Mystery Solved: How to Make Sense of Load Profiles!

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
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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Character-base view
– Main Menu
– Management Information
– Information about the System
– Codes Used
– MARC load tables
Where to view
load/output tables?
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Millennium view
– Millennium Administration or
– Millennium Cataloging 
– Data Exchange
Character-based view
MARC LOAD TABLES
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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!
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There are some general principles that,
once learned, can help make this
material relatively readable.
Elements Follow the Pipe
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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=‘’
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Those first 2 elements look
suspiciously familiar, no?
No local documentation
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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
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Keeping unused profiles could be dangerous.
Too many choices can lead to bad decisions!
The Gallagher Load Profile
Training Manual
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The main goal was to create useful
documentation to two ends:
– Procedural
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Step-by-step instructions for using the load
profiles for record import and export.
– Syntactical
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Information to aid in understanding load
profile syntax so that profiles can be
created/edited for additional purposes.
Like Galileo and
Copernicus Before Us…
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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
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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
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The Evolving Document
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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?
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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?
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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?