  7. Apply labels to the books and shelve.

Method 2 — Pre-printing labels (preferred)

  1. Decide on a numbering scheme. Note the current "Starting from" value shown on the screen (or choose a new starting number).
  2. Set Pages to the number of sheets you need, Prefix if desired, Barcode Length, and Starting from. Ensure Make Acc No the Barcode is ticked if you want a single number to serve both purposes.
  3. Click Print. The label sheet opens in a new window. Print it.
  4. Note the last barcode number on the printed sheet. Write it down or record it — you will use it as the next Starting from value.
  5. As each book arrives, peel a label and apply it. Enter the barcode number in the stock section of whichever cataloguing tool you are using.
  6. Next time you need more labels, enter the saved last number + 1 as the new Starting from.

Reprinting a damaged or lost label

  1. Locate the accession number or barcode of the affected item (visible in any cataloguing tool or from the AdvanceCAT Stock tab).
  2. In the Reprint section, click Print by Barcode or Acc No, type the value into the text area, and click Print.
  3. Print from the new window. Apply the label.

➡️ Next Steps

Task Where to go
Set the label layout (columns, rows, size) Parameters → General Parameters → Barcode Settings
Catalogue new stock EasyCAT, QuickCAT, FastCAT, or AdvanceCAT
Check which copies exist and their status Routines → BRN Routines → Browse Stock Status
Run a stock take Cataloguing → Stock Take
Configure locations for the Location filter Parameters → General Parameters → Locations