Library Collection Management

Maintain -- Support Materials

Miscellaneous Collection Housekeeping Tasks

The following procedures will help you to clean up the records in your database and make searching easier for library patrons.

Titles without Copies | Brief Records-List | Brief to Full Records | Search for Duplicate Titles |

Search for Titles "A, An, The" | Global Update-Authors

Print a list of titles without copies.

1. Open Reports in Follett
2. Cataloging Reports tab-Select Titles without Copies
3. Starting at / Ending at - enter AA to ZZ  or identify a smaller section if desired
4. Select “print to file” button and save to a convenient location. The default is to your server's Follett temp directory, ex: servername\cc30\temp.
5. Note: Run it to a text file to save paper, since you don't know how long the original job will be.
6. Open the text file in Word.
7. Print 10 pages at a time to work with.
8. Determine if you need to delete the record for each title without copies. You may choose to delete items that are located at the professional library or another school.

 Print list of brief MARC records and determine need for enhancement.

1. Open Reports Menu
2. Cataloging Reports-select Brief Records
3. Click on "Starting at" button.  Type in a title indicating where you wish to begin and click "Find." Click on "Ending At" and select a title or letter where you wish to stop.
4. Select Print Preview and decide if you want to print the list.
5. If you scan the entire database, from AA to ZZ, select “print to file” button and save to a convenient location. The default is to your server's Follett temp directory, ex:\\r2d2\cc30\temp
6. Open the text file in Word.
7. Use this report to determine which records to update to a full MARC record.

Changing brief records to full records

1. Find the title.  Press Edit Copy.  If there are no copies listed, delete the record completely.
2. If the call number is TEM or temporary, ignore this record.  If the status in the copy information screen says "DUE:" followed by a due date, ignore the record until a time when it is not in circulation.
3. For other brief records-write down the copy information; barcode, call number and price.
4. Search in Alliance Plus database for the full record.  Save this full record.
5. Go back to the Local database and delete the brief record with it's copy.
6. Re-enter the copy information on the new full record, using the information you wrote down before deleting.
7. If the title in your library does not match anything in the Alliance Plus database, you can to to the Library of Congress website (http://catalog.loc.gov/ ) as search for the record there.  Print out or copy and paste the information from this record into the empty fields in your brief record. 
8. See "Creating new MARC records using Library of Congress MARC record printout."

Search for duplicate titles and combine into a single record.

1. From Cataloging Reports in Follett, select Titles with Duplicate STD Nums.  Check only the ISBN box and run the report.  Use Print Preview or Print function.
2. In Cataloging, find these titles.  Check the records in the database and decide which record you wish to keep.
3. Write down the copy information associated with the record you wish to delete-eg. barcode, call number, price, date of acquisition
4. Delete the record and all copies.
5. Add the copy information onto the record you chose to retain using your notes from step#3 above.

Search for "a, an, or the" titles and change indicator in the tag.

1. From Cataloging in Follett, search for titles that begin with "a", "an", or "the".  Find the title and click on Edit.

2. Click on the right hand number (0) on the 245 title tag.

3. Edit the title tag to show the “number of non-filing characters”:
   • 2 for ‘a'   
   • 3 for ‘an'  

• 4 for ‘the'

4. If “a”, “an”, or “the” shows up in the 246 Variant Title field, remove the word in the title rather than attempting to change the indicator.

Global update of authors

Sometimes authors are entered with names only, sometimes with dates afterward, sometimes with partial names, or middle initials. To bring them all together, follow these guidelines.

1. In OPAC or Cataloging, type in A and click on Author button. Scroll through the list to find authors who are listed more than once. Make a list of these authors and decide how you would like them listed in your database. (Do Not include authors listed separately as ill. for illustrator.)  It would be best to use the most recent name format. If necessary, check the Library of Congress database. (http://catalog.loc.gov/ )
2. In Cataloging, click on Edit. Select Global Update/Headings. Author is the default for this update.
3. Click on the "Starting At" button and type in the name of the author you wish to update. Find and select. Click on the "Ending At" button and find and select the other format for this author.
4. In the Action section under “Search for titles with tags containing”, insert “a” in the subfield box followed by the author name you wish to change.
5. In the Action section under “Replace all matching subfields”, insert “a” in the subfield box followed by the correct form of the author's name.
6. Click on the Search button. You will see a screen showing the tag you are replacing. If this is correct, click the Update button. If there are several records to be updated, click Update All button.

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