About importing authority records

Find an overview of how to import authority files in Connexion client.

You can contribute authority records created in your library's local system.

Records you can import

Authority and bibliographic records in the same file.
Records in MARC 21 format using MARC-8 or UTF-8 Unicode character sets (you select the option).
Records exported from a local system. Export the records to a file via your system's MARC export function and then import from the file.
Non-OCLC authority records.
- Imported as new records (workforms).
- You can take any actions on non-OCLC records that are available for authority workforms you create using Connexion.

You can take most actions on imported OCLC authority records, except Validate and Report Error.

You cannot:

Validate. You cannot validate imported OCLC authority records. However, you can validate authority workforms, including records you derive from imported records.
Report Errors: You cannot use Edit > Report Errors on an imported authority record.
Caution: Locking the WorldCat record loses any edits you made. If you use an imported OCLC authority record to lock the corresponding WorldCat record, Connexion locks and displays the current version of the WorldCat record, overwriting any changes you made to the imported record. The system warns you that your changes will be lost and asks whether you want to continue.

An import file can contain both bibliographic and authority records. The following table gives more details about import files.

Property	Requirements and notes
File type	Import files must be ASCII (plain text) files—for example, with file extension .dat or .mrc—that contain records in OCLC-MARC or MARC 21 format only. Caution: If you try to import from a non-MARC file (e.g., a file with the extension .doc, .xls, .mdb, .msg, .gif, .jpeg, or *.tif), Connexion displays an error message.
Record format	Record standard: The only record standard available for imported authority records is MARC 21. Character set: You select MARC-8 or UTF-8 Unicode character set. Navigate to File > Import Records and click Record Characteristics (Default: MARC-8).
Size	No prescribed maximum for file size (KB or MB). The maximum number of records you can import depends on the number of records currently in your bibliographic or authority save file. You can import to your online or local save file, which can each contain a maximum of 9,999 records.
Ort	Hard disk or network drive connected to local workstation.