Importing Records with CSV or Excel Files

Bibliographic records may be imported using CSV (comma-separated values) or Excel files. Properly formatted CSV and Excel files may be imported using the Repository, New Order, or Update Inventory import profiles configured with the appropriate import options. See Physical source format for more information.

When provided, the import can include fixed position field content such as the LDR or MARC 21 008 content. If no fixed position field content is provided, the import process can create fixed position field content from the normalization process that you specify in the import profile. If no normalization processes indicate what to create for the fixed position fields and no fixed field content is provided in the file, the import process can create fixed position fields when the enable_import_computer_generated Resource Management Other Setting is set to true.

Repeating fields with the same subfields and indicators cannot be imported. When the import process encounters multiple columns with the same tag, indicators, and subfields in the input file, a single field is created with multiple instances of the repeated subfields. For example, when the input file has a single row with three columns that contain 245$a, 245$b, and 245$b, the following record is created: 245$a main title $b subtitle 1 $b subtitle 2. See Formatting CSV or Excel Files for Importing Records for more information.

The bibliographic data is filtered, corrected, and validated as defined in the import profile that you configure. Inventory data is created based on the mapping defined in your import profile. See Creating/Editing an Import Profile: Overview for more information.

Workflow for Importing Records with CSV or Excel Files

The workflow for importing records with CSV or Excel files requires the following:

• Repository, New Order, Update Inventory, and Digital (non-remote) import profiles configured with the appropriate Physical source format options (see Physical source format for more information)
• CSV or Excel files with the correctly defined header information (see Formatting CSV or Excel Files for Importing Records for more information)
• Running an import job (see Importing Multiple Records) with the CSV or Excel file(s) selected

Formatting CSV or Excel Files for Importing Records

• Field (tag) number

  This can be any MARC 21 or other metadata standard number except Dublin Core.

  This also includes fixed position fields such as the LDR and MARC 21 008. 
• First and second indicators

  Specify indicators in the following manner:

  245$a where no indicators are specified

  2451 $a where a null value is to be created for the second indicator

  245 1$a where a null value is to be created for the first indicator

  24510$a where both indicators are specified
• Subfield

• Excel File Example