1 = Importing materials in the staff client =
3 Evergreen exists to connect users to the materials represented by bibliographic
4 records, call numbers, and copies -- so getting these materials into your
5 Evergreen system is vital to a successful system. There are two primary means
6 of getting materials into Evergreen:
8 * The Evergreen staff client offers the *MARC Batch Importer*, which is a
9 flexible interface primarily used for small batches of records;
10 * Alternately, import scripts can load data directly into the database, which is
11 a highly flexible but much more complex method of loading materials suitable
12 for large batches of records such as the initial migration from your legacy
15 == Staff client batch record imports ==
16 The staff client has a utility for importing batches of bibliographic and item
17 records available through *Cataloging > MARC Batch Import/Export*. In addition
18 to importing new records, this interface can be used to match incoming records
19 to existing records in the database, add or overlay MARC fields in the existing
20 record, and add copies to those records.
22 The MARC Batch Import interface may also be colloquially referred to as
23 "Vandelay" in the Evergreen community, referring to this interface's internals
24 in the system.You will also see this name used in several places in the editor.
25 For instance, when you click on the *Record Match Sets*, the title on the screen
26 will be *Vandelay Match Sets*.
28 === When to use the MARC Batch Importer ===
30 * When importing in batches of up to 500 to 1,000 records.
31 * When you need the system to match those incoming records to existing records
32 and overlay or add fields to the existing record.
33 * When you need to add items to existing records in the system.
35 WARNING: If you are importing items that do not have barcodes or call numbers, you
36 must enable the _Vandelay Generate Default Barcodes_ and _Vandelay Default
37 Barcode Prefix (vandelay.item.barcode.prefix)_ settings.
39 === Record Match Sets ===
40 Click the *Record Match Sets* button to identify how Evergreen should match
41 incoming records to existing records in the system.
43 These record match sets can be used when importing records through the MARC
44 Batch Importer or when importing order records through the Acquisitions Load
45 MARC Order Records interface.
47 Common match points used when creating a match set include:
49 * MARC tag 020a (ISBN)
50 * MARC tag 022a (ISSN)
52 * MARC tag 028a (Publisher number)
54 === Create Match Sets ===
55 . On the *Record Match Sets* screen, click *New Match Set* to create a set of
56 record match points. Give the set a *Name*. Assign the *Owning Library* from
57 the dropdown list. The *Match Set Type* should remain as *biblio*. Click
59 . If you don't see your new set in the list, in the upper left corner of the
60 staff client window, click the *Reload* button.
61 . If you had to reload, click the *Record Match Sets* button to get back to
62 that screen. Find your new set in the list and click its name. (The name will
63 appear to be a hyperlink.) This will bring you to the *Vandelay Match Set
65 . Create an expression that will define the match points for the incoming
66 record. You can choose from two areas to create a match: Record Attribute (MARC
67 fixed fields) or MARC Tag and Subfield. You can use the Boolean operators AND
68 and OR to combine these elements to create a match set.
69 . When adding a Record Attribute or MARC tag/subfield, you also can enter a
70 Match Score. The Match Score indicates the relative importance of that match
71 point as Evergreen evaluates an incoming record against an existing record. You
72 can enter any integer into this field. The number that you enter is only
73 important as it relates to other match points.
75 Recommended practice is that you create a match score of one (1) for the least
76 important match point and assign increasing match points to the power of 2 to
77 working points in increasing importance.
78 . After creating a match point, drag the completed match point under the folder
79 with the appropriately-named Boolean folder under the Expression tree.
81 image::media/create_match_sets.png[Creating a Match Point]
82 . Click *Save Changes to Expression*.
84 === Quality Metrics ===
85 * Quality metrics provide a mechanism for Evergreen to measure the quality of
86 records and to make importing decisions based on quality.
87 * Metrics are configured in the match set editor.
88 * Quality metrics are not required when creating a match set.
89 * You can use a value in a record attribute (MARC fixed fields) or a MARC tag
90 as your quality metric.
91 * The encoding level record attribute can be one indicator of record quality.
93 image::media/record_quality_metrics.png[Quality Metric Grid]
95 === Import Item Attributes ===
96 If you are importing items with your records, you will need to map the data in
97 your holdings tag to fields in the item record. Click the *Holdings Import
98 Profile* button to map this information.
100 . Click the *New Definition* button to create a new mapping for the holdings tag.
101 . Add a *Name* for the definition.
102 . Use the *Tag* field to identify the MARC tag that contains your holdings
104 . Add the subfields that contain specific item information to the appropriate
106 . At a minimum, you should add the subfields that identify the *Circulating
107 Library*, the *Owning Library*, the *Call Number* and the *Barcode*.
108 . For more details, see the full list of import fields.
110 NOTE: All fields (except for Name and Tag) can contain a MARC subfield code
111 (such as "a") or an XPATH query. You can also use the
112 <<lse-vandelay,related library settings>> to set defaults for some of these fields.
114 image::media/batch_import_profile.png[Partial Screenshot of a Holdings Import Profile]
117 === Overlay/Merge Profiles ===
118 If Evergreen finds a match for an incoming record in the database, you need to
119 identify which fields should be replaced, which should be preserved, and which
120 should be added to the record. Click the *Merge/Overlay Profiles* button to
121 create a profile that contains this information.
123 These overlay/merge profiles can be used when importing records through the
124 MARC Batch Importer or when importing order records through the Acquisitions
125 Load MARC Order Records interface.
127 Evergreen comes pre-installed with two default profiles:
129 * *Default merge* - No fields from incoming record are added to match. This
130 profile is useful for item loads or for order record uploads.
131 * *Default overlay* - Incoming record will replace existing record.
133 You can customize the overlay/merge behavior with a new profile by clicking the
134 *New Merge Profile* button. Available options for handling the fields include:
136 * *Preserve specification* - fields in the existing record that should be
138 * *Replace specification* - fields in existing record that should be replaced
139 by those in the incoming record.
140 * *Add specification* - fields from incoming record that should be added to
141 existing record (in addition to any already there.)
142 * *Remove specification* - fields that should be removed from incoming record.
144 You can add multiple tags to these specifications, separating each tag with a
147 === Importing the records ===
148 After making the above configurations, you are now ready to import your
151 . Click the *Import Records* button
152 . Provide a unique name for the queue where the records will be loaded
153 . Identify the match set that should be used for matching
154 . If you are importing items, identify the *Import Item Attributes* definition
155 in the Holdings Import Profile
156 . Select a record source
157 . Select the overlay/merge profile that defines which fields should be
158 replaced, added or preserved
159 . Identify which records should be imported, the options are:
160 ** *Import Non-Matching Records* will automatically import records that have
161 no match in the system
162 ** *Merge on Exact Match* will automatically import records that match on the
164 ** *Merge on Single Match* will automatically import records when there is
165 only one match in the system
166 ** *Merge on Best Match* will automatically import records for the best match
167 in the system; the best match will be determined by the combined total of the
168 records match point scores
170 You do not need to select any of these import options at this step. You may also opt to review the records first in the import queue and then import them.
172 * *Best Single Match Minimum Quality Ratio* should only be changed if quality metrics were used in the match set
174 ** Set to 0.0 to import a record regardless of record quality
175 ** Set to 1.0 if the incoming record must be of equal or higher quality than
176 the existing record to be imported
177 ** Set to 1.1 if the incoming record must be of higher quality than the
178 existing record to be imported
179 ** *Insufficient Quality Fall-Through Profile* can also be used with quality
180 metrics. If an incoming record does not meet the standards of the minimum
181 quality ratio, you can identify a back-up merge profile to be used for
182 those records. For example, you may want to use the default overlay
183 profile for high-quality records but use the default merge profile for
184 lower quality records.