Robert Heller

OK, it works if the search term is non-empty… OK, it looks like a SQL weirdness. I hacked a solution and pushed a new version which should fix things.

Well, my test site is working just fine. WP 5.5.1, WL 3.5.6, PHP 7.3.21, DB 5.5.65-MariaDB, Server: CentOS 7

In the appendix of the user manual is a description of the style sheet class names used for the search form elements. Otherwise the short codes used by the search form and the search results are defined in includes/short_codes.php.

This would require some custom PHP code.

You need to define one (or more) circulation type first. Look on the sidebar menu for “Circulation Types” and select “Add New”. All a ciculation type does is define a loan period. Commonly videos (eg DVDs and BluRays) would be loaned for one week and books for three weeks.

Yes, Amazon changed their API. I don’t have the time or interest to update the plugin to use the new API, so at this point the Amazon interface is broken and is not likely to be fixed. If you are a PHP programmer and also know the new Amazon API, you could rewrite the Amazon module.

You would have to hack the PHP code to add the librarian privs to the admin user. Or else create a new E-mail account and create a new user.

YYYY-MM-DD eg 2020-07-01

It is actually a SQL date, but the month day is not displayed.

Correct. *Patrons* don’t check out items. Patrons are not “users”, although it is possible to link a patron to a user, all that does is allow the patron to place holds, renew items already checked out, check due dates of checked out items, and update some fields of their patron records (like their address and contact information). This plugin was designed from the ground up to work with a library of *physical* items (dead-tree books, CDs and DVDs, and other *physical* objects — there are implementations for libraries lending toys and tools). Because it is meant to deal with physical objects, it is presumed that there is a physical place where these objects reside — an actual building where patrons would go to physically pick up the objects and go through a process involving a library staff person to check out the object.

First of all, *Patrons* don’t checkout books. This is NOT a “self-service” library plugin. It is meant to function as part of a traditional brick-and-mortar library with an actual (human) staff (librarian + various assistants / helpers) and a (physical) “circulation desk” (like a brick-and-mortar store’s checkout).

There is no “login” for patrons. *Patrons* don’t login, patrons only borrow materials, which are checked out by a library staff person at the library’s circulation desk. The library staff person has a computer with the library website’s backend (dashboard) open to the Circulation Desk page and is logged in as a website user with at least manage_circulation priviledge (eg at least the role of Volunteer).

It sounds like you are looking for a very different sort of plugin.

I *guess* you could create a shared user with a role of “Volunteer” that any patron could use to check their items out with, but I would not really recomend doing that, because it is something of a security risk.

The *librarian* (see page 2 and 3: “User Role Setup”) creates patrons on the backend (dashboard). *PLEASE* read the manual, carefully and completely. Starting on page 7 “Patron Management” this is all explained. On the patron list page is an “Add New” button which displays a form for the patron: name, address, etc. Patrons don’t create themselves, although once created and *optionally* linked to a user. patrons can update some fields (specificly address and phone number). Only the librarian can *create* patron records and that is done from the dashboard. Important note: the *librarian* is not the admin user of the site. I know this is “weird”, but it is how the site is designed. The admin user needs to create a separate user with a role of librarian and then this user logs into the backend and then has access to the WebLibrarian plugin’s backend features: Patrons (list, adding, removing, etc.), Collection (list, adding, removing), Collection Types (define loan periods), and Circulation (for checking out items, checking in items, etc.).

Patrons and users are separate, although it is possible to link a user to a patron.

Creating a patron is like issuing a library card. It grants the right to borrow items from the library. The actual checking out is done by a library staff person (a wordPress user with the proper role setting — see User Role Setup in the user manual) — patrons don’t check items out (unless they are also library staff). A patron need not be linked to a wordPress user, but if a patron is linked to a wordPress user that patron can log into the site and place holds, check due dates of items he/she has checked out, and renew items checked out.

It is unlikely that I will fix the contextual_help feature. If it is not working, just use the PDF manual. Everything that the contextual_help would provide is in the PDF manual.

What sort of error(s) are you getting when you try to create an item? I am able to create items with my test site, which is running WordPress 5.4.

I don’t think so, without modifing the source code.