OpenBiblio offers several ways to get your materials into your catalog and to manage the records you have entered.

Orientation to OpenBiblio cataloging

OpenBiblio uses the MARC format as the basis for the catalog, but its editing interfaces display human-readable field labels, rather than specific numeric MARC tags.

OpenBiblio’s use of MARC is pretty standard, but there are a few specific ways it treats certain fields.

Call numbers

OpenBiblio’s Call Number searches search only 099$a, which is the local call number field. However, if you’d like to add call numbers from other fields, you can enable the Call Number Utilities plugin, which allows you to populate the 099$a fields with data from other call number fields to make them searchable. Instructions for using this plugin can be found in the OpenBiblio Plugin manual.

Special subfields

Three subfields display somewhat differently than usual.

  • Field 024 $a (identifier) is assumed to be a DOI, so it displays as a link to that digital object.

  • Field 505 $a (contents) is typically very long, so it displays as a scrollable text field.

  • Field 856 $u (URL - included by default in the ebook and web site material types) displays as a hyperlink.

Copy cataloging

  1. Click Cataloging.

  2. Click New Item.

  3. Type or scan an ISBN. If you are unable to find any results using an ISBN, you can use the dropdown menus to try other search criteria.

  4. If it finds a catalog record from a different library, it will fill in all the fields that it can, based on the media type and information from the other library.

  5. Make sure that the call number is correct.

    If you are seeing the wrong type of call number (e.g. you see a LoC call number when your library uses Dewey Decimal), somebody with admin privileges will need to change the Admin → Online Options settings.

  6. Click Submit.

Adding an item

After you add your record, you will be able to attach an actual, physical item to it.

If your library is using barcodes, you will be able to scan or type your barcode into the barcode number field. If you have the Auto Barcode option selected, OpenBiblio will generate a barcode for you. If you are not using barcodes, OpenBiblio will generate one that will only be used for internal purposes.

If item Photos are enabled, the user will be given to capture an image of the item (usually the dust cover). This feature requires a webcam or equiv. Enabling this feature will also cause the user to be ocassionally bugged to formally allow the browser to take photos - this is a HTML5 feature designed to ensure user privacy. Once photos are available, they will show up on various reports, biblio lists, etc.

Original cataloging

You may not be able to find a record from another library. To do so, go to Cataloging → New Item and click the Manual Entry button.

  1. Select the appropriate media type. The form will then show the fields appropriate to that media type.

    Note
    		 Anybody with the Admin permission may add, remove, or modify which fields are shown in this screen by going to Admin → Biblio Fields.

  2. Be sure to fill in any fields marked with the * character. These fields must be filled in before you finish your record.

  3. If you would like to edit your record further before displaying it to your patrons, unselect the Show in OPAC checkbox. With this unselected, members will not be able to view your record. You may change this setting at a later time.

Adding an item

After you add your record, you will be able to attach an actual, physical item to it.

If your library is using barcodes, you will be able to scan or type your barcode into the barcode number field. If you have the Auto Barcode option selected, OpenBiblio will generate a barcode for you. If you are not using barcodes, OpenBiblio will generate one that will only be used for internal purposes.

If item Photos are enabled, the user will be given to capture an image of the item (usually the dust cover). This feature requires a webcam or equiv. Enabling this feature will also cause the user to be ocassionally bugged to formally allow the browser to take photos - this is a HTML5 feature designed to ensure user privacy. Once photos are available, they will show up on various reports, biblio lists, etc.

Adding cover images to records

You may add cover images to your records. You may do this by uploading images from your computer or taking pictures using a webcam or other camera connected to your computer.

If you turn on the OpenLibrary plugin, you may also use images hosted on OpenLibrary’s remote servers. This will spare your catalogers the effort of taking or uploading their own images.

Importing MARC records

By default, the MARC record importer imports items as a "test load," so you can verify that there are no errors. You can set "test load" to false once you are satisfied with your settings and file.

Tip
 MARC records can use any one of a number of different encoding schemes. Before you import any MARC records, be sure that your administrator has selected the correct character set in Admin → Character Set.

Importing CSV records

The CSV File

CSV files are laid out in columns and rows. The first row must contain the heading information.

Some common headings are:

Column header Meaning

barCo

Barcode Number

media

Media Type

coll

Collection

099$a

Call Number

100$a

Author

245$a

Title

245$h

Medium

306$a

Playing Time

260$c

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

To find more headings click on the "Admin" link on the left side of the page. From there click on the link that says "Biblio Fields". There you will find different options to use for headers. The data will go from the second row down in the CSV file. The data needs to be input in the same order as the column headings in the first row. The Media Type heading requires specific data to be input in the column. The data options available for the media column are:

  • audio tapes

  • book

  • cd audio

  • cd computer

  • equipment

  • magazines

  • maps

  • video/dvd

Importing the CSV file

Click on the "Browse" button, from there you should be prompted to open your CSV file. In the options box you will need to find the "Show all records" drop down. This drop down needs to be set as yes or you will be unable to view the records.

Bulk delete records

This powerful tool will delete any copy barcodes you specify from the database. You may also choose to delete the bibliographic data relevant to a parent item once you have deleted the last copy on an item.

Warning
 This action cannot be undone.