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Scanning with the camera

BibliOfelia can scan barcodes directly with the camera of your device — phone, tablet, or laptop with a webcam. No app to install: everything happens in the browser.

This is the mode used by every Scan button on the site (the dashboard banner, the Loan and Return pages, search, and the ISBN field of a record).

How it works

  1. Click a Scan button (or the round camera icon next to a search field).
  2. The camera opens in a window, with an aiming band in the centre of the screen.
  3. Place the book or card barcode inside the central band. No need to aim the whole image: only what passes through the band is read.
  4. As soon as the code is recognised, you hear a beep (and the phone vibrates). The code is filled in automatically.

Aim at the band, not the whole screen

Reading is deliberately limited to a horizontal band in the middle of the image. This avoids mistakenly reading a neighbouring barcode when several books sit side by side. Move the book closer until its barcode fills the width of the band.

Two ways to scan

Depending on the page, the camera works differently:

  • Single scan (Loan, Return, search, ISBN): the camera reads one code, then closes and fills the field. You restart the scan for the next one.
  • Continuous scan (Inventory, Scan cataloguing): the camera stays open and reads one after another. A counter appears, a beep confirms each new book. You sweep a whole shelf or crate without clicking again. Press Finish when you are done.

What the camera reads

The camera reads the usual linear barcodes:

  • EAN-13 (ISBN 978/979, Ofelia codes 290/291, ISSN 977, and any other EAN-13 with a valid check digit);
  • EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E;
  • Code128, Code39, Code93, Codabar, ITF — the usual case of external codes printed on a library label.

2D codes (QR, DataMatrix) stay excluded: a book label is a barcode, and enabling them would read any poster in the frame.

A code read twice in a row identically is kept (a net against false reads, especially on Code39). The USB scanner and the keyboard accept the same formats.

The camera won't open?

A few things to check:

Secure connection (HTTPS) required

For security reasons, browsers only allow the camera over a secure (https://) connection. If you reach BibliOfelia through a local http:// address (for example http://ofelia.local), the camera cannot open. In that case, use a barcode scanner or keyboard entry, or ask the Box administrator for the secure address.

  • Permission denied: the first time, the browser asks for permission to use the camera. Answer Allow. If you declined, re-enable the camera in the site settings (the padlock icon left of the address).
  • No camera detected: on a desktop without a webcam, the camera is not available — use a barcode scanner or the keyboard.
  • Clear error message: if something goes wrong, BibliOfelia shows the exact reason and invites you to type the code by hand. You are never stuck.

What if I have no camera?

Every workflow remains usable without a camera:

  • a USB barcode scanner behaves like an ultra-fast keyboard;
  • keyboard entry is always possible (type the code, then Enter or Validate).

See Input modes to choose the right tool.

See also