Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does this system run on a Mac or Windows?

A: LIXON Library is web-based, so it will work on any operating system that has access to the internet.

Q: What do I need to get started?

A: Please see the getting started guide.

Q: Do I need to input the books in my library beforehand?

A: No, you do not. That’s the beauty of the system! Once you scan the ISBN number barcode on the book, it connects with available book databases on the internet. Usually within 24 hours, the title is found and automatically input into your library database. So, there is no need to prepare a database beforehand.

Q: How and when does LIXON Library find my book information?

A: The system searches for book information for you overnight by using available online sources such as Google Books and OpenLibrary.

Q: What happens if the book cannot be found using the ISBN number?

A: This happens occasionally. In that case, the book can be looked up on the internet and the information can be inputted manually. When a book cannot be found it will appear in an unidentified list (top menu > Library > List Unidentified Books) for administrator users.

There have been some cases of the ISBN number barcode on the back of the book actually being the stock number, with the true ISBN displayed on the inside cover. (This is sometimes the case with authentic materials.)

Books originally sold as part of a set may not have an ISBN number barcode on the cover. In that case, it is possible to look up the ISBN number, generate a barcode, assign the ISBN to that barcode, and print it out to stick on the back of the book.

Q: What information does LIXON Library keep track of?

A: The system can track what books a student has checked out and which books need to be returned. It can also provide a list of what books are checked out the most, to help schools with curriculum and future purchasing decisions.

Q: Which screen should the student's be using to borrow and return books?

A: Generally for borrowing and returning by students, use the pages under the Landing menu item in the top menu. The landing pages for borrow and return will open in a new tab. From there you can switch between borrow and return using the Actions menu in the top right corner.

Q: How should I setup my barcode scanner to work with LIXON Library?

A: Most barcode scanners are setup to send a carriage return (i.e. return/enter key) after scanning a code by default. You can test your scanner on any of the landing pages (borrow or return) - scan a barcode and if the cursor moves to the next field or submits the form - your scanner is ready to go. If not, please consult your scanner's documentation for how to set it to send a carriage return (return/enter key) after scanning.

Q: What should I do with books that have no barcode?

A: You will occasionally come across a book with no barcode or the barcode has been covered with a sticker because it was a sample. On these occasions we have entered the ISBN by hand - the system allows you to enter the code either way - by hand or scanner. The ISBN is usually typed somewhere on the first few pages. When the book is returned it is suggested to keep them out of circulation and generate barcodes for the relevant ISBN and stick them on.

You can generate bar codes using http://barcode.tec-it.com/en.

Occasionally older books like Magic Tree House have the ISBN barcode inside the front cover instead of on the back.

Q: What users should I setup for my school?

A: It is recommended to have an administrator account and a regular account setup for your school. When you register for LIXON Library your administrator account is created automatically. Please create a regular account also (top menu > Your Organisation's Name > Add New Users).

Q: What's the difference between an administrator user and a regular user?

A: The administrator has higher level access, for example add, edit and delete students. The regular account has read-only access with the exception of borrowing and returning books. The regular account is recommended for everyday use by your students in the classroom (especially if unsupervised).

Q: What kind of barcodes should I generate? Code-128?

A: Code-128 is a common barcode standard that has a wide range of support. It is the recommended format to generate, but please first consult your barcode scanner's documentation. There are some barcode scanners that do not support Code-128.

Q: How do I connect to the LIXON Library API from my own system?

A: To connect to the API (Application Programming Interface), generate API credentials for your school (top menu > Your Organisation's Name > Manage API Details). Please keep the key and secret private - it should be treated as a password that can access your data.

Next in the code of your system, access the following URL with a GET request and substitute in your own key and secret.


                        https://library.lixoneducation.com/api/library/books/borrow/current?key=YOUR_KEY&secret=YOUR_SECRET

This will return to you a JSON response with all the currently borrowed books for your school. You can limit the amount of data returned by adding student codes to the API URL. Please see the following example. Student codes should be separated by a comma.


                        https://library.lixoneducation.com/api/library/books/borrow/current?key=YOUR_KEY&secret=YOUR_SECRET&student_codes=STUDENT1,STUDENT2

By default the dates in the response are GMT, but you can optionally specify a timezone. Please see the following example. The timezone should be specified as it appears in the TZ column in this list of valid timezones.


                        https://library.lixoneducation.com/api/library/books/borrow/current?key=YOUR_KEY&secret=YOUR_SECRET&student_codes=STUDENT1,STUDENT2&timezone=Asia/Tokyo

An example of a successful API response is detailed below.

{
  "operation_result": "success",
  "operation_message": "Operation completed successfully.",
  "results": [
    {
      "book_title": "Hoot",
      "student_first_name": "Mifuyu",
      "student_last_name": "Yamada",
      "borrow_date": "2016-07-13T20:18:46+09:00",
      "return_date": null,
      "student_code": "STUDENT1",
      "book_isbn_13": "9780440419396",
      "book_isbn_10": "0440419395"
    },
    {
      "book_title": "The Fault in Our Stars",
      "student_first_name": "Mifuyu",
      "student_last_name": "Yamada",
      "borrow_date": "2016-07-13T20:18:51+09:00",
      "return_date": null,
      "student_code": "STUDENT1",
      "book_isbn_13": "9780141355078",
      "book_isbn_10": "0141355077"
    },
    {
      "book_title": "Slumdog Millionaire",
      "student_first_name": "Ren",
      "student_last_name": "Yamada",
      "borrow_date": "2016-11-09T20:22:12+09:00",
      "return_date": null,
      "student_code": "STUDENT2",
      "book_isbn_13": "9780230404717",
      "book_isbn_10": "0230404715"
    }
  ]
}

An example of an API error response is detailed below.

{
  "operation_result": "error",
  "operation_message": "Invalid credentials.",
  "results": null
}

Q: When I go to https://library.lixoneducation.com it is slow to get to the system or it says it's not available. What should I do?

A: Sometimes the forwarding on the main LIXON Education domain is slow or momentarily down. Please wait a few moments and try again. If the problem is continuing, please contact support.

Q: How do I use the system with MochaSoft's Barcode application?

A: The landing pages for borrowing and returning books can be used with MochaSoft's free Barcode application for iOS and Android. There is an option in the Barcode application that needs to be turned on for it to work correctly. In the free Barcode application, go to options (icon shaped like gears) and then turn on the Scan to function option.

Q: Can the system work for borrowing DVDs or Magazines?

A: Most DVDs do not have an ISBN number but you could assign your own number and affix it to the DVD case. You would need to enter the information about the DVD manually. If required, the same solution could be used for magazines.

Q: What are the terms and conditions of use?

A: Please see the terms and conditions of use for more details.

Q: What is the privacy policy?

A: Please see the privacy policy for more details.

Q: How can a parent subscribe for LINE messaging?

A: A parent can subscribe to students for LINE messaging and this will allow them to ask questions about what books a student currently has borrowed and their latest class attendance. To subscribe to a student, follow the steps below

Firstly, the parent must add the LIXON Library LINE messaging bot as a friend in the LINE app using the QR code below (Add Friends > QR Code) if they haven't already.
Next, find the student in the student list (top menu > Students > List), use the 'Actions' menu to choose 'Subscribers'. Copy or directly send the subscription request text to the parent.
The parent then needs to send the subscription request text to LIXON Library LINE chatbot using the LINE app.

Q: What can you ask the LIXON Library LINE messaging bot?

A: A parent can ask the LIXON Library LINE messaging bot a number of things described below.

A parent can ask the bot to subscribe them to a student. However, the parent must know a key and secret to be able to subscribe. Each student has a unqiue, randomly generated, secret that only a organisation's administrator has access to, therefore adminstrators should only send this to a bona-fide parent or guardian of a student. Please see the example below.

subscribe 28jUjs oj9Sas

A parent can ask the bot to tell them all the currently borrowed books for students that they are subscribed to.

borrowed

A parent can ask the bot to tell them the last attendance record for each student they are subscribed to.

attendance

A parent can unsubscribe to remove all subscriptions.

unsubscribe

A parent can see who they are subscribed to.

who

Anyone that is a friend of the bot can send a greeting, like 'hello' or 'good morning' and the bot will respond.

hello

To see a list of supported commands.

help

Q: What should I do with books that have more than one barcode?

A: To avoid confusion when borrowing and returning the book, it is a good idea to cross out or cover the barcode that is not the ISBN. This is especially important when the other barcode on the book is a code with a length of 10 or 13 characters, as the system may interpret this as an ISBN.

Q: Is there a way to check which books are still checked out and haven't been brought back?

A: Yes, you can go to Library in the top menu and then go to Return Books, by default it will show you in order of oldest borrowed book that hasn't been returned. You can change the number of books showing and also go through pages. You can also sort by clicking on the headers of columns or you can search. An example here, you can search by a student code to see all books a particular student hasn't returned, or you could search by ISBN to see all copies of a book that haven't been returned yet.

Q: Is there a way to see the borrowing history of each student (which books they borrowed)?

A: Yes there is, you can go to Students in the top menu, then to List Students. Find the student required, you can use the search with a name or code. Once you have found the student in the list, click on the Actions button in their row and choose List Student's Borrows.

Q: Is there a way to view all of the students that borrowed a particular book?

A: Yes, you can do this for currently borrowed books or all currently borrowed and historically borrowed books. Please see below.

Currently Borrowed
Go to Library in the top menu and then choose Return Books. Use the search to find the currently borrowed book(s) by entering the ISBN 13 or 10.

Currently Borrowed and Historically Borrowed
Go to Library in the top menu and then choose List Borrowed Books. Use the search by entering the ISBN 13 or 10.

Q: Is there a way to upload changes to existing classes across school years?

A: Yes, you can make the changes to the original file you uploaded your classes with to LIXON Library. Once you have made those changes, you can upload that file again into LIXON Library and where the class codes match an existing class, the new details in the file will update that existing class. If the class code does not match an existing class, it will be created as a new class. You can do this at any time, not just across school years. Any historical attendance data will not be affected when you upload a file with changes for existing classes.

Frequently Asked Questions*