Mystery Solved: How to Make Sense of Load Profiles! Richard Jost, Assistant Librarian for Technical Services, Gallagher Law Library Senior Lecturer, The Information School University of Washington Seattle, WA Overview       Description of load tables & their uses Discussion of importance in library projects Discussion & examples of their use Discussion of need for further documentation Discussion of process used to document load tables Examples of documentation produced Why are load/output tables so important?    Govern the import and export of data into your system (bibliographic, authority, patron). Can be modified for use in specific projects. Can be used to streamline workflow procedures and save staff time. What else can they do?     Can also set up tables to ignore data coming into system. Can specify default values to load into INNOPAC fixed-length fields Can specify what records to overlay and on what target (for example, 001 field, title key, etc.,) Can specify what types of attached records to create as new bibliographic records are loaded. With load tables, you can turn this… …into this! What are Load/Output Tables?    A set of instructions that govern the import & export of data into the III system. Set up by III when system is purchased. Takes incoming data (for example MARC fields) and maps them to new MARC tags per the instructions as it creates new records. Where to view load/output tables?  Character-base view – Main Menu – Management Information – Information about the System – Codes Used – MARC load tables Where to view load/output tables?  Millennium view – Millennium Administration or – Millennium Cataloging  – Data Exchange Character-based view MARC LOAD TABLES       1 > INNOPAC field tags in the Full Screen Editor (m2btab.fse) 2 > BIBLIOGRAPHIC record OVERLAY table (m2btab.b) 3 > SUBJECT AUTHORITY record (m2btab.asub) 4 > NAME AUTHORITY record (m2btab.anam) 5 > PATRON record (m2btab.p) 6 > Standard AUTHORITY record (m2btab.a) Millennium View How do I get access? Library III Load Table training workshop (this is not an option) Duration: 2 days Cost: $850.00 Load Table training workshop    Workshop tailored to system administrators with experience and indepth system knowledge. Helpful to understand fixed and variable length coding, MARC tags. Includes hands-on training. Load table training workshop goal (from III web site) To give you the ability to update existing load profiles and create new load profiles for the following record types: bibliographic, authority, patron, item, order and holdings. Most important tool?    Password! Cannot access the edit function for load tables until you have completed the load training workshop. Before training, users can view tables but III has to do editing of existing tables or build new tables for you (cost = $2500.00/per table!) Load table examples: data import & export    Daily load of OCLC bibliographic records. Weekly load of patron data from campus Registrar’s office. Monthly load of bibliographic records from MARCIVE. Load table example: project use  Used in retrospective conversion project at Law Library form Dewy to LC call numbers. – During conversion, an LC call number was added to the records in a second call number field by vendor. – When records returned to library, load table was modified to overlay existing record and load both 090 MARC fields, with LC call number in second 090 to prevent public display. – Once the books had been re-labeled, the first 090 with the Dewey call number was deleted and the proper LC call number displayed. Load table example: streamlining acquisitions workflow    Used to have acquisitions staff key brief bib and attach order for each new order Using load tables, was able to have staff search vendor web sites, download record and have load table attach an order to the record. Result: better bibliographic information in catalog for materials on order for patron and less keying of new order information for staff. But how can we document these mysterious tables…? Editing Load tables  All editing must be done in character-based system (Main menu-->Additional System Functions -->Read/write MARC records -->Load profile maintenance) File 01 > a 02 > anam 03 > asub 04 > b 05 > bitem 06 > bllmc Size 1807 1815 1801 3076 3556 3610 Last Modified Mon Jun 27 2005 08:49:09 Mon Mar 13 2006 09:12:49 Mon Mar 13 2006 09:12:27 Fri Aug 25 2006 15:36:18 Fri Aug 25 2006 15:36:38 Fri Aug 25 2006 15:36:56 And You Thought MARC Was Tough?  III’s load tables are written in a syntax that seems a bit arcane: <SNIP> 001||%|0|0|b|o|0|y|N|0| 002-006||%|0|0|b|y|0|y|N|0| 007||%|0|0|b|y|0|y|N|0| 008||%|0|0|b|y|0|y|N|0|%008="y" 010||+|0|0|b|l|0|y|N|0| 020-022||a|0|0|b|i|0|y|N|0| 035-043||+|0|0|b|y|0|y|N|0| 066||+|0|0|b|y|0|y|N|0| But wait! It’s not that bad!  There are some general principles that, once learned, can help make this material relatively readable. Elements Follow the Pipe   Each line in a load profile’s syntax is broken up into 12 separate elements using the Pipe character as a delimiter. Element positions: i | ii | iii | iv | v | vi | vii | viii | ix | x | xi | xii Example: 130|245|a|0|0|b|t|0|y|N|0|#com=‘’ A Data Element for Every Purpose Example: 130|245|a|0|0|b|t|0|y|N|0|#c om=‘’  Those first 2 elements look suspiciously familiar, no? No local documentation  At Gallagher, many load profiles had been created in the past or developed by III with no documentation as to what they did and why they were there. – Did we need all of them? – Get rid of the ones not being used  Keeping unused profiles could be dangerous. Too many choices can lead to bad decisions! The Gallagher Load Profile Training Manual  The main goal was to create useful documentation to two ends: – Procedural  Step-by-step instructions for using the load profiles for record import and export. – Syntactical  Information to aid in understanding load profile syntax so that profiles can be created/edited for additional purposes. Like Galileo and Copernicus Before Us…       Control the environment Change one variable at a time Start the process Observe what happens Document observations Induce! – in-’düs – to infer a general principle from observation of a particular instance. Our Process  Lots of trial and error – Take a “known quantity” MARC record, feed it through a load profile, and see what you get. Don’t be afraid!  Note what changes the record undergoes  Identify portions of the load profile syntax that are responsible for changes  The Evolving Document     Lots of screen shots! Started as a linked MS Word document Later converted to HTML Stored on local library staff website for ease of staff access. How can I use it?  Such documentation can help determine if an existing profile can be a good starting point for a special project profile. – Manipulate just a few lines of an existing profile to meet your needs? Why should you care about this?    Load tables control the flow of data into and out of your system. Load tables can improve workflows. Load tables can be used for special projects. Questions?