[OPEN-ILS-DEV] User data migration question

[Jason Etheridge]

> Does anyone have any insights or experience to share regarding this user
> record migration under these circumstances? I looked for discussion in
> the archives but couldn't find very much on this topic.

Hi Robert,

I don't know if anyone has replied to you off-list or not, but I
wouldn't expect you to be able to get your patron data from Oracle to
Postgres without some sort of mapping process, though this doesn't
necessarily have to be done with an external script.  Let's say you
can dump your Oracle patron table into a delimited text file.  You can
then create a temporary staging table in postgres with the same
fields/columns and import that data.  And then, from within postgres,
you can map that data into the pertinent Evergreen tables.

Some things to keep in mind with Evergreen patron data...

1) names are separated into 5 separate fields: family name, first
given name, second given name, prefix, suffix
2) you can have multiple library cards associated with a single patron
account (though by default, only one can be active)
3) you can have multiple addresses associated with a single patron
(and you can label them, toggle them as valid/invalid, designate one
as being the mailing address, designate the same or another one as the
physical address)
4) patrons can be grouped together, with multiple designated "lead" accounts
5) grouped patrons can share the same address information
6) you can have unlimited free-text notes associated with patrons
7) you can have unlimited customizable "statistical category" labels
and entries for patrons for more structured data
8) you have a single free-text "alert message" field per patron that
is more prominent than notes and stat cats

Let me know if this helps.  If you can give us some example data we
can help you map that into Evergreen.

-- 
Jason Etheridge
 | VP, Community Support and Advocacy
 | Equinox Software, Inc. / The Evergreen Experts
 | phone: 1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
 | email: jason at esilibrary.com
 | web: http://www.esilibrary.com