def METHOD_NAME(key, default=None, as_int=False, as_bool=False,
               full_row=False, _larch=None, **kws):
    """get a value for a keyword in the scan info table,
    where most status information is kept.
    Arguments
    ---------
     key        name of data to look up
     default    (default None) value to return if key is not found
     as_int     (default False) convert to integer
     as_bool    (default False) convert to bool
     full_row   (default False) return full row, not just value
    Notes
    -----
     1.  if this key doesn't exist, it will be added with the default
         value and the default value will be returned.
     2.  the full row will include notes, create_time, modify_time
    """
    global _scandb
    if _scandb is None:
        print('get_dbinfo: need to connect to scandb!')
        return
    return _scandb.get_info(key, default=default, full_row=full_row,
                            as_int=as_int, as_bool=as_bool, **kws)