Chapter 3: Working with MARC Data

In this Chapter:

  • Getting Started working with the MarcEditor
  • Editing Functions
    • Edit Shortcuts
    • Global Editing Tools
    • Inline data enhancement tools
  • Reporting Functionality
  • Integration Work

Getting Started with the MarcEditor

Unlike most MARC editing tools, MarcEdit’s MarcEditor has always been designed to work with batches of records.  Certainly, you can edit individual records in the Editor, but the textpad-like interface was utilized, in part, because it allowed the program to easily work with large blocks of MARC data.  However, the MarcEditor is more than just a souped up version of notepad.  What makes the MarcEditor truly unique, are the tools and functions built around it that enable the tool to work with MARC data.

In general, the MarcEditor’s toolset can be broken in to 3 groups:

  1. Global Editing tools
  2. Shortcuts
  3. Inline tools

In many cases, these tool sets overlap, and provide multiple methods for performing the same operation.  Additionally, these toolsets underpin the MarcEdit development strategy, i.e., designed for real-world work and to work with any flavor of MARC.  Before looking at each of these components in more depth, I’d like to give a brief synopsis of each of these component groups and the role that they service within the application.

Global Editing Tools

MarcEdit’s global editing tools are all designed to be MARC agnostic.  These tools make no assumptions related to MARC flavor, and do not apply any particular set of cataloging rules when processing data.  The only requirement for these functions is that the data to be processed by in MarcEdit’s mnemonic file format.

Edit Shortcuts

Edit shortcuts represent one off processes that may apply a set of cataloging rules or guidelines to the process.  These shortcuts were created specifically to simplify common tasks done by MARC21 users.  In many cases, these tools are flexible enough to be used with other flavors of MARC, but their intent is to solve very specific and common use cases.

Inline Tools

These are tools that perform very specific actions (like call number assignment, RDA processing, etc.).  These tools are generally MARC Agnostic, but make it clear when a particular set of cataloging rules are applied. For example, the RDA Helper assumes that data is in MARC21, and created according to pre-AACR2, AACR2, or RDA rules.

Global Editing Functions

MarcEdit includes eight distinct global editing functions.  These functions are:

  • Replace
  • Add/Delete Field
  • Build New Field
  • Copy Field
  • Edit Field
  • Edit Indicators
  • Edit Subfields
  • Swap Field Data

Determining which function is most appropriate for your task depends on the scope of the data that you are looking to edit.  While subsequent chapters will look at these functions, providing examples and use-cases, I will provide a brief description of each below.

Replace

The replace function is the most powerful of the global editing tools.  While all other global editing tools (except for the build new fields tool) is scope to a single field or a specific part of a single field, the Replace function has no such limitations.  By default, the Replace function processes replacements are scoped to a single field, but utilizing the conditional replace options, users can easily utilize multiple criteria across multiple fields, to determine if a replacement should even be evaluated.  For example, I could evaluate the data in the 041 for a specific language element, and then modify the 008 appropriately based on the information found.  The conditional replace option expands the scope of the function, beyond the individual field, but to the entire record.

Pages: 1 2 3