Bulk-Changing Item Records

Note:
To bulk change item records, you need the Access item record bulk change: Allow permission set at the system level, and the Item record: Bulk change permission for each item’s owning branch.

You can make bulk changes to multiple item records at once using either of the following workflows:

You can also save and reuse item record bulk change settings as item record bulk change templates. This option requires the appropriate permissions. See Item Record Bulk Change Templates.

Note:
For more information on using cataloging record sets, see Using Cataloging Record Sets.

With these methods, you can change the location, circulation information, bibliographic information, notes, and other information for multiple item records using the checkboxes and free-text fields in the Bulk Change Item Record dialog. When you are changing notes or other free-text fields, you can replace the text, add to the end of the text, or add to the beginning of the text.

Certain circulation statuses cannot be modified using bulk change because of the effects these changes might have in other records and processes. For example, you cannot use bulk change to change the circulation status of Out to In because some of the items might fill a hold request or be overdue. If an item with holds changed from Out to In, the patron record and the hold request record would need to be updated and notification sent. Any fines would need to be resolved and the item might need to go in-transit. In addition, in-transit slips, hold slips and fine receipts might need to be generated.

The following table lists the circulation statuses that can be changed using bulk change.

From Circulation Status To Circulation Status
Bindery In
In Process (Leap only)
In Repair
Missing
On Order (Leap only)
Unavailable
Withdrawn
In Bindery
In Repair
Missing
Unavailable
Withdrawn
In-Process Bindery
In
In Repair
Missing
On Order (Leap only)
Unavailable
Withdrawn
In Repair Bindery
In
In Process (Leap only)
Missing
On Order (Leap only)
Unavailable
Withdrawn
Missing Bindery
In
In Process (Leap only)
On Order (Leap only)
Unavailable
Withdrawn
On Order (Leap only) Bindery
In Process
In Repair
Missing
Unavailable
Withdrawn
Unavailable Bindery
In
In Process (Leap only)
In Repair
Missing
On Order (Leap only)
Withdrawn

To bulk change item records

  1. Select the item records you want to change using one of the following methods:
    • If the items are in a list, such as the Find Tool results list, a linked list box, or the Bibliographic Record Preview window, do the following: 
      1. Select the records.
      2. Right-click and select Ad hoc bulk change.
    • If the items are in a record set, do the following:
      1. Open the record set.
      2. Select Tools > Bulk Change to bulk change all item records in the record set. You can also select multiple records, right-click, and select Ad hoc bulk change.

    The Item Record Bulk Change dialog appears.

  2. Select one of the following tabs to change fields for all the item records in the record set or for all the items selected in the linked list box:
    • Location - Use this tab to change the item records’ location information.
      • To change the items’ location information, select the Owner, Assigned branch, Assigned collection, Shelf location, or Home branch box, and select a corresponding value from the list.
      • To enter a temporary location for the items, select Temporary location, and type the location. If you leave the text field blank, the Temporary location will be blank in all the item records in the record set.
    • Circulation - Use this tab to change the item records’ circulation information.
      • To change basic circulation information, select the Circulation status, Material type, Loan period code, Fine code, Statistical code, or Renewal limit box and select a corresponding value from the list.
      • To allow or disallow holds on the items, select the Holdable box. Then, select the checkbox to allow holds on the items, or leave the checkbox blank to prevent holds on the items.
      • To change hold limits, select the Holdable box and select the checkbox to allow holds. Then, select one of the hold limit settings, and select the checkbox to the right of the setting to limit the holds, or leave the right checkbox empty to deselect the limit.

        Example:
        To allow all items in the record set to be held and then picked up at any library, select the Holdable checkbox, select Pickup at this branch, but leave the checkbox to the right empty. This will clear the Pickup at this branch setting for all items in the record set that have this limit setting selected.

      • To change the Non circulating setting for all item records, select the Non circulating box, and either select the checkbox to the right or leave it blank. If you select the checkbox, all the items in the record set will not circulate. If you leave the checkbox blank, all the items will have the Non circulating checkbox cleared, allowing them to circulate.
      • To change the Do not float setting for all item records, select the Do not float box, and either select the checkbox to the right or leave it blank. If you select the checkbox, all the items in the record set will not float to other branches’ collections. If you leave the checkbox blank, the items are eligible to float to other branches’ collections.
      • To change the Do not mail to patrons setting for all item records, select the Do not mail to patrons box, and either select the checkbox to the right or leave it blank. If you select the checkbox, all items in the record set will not be mailed to patrons. If you leave the checkbox blank, the items can be mailed to patrons.
      • To change the Loanable outside the system setting for all items in the record set, select the Loanable outside the system box, and either select the checkbox to the right, or leave it blank. If you select the checkbox, the items can be loaned outside the system. If you leave the checkbox blank, the items cannot be loaned outside the system.
    • Call Number - Use this tab to change the item records’ call number information, or to assign call numbers to the item records.

      Tip:
      If you select Use call number fields from bib record and also enter a new bib control number on the Misc tab, the call number is taken from the new bibliographic record.

      • To assign or change call numbers by taking the call number from each item’s linked bibliographic record, select Use call number fields from bib record. To use this option, the Polaris Administration profile Bring call number fields from bib to item record when link is made must be set to Yes. If it is set to No, the checkbox is disabled.
        • If the Use call number fields from bib record box is selected, the call number fields are copied subfield-by-subfield. If the bibliographic record has the subfield, it is copied to the item record. If the bibliographic record does not have the call number subfield, the field does not change in the linked item record.
        • If the shelving scheme is left blank in the dialog, the shelving scheme from the item record is used to determine the tags and subfields to copy from the bibliographic record. This allows the bulk change process to copy the call number information from linked bibliographic records even when the items have different shelving schemes.
      • To change the shelving scheme for all the items in the record set, select Shelving scheme, and select a value from the list.

      Note:
      If you enter a shelving scheme and the Use call number fields from bib record box is also selected, the shelving scheme is copied to the item records unless there are no tags in the item’s linked bibliographic record that are consistent with the shelving scheme in the dialog. In this case, neither the call number nor the shelving scheme are changed, and the following error message appears on the report: No call number for the selected shelving scheme was found in bib record.

      • To change the call number information for all the items in the record set (without copying from the linked bibliographic record), select Call number prefix, Classification number, Cutter number, or Call number suffix, and type a value in the corresponding box.

      Tip:
      If the Use call number fields from bibliographic record box is selected, you cannot select the checkboxes for any of the six call number fields (prefix, class, cutter, suffix, volume, copy).

      • To change the volume or copy number for all the items in the record set, select Volume number or Copy number, and type a value in the corresponding box.

    • Notes/Blocks - Use this tab to change the item records’ notes and blocks.
      • To change the notes information for all item records in the record set, select Public note, Non-public note, or Physical condition, and type the text in the box to the right of the note you selected. Then, select Replace to replace any existing notes with the note you typed, Prepend to add the notes to the beginning of any existing notes, or Append to add the notes to the end of any existing notes.
      • To change a library-assigned block, select the Library assigned checkbox, and select a value from the list box to the right.
      • To change a free-text block, select the Free text block checkbox, and type the text for the free-text block you want to add. Then, select Replace to replace the text for any free-text blocks, Prepend to add the text to the beginning of any existing free-text blocks, or Append to add the text to the end of any existing free-text blocks.
    • Misc - Use this tab to change miscellaneous information on the item records, or to assign barcodes to items that do not have a barcode.
      • To change the bibliographic control number for all item records, select Bib control no. Then, if you know the bibliographic control number, enter it in the box and press Tab, or select Find, and search for the bibliographic record. All item records in the record set will be linked to this bibliographic record.
      • To change the Display in PAC setting for all item records in the record set, select the Display in PAC box, and select the checkbox to the right, or leave it blank. If you select the checkbox, all the item records will have the Display in PAC setting checked, which means they will all display in the PAC. If you leave the checkbox blank, all the item records will have the Display in PAC setting unchecked, which means none of the items will display in the PAC.
      • To change the parent item for all the records in the record set, select Parent item, and type a value in the box to the right. If you leave the text field blank, the Parent item field will be blank in all the item records in the record set.
      • To change the funding source for all the item records in the record set, select Funding source, and type a value. If you leave the text field blank, the Funding source field will be blank in all items in the record set.
      • To change the price of all the items, select Price and type the price. If you leave the text field blank, the Price field will be blank in all the items in the record set.
      • To assign barcodes to all the items that do not have barcodes, enter the barcode range by selecting the Use system assigned barcodes box, or by scanning (or typing) the barcodes into the Item barcode(s) box. The number of barcodes is displayed in the Barcode total box.

        Tip:
        If an item already has a barcode, it is not changed.

        Note:
        If you selected Use system assigned barcodes, enter the following information on the Item barcode range dialog: select the barcode type, type the beginning and ending barcodes, and specify the next barcode to be assigned.

        • Barcodes are automatically assigned to the item records in the order in which they are sorted in the linked item list box, or in the order in which they appear in the record set. If all the records have not been loaded into the record set at the time the bulk change is launched, the items are processed in item record control number order.
        • If a duplicate barcode is encountered, the process skips that barcode and goes to the next one. If there are not enough barcodes, a message appears on the error report: No barcode was assigned because not enough barcodes were specified in the range.

    Note:
    You can skip the next step if you do not want to create a record set of the items that did not get changed or rename the report. If you do not enter a report name, a default report name is used: ItemBulkChange__ with a 16-character representation of the current date/time.

  3. Select the Report/Record Set tab to specify the bulk change report and error record set as follows:
    • If you want to change the default report name, type the location and file name, or select Browse to locate the file. The report also shows errors for items that could not be bulk changed either due to their status or lack of permissions. See Bulk Change Report Details.
    • To create a record set of the items for which the changes could not be made, select the box under Error Record Set, type a name for the record set in the Name box and select an owner in the Owner box.

    Note:
    An error record set is not required. However, specifying an error record set makes it easier to locate the item records that have errors. If no errors are found, no error record set is created.

  4. Select OK or press Enter to start the bulk change process.

    The Summary of Changes message box displays the following details:

    • The number of item records to be changed
    • The name and owner of the record set that contains the item records being changed
    • The error record set name and owner, if the error record set is requested
    • The path and file name specified for the bulk change report
    • A summary of all the fields to be changed and their new values
  5. Select Continue.

    The bulk change process applies the changes to the item records.

    A message informs you when the bulk change process is finished and indicates if there were errors.

  6. Select OK to close the message box.

    After the bulk change process, the list display is updated as follows, depending on whether changed the items from a record set or from a list:

    • Record set - The record set workform is refreshed and sorted by the default sort order. You can re-sort the list in barcode order.
    • Item list using Ad hoc Bulk Change - The list view is refreshed immediately after the Ad hoc Bulk Change and any changes to fields that display in the list view are you can see the results of the bulk change to fields that display in the list view. If the bib control number was changed, the new title displays in the list view.

Bulk Change Report Details

The default name of the bulk change report is ItemBulkChange__ with a 16-character representation of the current date and time. It shows the total number of records in the record set, the number of records that were changed, and the number of records that were not changed. Below the statistics are details about the records that could not be changed and the reason they were not changed. It also shows warning messages for item records when the assigned and home branches are different, and item records that will not display in the PAC.

If you have attempted to assign barcodes in the Item Bulk Change dialog, and barcodes could not be assigned for any or all of the items, the summary information displays the number of items for which barcodes could not be created and the reason:

Example: (Barcodes not assigned)
Number of barcodes not assigned because of detected duplicates:
Number of barcodes not assigned because of incorrect format:
Number of items not assigned a barcode because not enough barcodes specified:
Number of items not assigned a barcode because item already had a barcode:


The detailed section lists each item for which barcodes could not be assigned and the reason.

The following are examples of errors where items could not be changed because the circulation status prevented the change, or the user lacked permissions:

Example: (Lack of permissions)

BULK CHANGE REPORT
5/9/2011 1:56:17 PM
Filename: C:\Documents and Settings\User 1\Desktop\BulkChangePer.txt
GENERAL INFORMATION
User name: User 1
Processed record set name: bulk change permission testing
Processed record set owner: User 1
Error record set name: BulkChangePermissionTestOne
Error record set owner: User 1
SUMMARY OF CHANGES:
Display in PAC: No
STATISTICS:
Processing time: 00 hours 00 minutes 02 seconds
Number of items in record set: 40
Number of items changed: 38
Number of errors: 2
Number of items unchanged due to 'lack of permission' error: 2

*************************************************************
ERROR DETAILS:
*************************************************************
Item Record: 1895964
Barcode number: 0003500045236
Title: A new guide to better fishing: over 200 fishing techniques that will help you catch more fish, more often
Reason(s) for error: User does not have permission to bulk change item records owned by 'Cambridge Public Library'

Item Record: 1982897
Barcode number: 0004100044306
Title: Magic and the night river
Reason(s) for error: User does not have permission to bulk change item records owned by 'Green Library'

Example: (Item’s status prevents the change)

BULK CHANGE REPORT
5/10/2011 11:29:33 AM
Filename: C:\Users\Peer\Desktop\POLARIS 4.x PROJECT LIST\ItemBulkChangeReport_20090710112504.txt
GENERAL INFORMATION:
User name: peer
Processed record set name: Bulk change
Processed record set owner: peer
Error record set name:
Error record set owner:
*************************************************************
SUMMARY OF CHANGES:
Circulation status: In
*************************************************************
STATISTICS:
Processing time: 00 hours 00 minutes 01 seconds
Number of items in record set: 27
Number of items changed: 24
Number of errors: 3
*************************************************************
ERROR DETAILS:
************************************************************
Item Record: 1641186
Barcode number: 0001900246677
Title: 1 2 3
Reason(s) for error: Circulation status change violation: Status was 'Lost'

Item Record: 1622822
Barcode number: 0001900024157
Title: 10 lb. penalty
Reason(s) for error: Circulation status change violation: Status was 'Out'

Item Record: 1621873
Barcode number: 0001900011196
Title: 1 Ragged Ridge Road
Reason(s) for error: Circulation status change violation: Status was 'Withdrawn'