1 Importing materials in the staff client
2 =======================================
4 Evergreen exists to connect users to the materials represented by bibliographic
5 records, call numbers, and copies -- so getting these materials into your
6 Evergreen system is vital to a successful system. There are two primary means
7 of getting materials into Evergreen:
9 * The Evergreen staff client offers the *MARC Batch Importer*, which is a
10 flexible interface primarily used for small batches of records;
11 * Alternately, import scripts can load data directly into the database, which is
12 a highly flexible but much more complex method of loading materials suitable
13 for large batches of records such as the initial migration from your legacy
16 Staff client batch record imports
17 ---------------------------------
18 The staff client has a utility for importing batches of bibliographic and copy
19 records available through *Cataloging > MARC Batch Import/Export*. In addition
20 to importing new records, this interface can be used to match incoming records
21 to existing records in the database, add or overlay MARC fields in the existing
22 record, and add copies to those records.
24 The MARC Batch Import interface may also be colloquially referred to as
25 "Vandelay" in the Evergreen community, referring to this interface's internals
26 in the system.You will also see this name used in several places in the editor.
27 For instance, when you click on the *Record Match Sets*, the title on the screen
28 will be *Vandelay Match Sets*.
30 When to use the MARC Batch Importer
31 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
33 * When importing in batches of up to 500 to 1,000 records.
34 * When you need the system to match those incoming records to existing records
35 and overlay or add fields to the existing record.
36 * When you need to add copies to existing records in the system.
38 The MARC Batch Importer should only be used for importing copies that already
39 have barcodes and call numbers. Use *Acquisitions > Load MARC Order Records* to
40 add on-order copies that do not yet have barcodes and call numbers.
44 Click the *Record Match Sets* button to identify how Evergreen should match
45 incoming records to existing records in the system.
47 These record match sets can be used when importing records through the MARC
48 Batch Importer or when importing order records through the Acquisitions Load
49 MARC Order Records interface.
51 Common match points used when creating a match set include:
53 * MARC tag 020a (ISBN)
54 * MARC tag 022a (ISSN)
56 * MARC tag 028a (Publisher number)
60 . On the *Record Match Sets* screen, click *New Match Set* to create a set of
61 record match points. Give the set a *Name*. Assign the *Owning Library* from
62 the dropdown list. The *Match Set Type* should remain as *biblio*. Click
64 . If you don't see your new set in the list, in the upper left corner of the
65 staff client window, click the *Reload* button.
66 . If you had to reload, click the *Record Match Sets* button to get back to
67 that screen. Find your new set in the list and click its name. (The name will
68 appear to be a hyperlink.) This will bring you to the *Vandelay Match Set
70 . Create an expression that will define the match points for the incoming
71 record. You can choose from two areas to create a match: Record Attribute (MARC
72 fixed fields) or MARC Tag and Subfield. You can use the Boolean operators AND
73 and OR to combine these elements to create a match set.
74 . When adding a Record Attribute or MARC tag/subfield, you also can enter a
75 Match Score. The Match Score indicates the relative importance of that match
76 point as Evergreen evaluates an incoming record against an existing record. You
77 can enter any integer into this field. The number that you enter is only
78 important as it relates to other match points.
80 Recommended practice is that you create a match score of one (1) for the least
81 important match point and assign increasing match points to the power of 2 to
82 working points in increasing importance.
83 . After creating a match point, drag the completed match point under the folder
84 with the appropriately-named Boolean folder under the Expression tree.
86 image::media/create_match_sets.png[]
87 . Click *Save Changes to Expression*.
91 * Quality metrics provide a mechanism for Evergreen to measure the quality of
92 records and to make importing decisions based on quality.
93 * Metrics are configured in the match set editor.
94 * Quality metrics are not required when creating a match set.
95 * You can use a value in a record attribute (MARC fixed fields) or a MARC tag
96 as your quality metric.
97 * The encoding level record attribute can be one indicator of record quality.
99 image::media/record_quality_metrics.png[]
101 Import Item Attributes
102 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
103 If you are importing copies with your records, you will need to map the data in
104 your holdings tag to fields in the copy record. Click the *Import Item
105 Attributes* button to map this information.
107 . Click the *New Definition* button to create a new mapping for the holdings tag.
108 . Use the *Tag* field to identify the MARC tag that contains your holdings
110 . Add the subfields that contain specific copy information to the appropriate
112 . Select the *Keep* box if Evergreen should keep this holdings tag in the
113 record after it is imported. Otherwise, Evergreen will remove this holdings
115 . At a minimum, you should add a name for the definition, identify the MARC
116 holdings tag, and add the subfields that identify the circulating library, the
117 owning library, the call number and the barcode.
119 image::media/import_item_attributes.png[]
121 Overlay/Merge Profiles
122 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
123 If Evergreen finds a match for an incoming record in the database, you need to
124 identify which fields should be replaced, which should be preserved, and which
125 should be added to the record. Click the *Merge/Overlay Profiles* button to
126 create a profile that contains this information.
128 These overlay/merge profiles can be used when importing records through the
129 MARC Batch Importer or when importing order records through the Acquisitions
130 Load MARC Order Records interface.
132 Evergreen comes pre-installed with two default profiles:
134 * *Default merge* - No fields from incoming record are added to match. This
135 profile is useful for item loads or for order record uploads.
136 * *Default overlay* - Incoming record will replace existing record.
138 You can customize the overlay/merge behavior with a new profile by clicking the
139 *New Merge Profile* button. Available options for handling the fields include:
141 * *Preserve specification* - fields in the existing record that should be
143 * *Replace specification* - fields in existing record that should be replaced
144 by those in the incoming record.
145 * *Add specification* - fields from incoming record that should be added to
146 existing record (in addition to any already there.)
147 * *Remove specification* - fields that should be removed from incoming record.
149 You can add multiple tags to these specifications, separating each tag with a
152 Importing the records
153 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
154 After making the above configurations, you are now ready to import your
157 . Click the *Import Records* button
158 . Provide a unique name for the queue where the records will be loaded
159 . Identify the match set that should be used for matching
160 . If you are importing copies, identify the *Import Item Attributes* definition
161 in the Holdings Import Profile
162 . Select a record source
163 . Select the overlay/merge profile that defines which fields should be
164 replaced, added or preserved
165 . Identify which records should be imported, the options are:
166 ** *Import Non-Matching Records* will automatically import records that have
167 no match in the system
168 ** *Merge on Exact Match* will automatically import records that match on the
170 ** *Merge on Single Match* will automatically import records when there is
171 only one match in the system
172 ** *Merge on Best Match* will automatically import records for the best match
173 in the system; the best match will be determined by the combined total of the
174 records match point scores
176 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.
178 * *Best Single Match Minimum Quality Ratio* should only be changed if quality metrics were used in the match set
180 ** Set to 0.0 to import a record regardless of record quality
181 ** Set to 1.0 if the incoming record must be of equal or higher quality than
182 the existing record to be imported
183 ** Set to 1.1 if the incoming record must be of higher quality than the
184 existing record to be imported
185 ** *Insufficient Quality Fall-Through Profile* can also be used with quality
186 metrics. If an incoming record does not meet the standards of the minimum
187 quality ratio, you can identify a back-up merge profile to be used for
188 those records. For example, you may want to use the default overlay
189 profile for high-quality records but use the default merge profile for
190 lower quality records.