Create a catalogue

Check Catalogue for Existing Records

It is a good idea to search the Catalogue module to see if the item has been entered already, and just needs a Stockitem record attached. Searching for an existing record can be done in the Catalog screen (using the ISBN) or in the Stockitem screen (for example: using an Author or Title search). The ISBN can even be wanded if the Barcode reader has been ISBN enabled.

It is preferable to create a catalogue first and then create the holding record (Stockitem). If the Stockitem is processed first, not all the Tags are made when the Catalogue is created from the Item menu. For example: Subject headings are not transferred across.

Keywords are created through association with MARC tags – for example: a Subject keyword would apply to all tags defined from 600 through to 699 – ie: Topical term (650), Personal name (600), Geographic (651), etc. Therefore when creating your entry, it is important to have a Catalogue record as well as a Stockitem because keyword searching will be important.

There are three manual entry methods available:

1. Work Sheet Method
   • After choosing a template related to the form of the data (for example: fiction/non- fiction etc.) the required fields can be filled in: Authority listings can be accessed when appropriate (for example: for standard entry of Authors, Subjects, Publishers, etc)
2. Editing existing records
   • It is possible to duplicate an existing record and alter the relevant data
3. New record from scratch
   • No Lead Thru method: Tags can be inserted and built up to create a full record

Please Note: Before beginning to use the Worksheet manual entry, you need to check the tags that will be automatically displayed. This is done in Main > Catalogue > CatLeadThruSets.

Work Sheet Method

1. Launch the Amlib client
2. Go to Main > Catalogue > Catalogue (or the icon) – the Catalog screen will display:
   
3. From the menu, select Catalogue > Catalog Create – the Select Template prompt will display:
   
4. Click on the button for an appropriate Lead Thru set – for example: Fiction
5. The Work Sheet will display with a number of preset MARC tags already populated:
   
6. An item’s bibliographic details can now be entered – as you move through the Work Sheet, the headings (descriptors) change, so it is possible to observe the type of data required in the subfield of the tag (see also Appendix 5: MARC Tag Subfields & Punctuation for more information)
   
7. Where the data is Authority based (for example: Author, Subject heading, Series, etc.) a listing of Authorities can be viewed and selected – for example: to search for a particular Author, type the first few letters of the surname, highlight the row and click the F1 Check button
8. The Existing Authority Options screen will open displaying all matching Authorities and the number of Catalogue records which use each Authority:
   
9. To select an Authority in the table, simply double-click on it: the contents of the Tag being checked will then change to match the selected Authority (the text will also change colour from black to green)
   
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10. Once selected (or if there is no matching Authority), click on the red [ X ] to close the selection table (if there were no Authorities found the contents of the tag being checked will turn red, if there were Authorities found but none were selected the contents will turn pink)
11. To enter additional tags, click the F2 Insert button – the Select For Creation screen will display (the preset Tags allow for up to 40 entries):
    
12. Find the required Tag and double-click it to select it – a new entry with the selected Tag No will appear in the Work Sheet screen
13. Click the F3 Save button when the record is complete
14. If new Authorities are to be created, a prompt with the following message will display: Some new Authorities will be created. Continue with Save? (the new Authorities will be highlighted in red, so you can check them)
    
15. Click the Yes button – the Created Catalogue – Select Next Action prompt will display:
    
16. If you intend to create your holdings immediately, then highlight the Create a Stockitem and click the OK button (alternatively you can select the Display the created Catalogue if you wish to review the actual Catalogue record)

USMARC: Some Common Tags

There are literally hundreds of MARC tags that can be used. However only about 10% of these are used commonly.

AOL Tags