If the title records you need are not already in the Evergreen database, it is possible to upload vendor-supplied MARC files into Evergreen. Each file may contain one or more MARC records. During the uploading process, Evergreen matches each record in the file with existing records in Evergreen based on pre-defined match points called Record Match Sets. Records without matches may be imported directly into the catalogue. Records with matches must be examined by cataloguers. Due to the nature of Sitka’s shared database, Co-op Support strongly advises against allowing Evergreen to select a merge target, and cautions you to adhere to instructions for selecting a match as outlined in this chapter.
Importing records involves two steps: 1. all records in the file are first uploaded to the server and kept outside the catalogue as a queue; 2. cataloguers view the records in the queue to import them into the Evergreen catalogue. Cataloguers can view both the incoming and existing matching records to decide which one to use by selecting an appropriate merge profile. You may merge the records with either the incoming or existing record as the lead, while keeping some MARC tags in both records. Overlay/Merge Profile decides how two records are merged.
Holding records can be created if the incoming MARC records contain holding information in a pre-defined format. Contact Co-op Support about the acceptable format if you want to load holding records.
All records in a queue can be exported to a CSV file or printed in non-MARC format (emailing is not available yet). All records imported from a single queue can be added to a Record Bucket.
Tip
There are some settings, namely Record Display Attributes, Record Match Sets, Merge/Overlay Profiles and Import Item Attributes on this screen that are reserved for Sitka server administration. You should not attempt to edit them as they affect all bibliographic records.
Record Display Attributes sets what fields will display on Inspect Queue screen, once a file of records has been loaded. Important descriptive MARC tags and control numbers are selected to display.
Record Match Sets are profiles set up by Sitka to allow for different match points to be used when loading records. The default profile is SitkaMatch. It matches on the 901c (record id), 020a (ISBN), 022a (ISSN), or 035a (System Control Number). It is used in the majority of record loads. The other profiles are only used to load special records. Please contact Co-op Support for which profile to use if your records require a set of different match points to load.
Merge/Overlay Profiles control how the incoming and existing MARC records are merged. Two profiles have been created for all Sitka libraries to use: Merge Using INCOMING Record and Merge Using EXISTING Record.
- Merge Using INCOMING Record: all tags in the INCOMING record will be brought into the final record. Tags: 590, 595, 690, 852 and 856 in the ORIGINAL record will be preserved in the final record. The rest will be removed.
Merge Using EXISTING Record: all tags in the ORIGINAL record will be kept. Tags: 590, 595, 690, 852 and 856 in the INCOMING record will be brought into the final record. The rest will be removed upon merge.
These profiles ensure local data in these six fields in a merged MARC record is never overwritten, and holding records (in tag 852) can be loaded to either the existing MARC record or with the incoming record.
Import Item Attributes are profiles set up by Sitka to allow importing of item records with vendor supplied MARC records. The vendor will need to send item level information in a local MARC tag and subfields (eg. 9xx or 852), and this information can be mapped into item records when the bibliographic records are loaded. Please contact Co-op Support if you are interested in loading item records with your bibliographic records.
Select Cataloguing→ MARC Batch Import/Export
The MARC File Upload screen opens.
You can create a new queue for the file you are to upload, or append the file’s records to an existing queue. To create a new queue, type in a name for your file in the box beside Create a New Upload Queue. To append records to an existing queue, choose a queue from the dropdown list beside Add to an Existing Queue.
Caution
Do not use "/" or "\" (slash or backslash) in import queue name.
Leave SitkaMatch in Record Match Set box.
Caution
The NoMatch profile matches records on tag 901$c only, and should only be used after a false match is detected using SitkaMatch as described below. Sitka cataloguing policy strives to avoid record duplication so Sitka policy requires batch imports use SitkaMatch first.
Choose a Holdings Import Profile from the dropdown list, if your MARC records include holdings information and you wish to load it.
Caution
You need to contact Co-op Support for holding information format before asking your vendors to include it in the MARC records. Holdings may not be loaded if the format does not match Sitka’s holding profile.
- Select a Record Source from the dropdown list. The default is oclc, but choose the one that best matches your file (eg. ULS, Whitehots etc.) Contact Co-op Support if you need to load records for non-physical items, such as an e-record collection like ebrary.
- You do not need to choose a Merge Profile now.
Check Import Non-Matching Records box to automatically import records without matches into the catalogue.
Caution
Co-op Support strongly advises that you do not select other import options. These options allow Evergreen to automatically merge records before you inspect them. It is best practice to inspect the potentially merged records first.
Tip
If you want to view your incoming records first without importing any, leave the Import Non-Matching Records box unchecked. You will be able to view all records in the file on Inspect Queue and import all/selected records with/without matching records there.
- You do not need to select any of the checkboxes in Copy Import Actions now.
Click Choose File to choose the source MARC file on your computer, then click Upload. Depending on the size of the file, it may take a while for the uploading to finish. Once it is finished, records will be displayed in Inspect Queue view. You can continue to examine and import records in the queue as described below. Or you can come back later to find the queue to examine and import the records.
Caution
Do not load a MARC file of more than 500 records, as the importing process can time out. If you have more than 500 records, please break into multiple files.
Once you hit the Upload button, the uploading process starts to run behind the scene until it finishes. Sometimes the progress bar persists and the process seems hanging, but the actual process may have finished. It is best practice to inspect queue to check the queue status first before attempting to reload the file.
Tip
Records in a queue are saved on the server, but are outside the catalogue. By importing, you bring the records into the catalogue.
If you want to import records from MARC files already uploaded, go to Cataloguing → MARC Batch Export/Import, then click Inspect Queue. Click the queue that you wish to examine and import records from. The Queue Summary screen will open.
If you continue to import records right after uploading the MARC file, the Queue Summary screen is loaded after you upload the file.
The Queue Summary shows the total number of MARC records in the queue, and items contained in these records, if any, how many of them have been imported, and how many of them encountered an error when Evergreen attempted to import them.
Queue Filters allows you to display only the selected type of records in the table below.
A selected number of records (10, 20, 50, 100) are displayed per page. Use the dropdown list beside Records per Page to select your preferred number. Use Previous and Next to flip over the page.
The records in the queue can be exported in non-MARC format via the method selected from the Export Queue As dropdown list. (Exporting via email is not currently functional.)
If you imported holdings with the MARC records, click View Import Items to see them.
You can export non-imported records to a MARC file by clicking Export Non-Imported Records. You can work on these records and load them later.
You can add all imported MARC records in the queue to a Record Bucket by using Copy to Bucket.
- You can view both incoming and existing match records, if any, to determine which record to use. The links in View MARC column lead you to the incoming records, while records in the Matches column link to existing records.
Click the blue coloured View MARC link to view the incoming record. You may edit it before importing by clicking Edit. Once editing is complete, click Save Changes. Click Return to go back to the Record Queue screen.
- On Queue screen click the blue coloured Matches link to view the match record. This takes you to the following Import Matches screen.
On the Import Matches screen, you will see the match record’s ID number and some non-MARC information. Click View MARC. The existing MARC record is displayed in view mode. You can not edit it. Click Return to go back to the Import Matches screen.
Tip
Match Score is the total score from all matched fields specified in the Record Match Set.
The list below shows the matching points and the scores assigned to each point of SitkaMatch. Match scores are used to indicate how well two records are matched. For example, if two records contain the same value in tag 010$a, highly likely they are matches. So tag 010$a is assigned a very high score. If the incoming and existing records match on tag 010$a and 020$a, the match score will be 600.
- 010$a: 500
- 020$a: 100
- 024$a: 100
- 022$a: 90
- 035$a: 25
If you see a score of 9999, it means the incoming record has the same value in tag 901$c, which is the record id in Evergreen. Likely you will see it when you load a record that was exported from Evergreen.
Upon inspecting both incoming and existing record(s), if the match record is a true match but a brief record, you may mark the match MARC record as a merge target by selecting the checkbox in front of the record in the Merge Target column. Click Back to Import Queue once done.
If the match record in Evergreen is a true match but a full record, Sitka policy requires you to use the existing record instead of importing another. Do not import the record.
However, if the incoming record contains local information in tags 590, 595, 690, 852 or 856 that you want to bring into the existing record, such as loading holding records to existing MARC records, you need to mark the match record as a merge target. In this scenario you would use the Merge Using EXISTING Record merge profile as described in next step. If you are interested in loading holdings/item information, please contact Co-op support to set it up.
If you have marked a merge target, the record is shown as selected once you are back on the Record Queue screen.
You may inspect other records on the list. Once finished inspecting the list, click Import Selected Records under Queue Actions.
You are prompted to select import options. Make your choices and click Import.
For Merge Profile, choose one of the following based on which record should be the lead.
- Merge Using INCOMING Record: uses the incoming record as the lead. Information in existing record in tags 590, 595, 690, 852 (holdings) and 856 will be kept.
- Merge Using EXISTING Record: uses the existing record in the catalogue as the lead. Information in the incoming record in tags 590, 595, 690, 852 (holdings) and 856 will be kept. Use this profile when you attach holdings in your MARC file to existing Evergreen MARC records.
If you have marked a merge target, you do not need to select any further import options. The marked target will be merged. If you have not already imported non-matching records you can now select Import Non-Matching Records.
Tip
Merge On Exact Match (901c), Merge On Single Match, and Merge On Best Match are designed to allow Evergreen to programmatically select the best match. Due to the nature of Sitka’s shared database, Co-op Support strongly advises against allowing Evergreen to select a merge target and cautions you to adhere to instructions for selecting a match as outlined above.
Do not use Best/Single Match Minimum Quality Ratio or Insufficient Quality Fall-Through Profile at this time.
If you have on-order brief item records and wish to overlay them with full item records loaded via the MARC records, you need to select checkbox Auto-overlay On-order Cataloguing Copies. Evergreen will overlay the items having matching circulating library and On-order status.
If you load items for multiple branches or a branch other than your working location, you need to select the checkbox Use Org Unit Matching in Copy to Determine Best Match, too.
Caution
The option Auto-Overlay In-process Acquisitions Copies should only be used if you are working with on-order line items created in the Acquisitions module. For more details please see Auto-Overlay In Process Acquisitions Copies
Once the records are imported, the display is back on Queue Summary screen. You will see the Import Time column is filled in for the selected records. The imported record id is displayed in Imported As column.
Tip
A record can be imported only once.
Sitka has profiled certain fields, primarily 9xx fields, to be automatically stripped when records are imported through Batch Import. The default fields that are stripped are 906, 923, 925, 936, 948, 955, 959, 963.
Queues are viewable to the login account only. They will remain on the server until they are deleted. You can delete a queue after importing is finished, or you can keep it and delete it later.
To view a queue, go to Cataloguing → MARC Batch Import/Export. The default screen is Import Records. Click Inspect Queue tab to manage and view existing queues used in MARC Batch Import.
Under Inspect Queue you can click on an existing queue to view and import records that have already been queued for importing or simply view records that have already been imported.
To delete queues, select the checkbox in front of the queue name and click Delete Selected at the bottom.
