[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Serials in 2.0: anyone working on import script for existing MFHD records

[Dan Wells]

Hello Repke,

Would it be possible to get a few of your MFHD records for testing?  I am interested to see if they are very different from my own experience.

As it stands, the general assumption is that MFHD records are used to describe holdings for the primary purpose of generating a holdings statement.  The new database tables do that too, but also other things concerning the day-to-day management of serials.  As opposed to the actual holdings statement, this management data is very much ephemeral.

Our plan right now is to *not* immediately populate the new tables with historical data.  Rather, since the new data is internally converted to MFHD anyway, both the MFHD and the internal data will be considered simultaneously when generating the holdings statement (the last bits of logic to make this happen are still being tested, but I am confident they will be ready to commit soon).  This provides several immediate benefits:

1) The original MFHD record is fully preserved, with no chance of being mangled by the system.
2) The MFHD record can be used at any time as a fallback mechanism should the new system not properly accommodate a given situation.
3) We do not need to write an import script :)

All of this is likely to change as the system matures, but the weaning can be gradual and perhaps always optional.

Does this sound reasonable?

Thanks,
Dan


-- 
*********************************************************************************
Daniel Wells, Library Programmer Analyst dbw2 at calvin.edu
Hekman Library at Calvin College
616.526.7133


>>> On 1/5/2011 at 12:31 PM, Repke de Vries <repke at xs4all.nl> wrote:
> Hi all
> 
> with "Serials in 2.0"  I mean the new database setup introduced by  
> Dan Wells + two sets of functionalities on top of that: "Serial  
> Control View" and "Alternate Serial Control" (by two different  
> programming teams).
> 
> And my question goes back to an early november 2010 Evergreen  2.0  
> alpha4 discussion [1]  where we had to conclude that an importing  
> script for MARC MFHD records to populate all the "Serials 2.0"  
> database tables, did *not* yet exist - though several libraries (ours  
> among them) expressed the need for it [2].
> 
> I wonder where we are now: anyone working on such a MFHD MARC records  
> importing script or approach?
> 
> Our library might be able to contribute but one would expect that at  
> least some script exists by now that could be further refined.
> 
> How else could we seriously introduce these new Evergreen 2.0 Serials  
> features if we can't get the data in (not to mention: export them  
> again) :-)
> 
> Yours, Repke de Vries, IISH
> 
> [1]  http://markmail.org/message/75tlejvni3mit5ke 
> [2]  I do *not* mean the MFHD options  + importing scripts introduced  
> by Dan Scott in EG 1.6