Cataloging

Before you start cataloging in Koha you’re going to want to do some basic setup. Refer to the Implementation Checklist for a full list of these things. Most importantly you’re going to want to make sure that your MARC Bibliographic Frameworks are all defined the way you want. Once in the cataloging module you will not be able to add or remove fields and subfields so your frameworks must be ready before you start cataloging.

You can also use OCLC Connexion to send records directly in to Koha. For more information on that please review the OCLC Connexion Gateway setup Appendix.

  • Get there: More > Cataloging

Bibliographic Records

In Koha the bibliographic record contains the main information related to the material. This includes things like the title, author, ISBN, etc. This information is stored in Koha in Marc (different flavors of Marc are supported in Koha). Once this information is saved, Item Records can be attached.

Adding Records

Records can be added to Koha via original or copy cataloging. You can also choose to use the basic or advanced cataloging interface for all of your work.

If you would like to catalog a record using a blank template in the basic editor

  • Click ‘New Record’

    New Record Menu image627

    • Choose the framework you would like to base your record off of

If you would like to catalog a record using a blank template in the advanced editor

If you want to catalog a record based on an existing record at another library in the editor you last used (basic or advanced)

  • Click ‘New from Z39.50/SRU’

    Z39.50 Search image628

    • Search for the item you would like to catalog

      • Note

        If no results are found, try searching for fewer fields, not all Z39.50 targets can search all of the fields above.

    • Search targets can be altered by using the Z39.50 Admin area.

    • From the results you can view the MARC or Card view for the records or choose to Import them into Koha

      Z39.50 Search Results image629

      • In addition to the Import link to the right of each title, you can click on the title you’re interested in and a menu will pop up with links to preview the record and import it

        Import Link Popup on Z39.50 Search Results image630

      • If you don’t find the title you need in your Z39.50 search results you can click the ‘Try Another Search’ button at the bottom left of your results

        Try another search image631

Basic Editor Cataloging

In the basic editor once you’ve opened a blank framework or imported a record via Z39.50 you will be presented with the form to continue cataloging

Add MARC Record image632

  • If you would rather not see the MARC tag numbers you can change the value in your hide_marc system preference or each user can check the box next to ‘Show tags’ found under ‘Settings’.

  • To expand a collapsed tag click on the tag description

  • To get help from the Library of Congress on a Marc tag click the question mark (?) to the right of each field number

    • If you feel that this clutters the screen you can hide the question marks by unchecking the box next to the ‘Show MARC tag documentation links’ note found under ‘Settings’
  • Sometimes fields may not be editable due to the value in your BiblioAddsAuthorities system preference. If you have this preference set to not allow catalogers to type in fields controlled by authorities you may see a lock symbol to the left of the field.

    Authority fields locked against editing image633

    • If this icon appears you must click the icon to the right of the field to search for an existing authority.

      Search for authority image634

    • From the results list click ‘Choose authority’ to bring that into your catalog record

      Authority search results image635

  • To duplicate a field click on the ‘repeat this tag’ icon to the right of the tag

    Duplicate a Field image636

    • To move subfields in to the right order, click the up arrow to the left of the field

    • To duplicate a subfield click on the clone icon (to remove a copied field, click the delete clone icon) to the right of the field

      Clone Subfield image637

    • To remove a subfield (if there is more than one of the same type), click the - (minus sign) to the right of the field

  • To use a plugin click on the icon to the right of the filed

    Leader Builder Plugin image638

    • Some fixed fields have editors that will change based on the material type you’re cataloging (for example the 006 and the 008 fields)

      008 Plugin image639

  • Once you’ve finished, click the ‘Save’ button at the top and choose whether you want to save and view the bib record you have created or continue on to add/edit items attached to the record

    Record save options image640

    • Choosing ‘Save and view record’ will bring you right to the record you just cataloged
    • Choosing ‘Save and edit items’ will bring you to the add/edit item form after saving the bib record so that you can attach holdings
    • Choosing ‘Save and continute editing’ will allow you to save your work so far and keep you in the editor to continue working
  • If you are about to add a duplicate record to the system you will be warned before saving

    Duplicate Record Warning image641

Advanced Editor Cataloging

In order to use the Advanced cataloging editor you need to enable the EnableAdvancedCatalogingEditor preference.

Important

This feature is currently experimental, and may have bugs that cause corruption of records. It also does not include any support for UNIMARC or NORMARC fixed fields. Please help us test it and report any bugs, but do so at your own risk.

In the advanced editor once you’ve opened a blank framework or imported a record via Z39.50 you will be presented with the form to continue catalogingAdvanced cataloging editor

Using the search box on the left you can perform Z39.50 searches

Advanced Z39.50 results image642

And from those Z39.50 results you can view the marc record by clicking the link to the right

Advanced Z39.50 results image643

Clicking ‘Import’ will bring the record in to the editor where you can perform your edits

Advanced Cataloging image644

Note

When adding a new field in the Advanced Editor, you need to key underscores for a blank indicator, and surround the indicators with spaces.

Note

You need to key a space before the first subfield delimiter, but not before or after other subfield delimiters in the field.

At the bottom of the editor you will see help from the Library of Congress for the field you are on. In cases where your MARC is invalid you will see red highlighting. To edit the record using only keyboard functions the Keyboard shortcuts button will inform you of the necessary commands

Advanced Z39.50 results image645

Advanced Cataloging Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used in the advanced cataloging module to save time and clicking.

Shortcut Behavior
Ctrl-D Insert delimiter (‡)
Ctrl-H Get help on current subfield
Ctrl-S Save record
Ctrl-X Delete current field
Ctrl-Shift-X Delete current subfield
Enter New field on next line
Shift-Enter Insert line break
Tab Move to next position
Shift-Tab Move to previous position
Macros in Advanced Cataloging

To record a new macro:

  • Select the “> Macros…” button
  • A window will pop up. In this window, select “New macro…,” key the new macro’s name in the pop-up box and select OK.
  • Now click to the right of the little number 1, and key the first line of your macro. For a multi-line, i.e., multi-field macro, hit the return key so that a little number 2 appears, and key the second line/field, etc.
  • Your macros will be automatically saved. When finished you can select the “x” to close the window, or select a macro to run on the record that you’re editing, or select another macro to run.

To edit an existing macro:

  • Select the “> Macros…” button
  • A window will pop up. In this window, select the macro that you wish to edit & make your changes.
  • Your work will automatically be saved, and when finished you can select the “x” to close the window, or select a macro to run on the record that you’re editing, or select another macro to run.

The basic syntax of the macro language:

  • new 500=‡aEdited with Rancor
    • Creates a new 500 with a ‡a subfield and sets it to “Edited with Rancor”.
  • 245c= by J.K. Rowling.
    • Sets the first ‡c subfield of the first 245 tag in the record to ” by J.K. Rowling”, creating it if necessary.
  • 082a={084a}
    • Sets the ‡a subfield of the first 082 tag (creating the subfield if necessary) to the contents of the first 084‡a.
  • indicators=_1
    • Sets the indicators of the last mentioned tag (in this case, 082) to “_” and “1”.
  • new 090a=Z674.75.W67
    • Creates a new ‡a subfield on the first 090 (but only if that field already exists) and sets it to Z674.75.W67.
  • new 090a at end=Z674.75.W67
    • Same as above.
  • new 245b after a= a tale of might and magic /
    • Creates a new ‡b after the first a subfield and sets it to ” a tale of might and magic /”.
  • delete 245b
    • Deletes the first ‡b subfield on the first 245 to ‡b

Adding Analytic Records

Libraries sometimes make journal articles and articles within monographs and serials accessible to library patrons through analytics cataloging. Analytics cataloging creates separate bibliographic records for these articles, chapters, sections, etc. found within a larger resource such as a book, an article within a journal, newspaper or serial. In analytics cataloging, although a separate bib record is created for the title, it is not physically separated from the host item.  Learn more about Analytics in Chapter 13 of AACR2.

If you would like to catalog analytic records there are two options. One is to use the Easy Analytics funtion; the other is the Analytics Enhanced Workflow.

Easy Analytics

The Easy Analytics feature makes linking analytic records together easier. The first thing you need to do is set the EasyAnalyticalRecords preference to ‘Display’ and the UseControlNumber preference to ‘Don’t use.’

After cataloging your analytic record (see Adding Records for more on creating records) click ‘Edit’ from the normal view and choose to ‘Link to Host Item’

Link to Host Item image646

This will prompt you to enter the barcode for the item this record should be linked to.

Barcode for Analytic Linking image647

After entering the item’s barcode and clicking ‘Select’ you will receive a confirmation message.

Analytic Link Success image648

The record will now have the 773 field filled in properly to complete the link.

773 image649

To view all of the items tied to the host record, do a search for the record, click the Analytics tab on the left and the analytics tied to each barcode will be shown under the “Used in” column.

Analytics Tab image650

Note

It is also possible to create analytic records from this screen by clicking on “Create Analytics”

You can also see the analytics attached to this record by clicking the ‘Show Analytic’ link towards the top of the record in the normal view.

Show Analytics on Bib Record image651

When looking at the anaytic record you will also see a link to the host item under the ‘Host records’ column in the holdings table when viewing the ‘Analtyics’ tab.

Host Record image652

Analytics Enhanced Workflow

To use the Enhanced Workflow method of adding analytics, the first thing you need to do is set the EasyAnalyticalRecords preference to ‘Don’t display’ and the UseControlNumber preference to ‘Use.’

After cataloging your original record (see Adding Records for more on creating records) click ‘New’ from the normal view and choose to ‘New child record.’

New child record image653

This will open a new blank record for cataloging. The blank record will only have the 773 field filled in properly to complete the link once the record is saved.

773 image654

To view all of the items tied to the host record, do a search for the record, click the Analytics tab on the left and the analytics tied to each barcode will be shown under the “Used in” column.

Analytics Tab image655

You can also see the analytics attached to this record by clicking the ‘Show Analytic’ link towards the top of the record in the normal view.

Show Analytics on Bib Record image656

When looking at the anaytic record you will also see a link to the host item under the ‘Host records’ column in the holdings table when viewing the ‘Analtyics’ tab.

Host Record image657

Editing Analytics

If you have linked an analytic record incorrectly you can remove that link by editing the item on the analytic record (not the host record). To do this, go to the analytic record and click the ‘Edit’ button and choose to ‘Edit items’. To the left of each item you will see two options.

Edit Analytic Item Record image658

  • Clicking ‘Edit in Host’ will allow you to edit the item on the host record.
  • Clicking ‘Delink’ will remove the 773 field and the link between the analytic and the host.

Editing Records

To edit a record you can click ‘Edit Biblio’ from the search results on the cataloging page

Edit Biblio Option on Search Results image659

or by clicking the Edit button on the Bibliographic Record and choosing ‘Edit Record’

Edit Record Option on Bibliographic Record image660

The record will open in the MARC editor

Editing MARC Record image661

The alternative is to search via Z39.50 to overlay your record with a fuller record found at another library. You can do this by choosing ‘Replace Record via Z39.50’ from the Edit menu.

Replace via Z39.50 image662

Once you choose that you will be brought to a Z39.50 search window to search other libraries for the record in question.

Once you have made your edits (via either method) you can click ‘Save’ at the top left of the editor.

You can also use the edit menu to add your own custom cover image if you have either OPACLocalCoverImages and/or LocalCoverImages set to ‘Display’ by choosing ‘Upload Image’ from the menu.

Upload Image image663

Choosing to ‘Upload Image’ will take you to the Upload Local Cover Image Tool.

Duplicating Records

Sometimes a copy of the record you need to catalog can’t be found via Z39.50. In these cases you can create a duplicate of similar record and edit the necessary pieces to create a new record. To duplicate an existing record click ‘Edit as New (Duplicate)’ from the Edit menu on the Bibliographic Record

Edit as New (Duplicate) Bibliographic Record image664

This will open a new MARC record with the fields filled in with the values from the original Bibliographic Record.

New Duplicate Record image665

Attaching files to Records

If you would like to upload files to Koha you can do so with a few settings.

  • You will need to ask your system administrator to set the ‘upload_path’ config variable to point to where the files will be stored
    • You can see if your upload path is set correctly by visiting About Koha > System Information. If there is an error you will see it there.Upload Path Warning
  • You will want to be sure that your OPACBaseURL system preference is set appropriately
  • You will want to add the upload.pl plugin to the 856$u subfield in one (or multiple) of your frameworks

Once you are all set up you can continue with cataloging as regular. You will see a plugin icon next to the 856$u that will open up the upload and/or search windowUpload file to record

From this menu you can click browse to find a file and attach it, or you can search files you have uploaded previously using the search box. From the search results you can choose which file to attach.Uploaded files

Once the file is chosen it will appear as a link in the MARC record and on the detail display.

Merging Records

To merge bibliographic records together you will want to go to the Cataloging module and perform a search.

If you see duplicates on that search results screen you can check the boxes next to the duplicates and click the ‘Merge selected’ button at the top of the results.

Once you have selected the records you want to merge, click the ‘Merge selected’ button at the top of the list. You will be asked which of the records you would like to keep as your primary record and which will be deleted after the merge. If the records were created using different frameworks, Koha will also ask you what Framework you would like the newly merged record to use.

Choose Primary Record for Merge image666

You will be presented with the MARC for all of the records (each accessible by tabs labeled with the bib numbers for those records). By default the entire first record will be selected, uncheck the fields you don’t want in the final (destination) record and then move on to the second tab to choose which fields should be in the final (destination) record.

Merging Records image667

Should you try to add a field that is not repeatable two times (like choosing the 245 field from both record #1 and #2) you will be presented with an error

Non-repeatable Error image668

Below the records you are merging is an option to enter fields to report on. This will allow you to control what fields you see on the merge confirmation page:

Merge report fields image669

If you enter nothing you will be presented with a confirmation of biblionumbers only

Merge report image670

If you enter fields you will see those on the confirmation page (you can set defaults with the MergeReportFields preference)

Merge report image671

Once you have completed your selections click the ‘merge’ button. The primary record will now CONTAIN the data you chose for it as well as all of the items/holdings from both bib records, and the second record will be deleted.

Important

It is important to rebuild your zebra index immediately after merging records. If a search is performed for a record which has been deleted Koha will present the patrons with an error in the OPAC.

Note

If you would like you can also use the Lists tool for merging records together. Learn more here.

Deleting Records

To delete a bibliographic record simply choose the ‘Edit’ button and select ‘Delete record’

Delete record image672

Bibliographic records can only be deleted one all items have been deleted. If you try to delete a bibliographic record with items still attached you will see that the delete option is grayed out.

Record with items still attached image673

Item Records

In Koha each bibliographic record can have one or more items attached. These items are sometimes referred to as holdings. Each item includes information to the physical copy the library has.

Adding Items

After saving a new bibliographic record, you will be redirected to a blank item record so that you can attach an item to the bibliographic record. You can also click ‘Add/Edit Items’ from the cataloging search results

Add/Edit Items Option on Search Results image674

or you can add new item at any time by clicking ‘New’ on the bibliographic record and choosing ‘New Item’

New Item Button image675

The item edit form will appear:

Add item form image676

At the very least, if you plan on circulating the item, the following fields should be entered for new items:

  • 2 - Source of classification
  • a - Permanent location
  • b - Current location
  • o - Full call number
    • If you’d like you can use the call number browser plugin for this field. If it’s enabled you’ll see a … to the right of the field. When clicked that will open a call number browser window if the row is highlighted in Red then the call number is in use, if there is a thin Green line instead then the call number can be used.Call number browser
  • p - Barcode
  • v - Cost, replacement price
    • This value will be charged to patrons when you mark an item they have checked out as ‘Lost’
  • y - Koha item type

To make sure that these values are filled in you can mark them as mandatory in the framework you’re using and then they will appear in red with a ‘required’ label. The item will not save until the required fields are filled in.

Required Item Subfield image677

  • Note

    To make item subfields required in a framework you’ll want to edit the 952 field in the framework editor.

Below the add form there are 3 buttons for adding the item

Add Item Buttons image678

  • Add Item will add just the one item
  • Add & Duplicate will add the item and fill in a new form with the same values for your to alter
  • Add Multiple items will ask how many items and will then add that number of items adding +1 to the barcode so each barcode is unique

Your added items will appear above the add form once submitted

Items image679

Your items will also appear below the bibliographic details on the bib record display.

List of Items on the Bib Record image680

If you have SpineLabelShowPrintOnBibDetails set to ‘Display’ then there will also be a link to print a quick spine label next to each item.

List of Items on the Bib Record with a Print Label link image681

You can also filter the contents of your holdings table by clicking the ‘Activate filters’ links. This will show a row at the top where you can type in any column to filter the results in the table.

Filter holdings image682

Editing Items

Items can be edited in several ways.

  • Clicking ‘Edit’ and ‘Edit Items’ from the bibliographic record

    Edit Items Menu Option image683

    Which will open up a list of items where you can click the ‘Actions’ button to the left of the specific item you would like to edit and choose ‘Edit’.

    Edit individual items image684

  • Clicking ‘Edit Items’ beside the item on the ‘Items’ tab

    Items Tab image685

    Which will open up the editor on the item you’d like to edit

    Edit individual items image686

  • Clicking ‘Edit’ and then ‘Edit items in batch’

    Edit items in a batch image687

    This will open up the batch item modification tool where you can edit all of the items on this record as a batch.

  • You can also enable StaffDetailItemSelection to have checkboxes appear to the left of each item on the detail display. You can then check off the items you would like to edit and click ‘Modify selected items’ at the top of the list.

    Editing selected items image688

  • You can click ‘Edit’ to the right of each item in the Holdings tabEdit individual items

  • There is also a link to Edit items from the search results in the staff clientEdit item on the search results

  • Finally you can use the Batch Item Modification tool

Quick Item Status Updates

Often circulation staff need to change the status of an item to Lost or Damaged. This doesn’t require you to edit the entire item record. Instead clicking on the item barcode on the checkout summary or checkin history will bring you to an item summary. You can also get to the item summary by clicking on the Items tab to the left of the bib detail page.

Item Edit image689

From this view you can mark an item lost by choosing a lost status from the pull down and clicking the ‘Set Status’ button.

Edit Lost Status image690

You can also mark an item as damaged by choosing a damaged status from the pull down and clicking the ‘Set Status’ button.

Edit Damaged Status image691

Duplicating Items

You can easily duplicate each item by clicking the ‘Action’ button the left of each item on the edit items screen

Edit individual items image692

From here you can choose to ‘Duplicate’ the item and this will populate the form with the values from the item you chose.

Item Information

To the left of every bibliographic record there is a tab to view the items.

Items Tab image693

Clicking that tab will give you basic information about the items. From here you can see basic information about the item such as the home library, item type, collection code, call number and replacement price. You can also see and edit the status information. If an item is marked lost or withdrawn you will also see the date that status was applied.

In the History section you will see infomration about the check out history of the item and if you ordered the item via the acquisitions module then this section will include information about the order.

History with order info image694

If the Order or Accession date is linked, clicking it will bring you to the acquisitions information for that item.

Moving Items

Items can be moved from one bibliographic record to another using the Attach Item option

Attach Item Option image695

Visit the bibliographic record you want to attach the item to and choose ‘Attach Item’ from the ‘Edit’ menu.

Attach Item Form image696

Simply enter the barcode for the item you want to move and click ‘Select’

If you want to move all items to a new record creating only one bibliographic record you can use the Merge Records tool instead.

Deleting Items

There are many ways to delete item records. If you only need to delete one item you can do this by opening up the detail page for the bib record and clicking the ‘Edit’ button at the top. From there you can choose to ‘Edit items’.

‘Edit Items’ menu option image697

You will be presented with a list of items and next to each one will be a link labeled ‘Delete’. Click that link and if the item is not checked out it will delete that item.

Delete link on the left image698

If you know that all of the items attached to your record are not currently checked out you can use the ‘Delete all items’ option under the ‘Edit menu’ and it will remove all items from the record.

You can also enable StaffDetailItemSelection to have checkboxes appear to the left of each item on the detail display. You can then check off the items you would like to delete and click ‘Delete selected items’ at the top of the list.

Deleting selected items image699

Finally you can use the batch delete tool to delete a batch of items.

Item Specific Circulation History

Each bibliographic record keeps a circulation history (with or without the patron information depending on your settings), but each item also has its own circulation history page. To see this, click on the ‘Items’ tab to the left of the record you are viewing.

Items tab image700

Below the ‘History’ heading is a link to ‘View item’s checkout history,’ clicking that will open up the item’s history which will look slightly different from the bibliographic record’s history page.

Item Specific Circulation History image701

Authorities

Authority records are a way of controlling fields in your MARC records. Using authority records will provide you with control over subject headings, personal names and places.

Adding Authorities

To add a new authority record you can either choose the authority type from the ‘New Authority’ button or search another library by clicking the ‘New from Z39.50’ button.

New Authority Record Options image702

If you choose to enter a new authority from scratch, the form that appears will allow you to enter all of the necessary details regarding your authority record.

New Authority Record image703

To expand collapsed values simply click on the title and the subfields will appear. To duplicate a field or subfield just click the plus sign (+) to the right of the label. To use field helper plugins simply click the ellipsis (…) to the right of the field.

When linking authorities to other headings, you can use the authority finder plugin by clicking the ellipsis (…) to the right of the field.

Authority search plugin image704

From there you can search your authority file for the authority to link. If you can’t find the authority to link, you can click the ‘Create new’ button and add the necessary authority for the link. This plugin also allows for you to choose the link relationship between the authorities.

Authority relationships image705

If you choose to search another library for the authority record you will be presented with a search box

Authority Z39.50 Search image706

From the results you can choose the ‘Import’ link to the right of the record you would like to add to Koha

Authority Z39.50 Results image707

You will then be presented with the form to edit the authority before saving it to your system

Imported Authority image708

Searching Authorities

From the authorities page you can search for existing terms and the bibliographic records they are attached to.

Authority Search image709

From the results you will see the authority record, how many bibliographic records it is attached to, an ‘Actions’ menu that includes the ability to edit, merge and delete (if there are no bibliographic records attached).

Authority Search Results image710

Clicking on the Details link to the right of the authority record summary will open the full record and the option to edit the record.

Authority Record image711

If the authority has See Alsos in it you will see those broken out on the search results, clicking the linked headings will run a search for that heading instead.

See Also in Authorities image712

Editing Authorities

Authorities can be edited by clicking on the authority summary from the search results and then clicking the ‘Edit’ button above the record. Or by clicking on the ‘Edit’ link to the left of the authority on the search results.

Edit Authority Record image713

Once you’ve made the necessary edits, simply click ‘Save’ and dontmerge is set to ‘Do’, Koha will immediately update all of the bib records linked to the authority with the new authority record’s data. If dontmerge is set to “Don’t” then Koha won’t edit bib records when changes are made to authorities, rather, this is done later by the merge_authority.pl cronjob.

To delete an authority record you first must make sure it’s not linked to any bibliographic records. If it is not used by any bibliographic records a ‘Delete’ link will appear to the right of the record on the search results and as a button that appears after clicking on the summary of the authority record.

Merging Authorities

If you have duplicate authority records you can merge them together by clicking the ‘Merge’ link, found in the actions menu, next to two results on an authority search.

Duplicate authorities results image714

After clicking ‘Merge’ on the first result you will see that authority listed at the top of the results.

Merging authorities results image715

Next you need to click ‘Merge’ next to the second result you’d like to merge.

You will be asked which of the two records you would like to keep as your primary record and which will be deleted after the merge.

Merging authorities image716

You will be presented with the MARC for both of the records (each accessible by tabs labeled with the authority numbers for those records). By default the entire first record will be selected, uncheck the fields you don’t want in the final (destination) record and then move on to the second tab to choose which fields should be in the final (destination) record.

Authorities to merge image717

Once you have completed your selections click the ‘Merge’ button. The primary record will now contain the data you chose for it and the second record will be deleted.

Merged authority image718

Cataloging Guides

Bibliographic Record Cataloging Cheat Sheet

Table: Cataloging Guide

Item/Holdings Record Cataloging Guide

This table represents the default embedded holdings data in Koha. This information can be used for migration or importing data purposes

Table: Koha Embedded Holdings Data

* - required for circulation

** - required by Koha

Handling On Order Items and Holds

If you tend to import your MARC records when you have ordered the book (as opposed to when you receive the books), and allow patrons to place holds on those books, you may need to add item records to the *.mrc file before importing.

The easiest way to import your latest order is to first run your records through MARCEdit. Download your MARC records, saving them to your desktop or some other location you use/will remember. If you have MARCEdit already installed you should simply have to double click on your MARC records, and they will automatically open in MARCEdit.

Important

This tutorial was written with MARCEdit version 5.2.3769.41641 on Windows XP, instructions may be different if your version or operating system is different.

  • Your original file will automatically be in the input; ensure MarcBreaker is chosen, and then click “Execute”

    MarcBreaker image719

  • You will be presented with a summary of the records processed at the bottom of the screen

    MarcBreaker Summary image720

  • Click ‘Edit Records’ to continue on to adding item records

  • Your screen will be replaced with a larger screen containing the MARC records

    MARC file for editing image721

  • Click on Tools > Add/Edit Field

    Add/Delete Field image722

  • Enter in the Koha specific item info

    Add 942 Field image723

    • In the Field box, type 942
    • In the Field Data box, type \$c and the item type code (\$cBOOK in this example)
    • Check the ‘Insert last’ option
    • Click ‘Add Field’
  • Enter in the item record data

    Add 952 Field image724

    • In the Field box, type 952
    • In the Field Data box, type $7ORDERED_STATUS$aPERM_LOC$bCURR_LOC$cSHELVING_LOCATION$eSOURCE_OF_ACQ$yITEM_TYPE
      • ex. $7-1$aCPL$bCPL$cNEW$eBrodart$yBOOK
        • In a default install of Koha -1 is the value for the Ordered status
      • You may want to look at other subfields you would like data in – for example, changing the collection code to put all the items in the same collection (8), automatically fill in the acquisition date (d), or put in a public note (z).
      • Be sure you use the $ to separate subfields; adding each subfield on a separate line will cause that many items to be imported with your MARC record (in the example above, four items, each with one of those subfields corrected)
      • Make sure you look at the Administration > Authorized Values in Koha to put the correct code into the field
    • Check the ‘Insert last’ option
    • Click ‘Add Field’
  • Close the field editor window

  • Click on File > Compile into MARC

    Compile into MARC image725

  • Choose where to save your file

Now you want to go into your Koha system and follow the instructions for importing MARC records.

Once the item has come in, you will need to go to the item record and individually change the item to have the correct barcode, and manually change the status from Ordered to the blank line in the Not for Loan field.

Note

If you purchase your cataloged item records, you may want to request your vendor put in the information you need into the MARC records for you; that way, you could import the edited-by-the-vendor file, overwriting the current record, automatically replacing the data with what you need.