Using third party software with Koha

MarcEdit

Many libraries like to use MarcEdit for modifications or data cleanup. If you’d like to do this you will need to download it at: http://marcedit.reeset.net/

Important

Many of the actions described in this chapter can be done in Koha using Marc Modification Templates, but this section is here for those who are used to MarcEdit.

Adding a prefix to call numbers

When bringing data into Koha, you may want to first clean it up. One common action among Koha users is to add a prefix to the call number.

• Open MarcEdit

  

• Click ‘MarcEditor’

• Go to Tools > Edit Subfield Data

  

• To prepend data the special character is: ^b  To simply prepend data to the beginning of a subfield, add ^b to the Field Data: textbox and the data to be appended in the Replace

  

  • To prepend data to the beginning of the subfield while replacing a text string, add ^b[string to replace] to the Field Data textbox and the data to be appended in the Replace With textbox.

Importing Excel data into Koha

Suppose you have records of your library in excel data sheet format and want them to import into Koha. But how will you do this? Koha will not let you import excel records directly. Well here is a very simple solution for you which will let you import your excel records in Koha easily. First, we will convert excel file into Marc file and then will import it into Koha.

Follow the given steps to import your excel records into Koha

Converting from Excel format into .mrk format

First, we will convert excel format into .mrk format. For this we will use MarcEdit. You can download it from http://marcedit.reeset.net/

Now open it and select Add-ins–>Delimited Text Translator.

Click Next when the following window appears.

Browse for your excel file.

Locate your excel file by choosing the format Excel File(*.xls).

Similarly, fill all the other entries such as Output File, Excel Sheet Name and check UTF-8 Encoded (if required) and Click Next.

Now you will be prompted for mapping the fields to recognise the fields by standard marc format.

Suppose for Field 0 that is first column I entered Map to: 022$a( Valid ISSN for the continuing resource) and then click on Apply.

Note

You can customize Indicators and all other things, for more information on marc21 format visit the official library of congress site.

Similarly map all other fields and then Click on Finish.

And then a window will appear indicating that your Marc Text File(*.mrk) has been created.

Click Close and we have created a .mrk file from .xls file in this step. You can view the file by double clicking on it.

Convert .mrk file to .mrc

We will convert .mrk file that we have created in the above step into raw Marc format that can be directly imported into Koha.

For this again open MarcEdit and Select MARC Tools.

Next Select MarcMaker to convert .mrk file into .mrc format.

Locate your input file and name your output file. Then Click Execute.

And it will show you the Result.

Click Close and now we have raw Marc records with us (.mrc file).

Import .mrc into Koha

More information on importing records into Koha can be found in the Stage MARC records for import section of this manual.

Finally we will import above created .mrc file into Koha.

Click on Tools in your Koha staff client.

Next Click on Stage MARC Records for Import.

After this, choose your previously created .mrc file and click on Upload.

You can also add comment about file and finally click on Stage For Import.

When the import is done, you will get a result something like this

Next, click on Manage staged records.

Here you can even change matching rules.

Click on Import this batch into catalog when you are done.

Thats it. After all the records get imported, check Status and it should read “imported”

You can even undo the Import operation.

And within few minutes, we have imported around 10,000 records in Koha

OCLC Cataloging Services

Koha can be set to work with the OCLC cataloging services such as

• WorldShare Record Manager

• Connexion

This allows librarians to use the WorldShare Record Manager web interface or the OCLC Connexion Client desktop software as their cataloging tool and send those records to Koha with a single click.

Setting up the OCLC Connexion Daemon

First, you will need to set up the OCLC Connexion Daemon on your server. If you have a system administrator you will want to consult with them on this process.

1. Find the script on your server and view its documentation.

   /usr/share/koha/bin/connexion_import_daemon.pl --help
   

2. Create a configuration file. You could put this anywhere that is readable by the user that will be running the service, e.g., /etc/koha/sites/my_instance/oclc_connexion.conf. The output of the help command provides the details about what this file should contain. Here is an example:

   host: 0.0.0.0
   port: 5500
   log: /var/log/koha/my_instance/oclc_connexion.log
   koha: https://staff.mylibrary.example.com
   user: koha_staff_user_name
   password: koha_staff_user_password
   connexion_user: oclc_connexion_user_name
   connexion_password: oclc_connexion_user_password
   import_mode: direct
   

3. Since the configuration file contains passwords, make sure that it’s only readable by the user running the script, and nobody else.

   chmod 400 /etc/koha/sites/my_instance/oclc_connexion.conf
   

4. Run the script.

   • You can do this manually to test it out:

     /usr/share/koha/bin/connexion_import_daemon.pl --config /etc/koha/sites/my_instance/oclc_connexion.conf
     

   • Or you can set up a systemd unit to keep the script running even when it crashes or the server reboots:

     1. Create a file at /etc/systemd/system/koha-oclc-connexion.service:

        [Unit]
        Description=Koha OCLC Connexion Daemon
        After=network.target
        
        [Service]
        Type=exec
        ExecStart=/usr/share/koha/bin/connexion_import_daemon.pl --config /etc/koha/sites/my_instance/oclc_connexion.conf
        Restart=always
        
        [Install]
        WantedBy=multi-user.target
        

     2. Enable and start the service:

        systemctl enable koha-oclc-connexion
        systemctl start koha-oclc-connexion
        

     3. Check the status of the service:

        systemctl status koha-oclc-connexion
        

WorldShare Record Manager

Setting up WorldShare Record Manager

1. Log in to your WorldShare account.

2. Go to the “Metadata” tab.

3. Select “Record Manager” in the sidebar.

4. Select “User Preferences” in the sidebar.

   Note

   Since these are User Preferences, they must be configured for each user who will be using the service.

   

5. Go to “Exporting – Bibliographic Records”.

   The official documentation from OCLC for all settings under this heading is found at https://help.oclc.org/Metadata_Services/WorldShare_Record_Manager/Record_Manager_user_preferences/Exporting_Bibliographic_records#Set_preferences_for_TCP.2FIP_export .

6. Go to the “General” tab.

   

   1. Set the “Format” to “MARC 21 with UTF-8 Unicode”, since Koha always uses UTF-8.

   2. Click “Save”.

7. Go to the “TCP/IP” tab.

   

   1. Enter the host name or IP address at which the OCLC connexion daemon service (configured above) can be reached.

   2. Set the Authentication to “Login ID” and enter the connexion_user and connexion_password from the configuration file (created above).

   3. Optionally set the connection delay, connection attempts, and other settings.

   4. Click “Save”.

Using WorldShare Record Manager

Sending a single record from the WorldShare Record Manager to Koha

1. Log in to your WorldShare account.

2. Go to the “Metadata” tab.

3. Select “Record Manager” in the sidebar.

4. Search for a record.

   

5. Click on the title of a record to open it.

6. Click on the “Record” dropdown menu, then “Send to”, then “Local System (via TCP/IP)”

   

7. After a while, depending on your “connection delay” settings, you should see the record in Koha.

   • If you used import_mode: direct in your configuration file, the record will be available in the catalog.

   • If you used import_mode: staged in your configuration file, the record will be staged for import.

Sending multiple records from the WorldShare Record Manager to Koha

1. Log in to your WorldShare account.

2. Go to the “Metadata” tab.

3. Select “Record Manager” in the sidebar.

4. Search for a record.

   

5. Click on the title of a record to open it.

6. Click on the “Record” dropdown menu, then “Send to”, then “Export List …”. Select a list to which to add the record.

7. Repeat from step 4 as needed.

8. Click on “Export Lists” in the sidebar.

9. Click on the name of a list to open it.

10. Click on the “Export” dropdown menu, then “Send to local system (via TCP/IP)”.

11. After a while, depending on your “connection delay” settings, you should see the record in Koha.

• If you used import_mode: direct in your configuration file, the record will be available in the catalog.

• If you used import_mode: staged in your configuration file, the record will be staged for import.

OCLC Connexion Client desktop software

See https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/OCLC_Connexion_Client for instructions on setting up and using the OCLC Connexion Client desktop software.

Talking Tech

Talking Tech i-tiva is a third party, proprietary, product that libraries can subscribe to. Learn more here: http://www.talkingtech.com/solutions/library.

Installation and setup instructions

Be sure you’ve run installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/Bug-4246-Talking-Tech-itiva-phone-notifications.pl to install the required data pack (new syspref, notice placeholders and messaging transport preferences)

To use, TalkingTechItivaPhoneNotification system preference must be turned on.

If you wish to process PREOVERDUE or RESERVES messages, you’ll need the EnhancedMessagingPreferences system preference turned on, and patrons to have filled in a preference for receiving these notices by phone.

For OVERDUE messages, overdue notice triggers must be configured under More > Tools > Overdue notice/status triggers. Either branch-specific triggers or the default level triggers may be used (script will select whichever is appropriate).

Sending notices file

1. Add the TalkingTech_itiva_outbound.pl script to your crontab

2. Add an FTP/SFTP or other transport method to send the output file to the i-tiva server

3. If you wish, archive the sent notices file in another directory after sending

Run TalkingTech_itiva_outbound.pl –help for more information

Receiving results file

1. Add an FTP/SFTP or other transport method to send the Results file to a known directory on your Koha server

2. Add the TalkingTech_itiva_inbound.pl script to your crontab, aimed at that directory

3. If you wish, archive the results file in another directory after processing

Run TalkingTech_itiva_inbound.pl –help for more information