Formatting Text Files for Holdings Records Updates

This page describes the formatting of a text file for updating LIB HAS fields in holdings/checkin records.

To format a text file for updating coverage data, see Coverage Data in Text Format. To format a text file for updating both coverage data and LIB HAS fields in holdings/checkin records, see Formatting Text Files for Simultaneous Holdings Records and Coverage Data Updates.

The holdings update text file can contain holdings statement updates for more than one serial.

The format of the file is:

ASCII text
a header that defines the fields in the file
fields separated by vertical bars (|) for each serial in the file
each serial on a separate line

File Header

The header is composed of two lines:

The first line, which is optional, consists of the phrase "SUPPLIER=" followed by the identifier.

If this line is not in the file, you will be prompted to enter an identifier when you update holdings.

The second line consists of the names of the file's fields separated by vertical bars (e.g., ISSN|TITLE|HOLDINGS).

If the file contains Vendor IDs, the word "PROVIDER" appears in the second line of the header. For example, if the Vendor ID is the first element of every line, and is followed by the serial's ISSN, title, and holdings, the second line of the header should be: "PROVIDER|ISSN|TITLE|HOLDINGS".

If there are no PROVIDER fields in the file, you will be prompted for a Vendor ID when you update holdings.

File Fields

There are vertical-bar-delimited fields for each serial in the text file. The fields are named in the file's header.

If there is no data for a field, it is left blank (except PROVIDER fields—if PROVIDER is included in the file header, PROVIDER fields cannot be left blank). If the holdings field is blank, no update occurs. Vertical bars must separate the blank field from other fields in the line. It is not necessary to put a space between the vertical bar delimiters of a blank field.

Possible fields include:

PROVIDER

The PROVIDER field contains the Vendor ID. If PROVIDER fields appear in the file, one or more tabs are displayed in the Electronic Holdings Load function. A tab is created for each unique PROVIDER field. The lines from the file are grouped and displayed on tabs according to the data in the PROVIDER fields. The PROVIDER field is used only to label the tabs. It is not used to process holdings (LIB HAS) updates.

If PROVIDER fields appear in the file, they cannot be blank.

If PROVIDER fields do not appear in the file, you will be prompted for a "Vendor ID" when you update holdings. The Vendor ID will serve as the PROVIDER for the entire file. One tab will display in the Electronic Holdings Load function. The tab's name will be the Vendor ID you have entered at the prompt.

ISSN

When updating holdings statements with a text file, the serial(s) to be updated is identified by matching the ISSN in the holdings update text file to the ISSN in the bibliographic record.

If there are multiple serials in your database with an ISSN that matches the ISSN field of the holdings update file, the titles are compared. Serials that do not match on title are disregarded. If multiple serials match on both ISSN and title, and the serials are all within the range of record numbers you have specified, Sierra reports an error.

If you get a "Multiple matches..." error, check the range of record numbers you specified. Sometimes a serial is available in both print and e-journal versions, and will therefore have two records that match on ISSN and title. The record range to be searched for matching serials must be specified so that the record for either the print or e-journal is excluded.

TITLE

If the ISSN field does not contain a valid ISSN, the serial is identified by matching the title. When matching titles, the title in the text file must exactly match the title in the bibliographic record.

HOLDINGS

The HOLDINGS field contains the holdings statement as it should appear in the WebPAC.

If the holdings statement field is blank, no update occurs.

When you process the file, you enter an identifier and the file name. The identifier determines the appropriate copy to update. The appropriate copy is found when the identifier matches an entry in a LIB HAS field in an attached checkin record. For an h-tagged variable-length field, the identifier must be both:

the first word in the field
followed by a space

For a MARC 866 field, subfield a, the identifier must be the first data in the subfield.

When the identifier match is made, the holdings statement of the checkin record is overlaid with the contents of the HOLDINGS field from the text file. The identifier is the only entry in the LIB HAS field that is preserved when the holdings statement is overlaid. If no match is found for the identifier, the contents of the HOLDINGS field are inserted in the holdings statement of the first attached checkin record.

Example Text File for Holdings Statement Updates

Below is an example of a holdings update text file. Note the blank ISSN field in line 5.

        SUPPLIER=ONLINE
        PROVIDER|ISSN|TITLE|HOLDINGS
        FIRST TAB LABEL|0001-4826|Accounting Review|From 1/1/1990 to present
        FIRST TAB LABEL|0147-1554|Across the Board|From 1/1/1999 to present
        SECOND TAB LABEL||Acta Odontologica Scandinavica|From 8/1/1998 to 9/30/00
        FIRST TAB LABEL|0284-186X|Acta Oncologica|From 7/1/1998 to 9/30/00
        SECOND TAB LABEL|0001-6489|Acta Oto-Laryngologica|From 10/1/1998 to 9/30/00
        FIRST TAB LABEL|0803-5253|Acta Paediatrica|From 8/1/1998 to 9/30/00
        SECOND TAB LABEL|0001-6993|Acta Sociologica|From 3/1/1998 to 9/30/00