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    Summon: Library Catalog Deletes

    • Product: Summon

    How do we delete catalog records from the Summon Unified Index?

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    You can use the following options to submit deleted catalog records to Summon:

    1. Submit deleted MARC records in the same MARC-formatted file as the modified MARC records.

    2. Submit a MARC-formatted file in which all MARC records in file are meant for deletion.

    3. Submit a flat file (text file) in which all records must be deleted.

    For information regarding the update schedule, see Summon: Summon Index Update.


    Option 1: Submit File Containing MARC Records Marked for Deletion

    Upload your files, which contain one or more MARC records that are marked for deletion, into the updates directory on the MFT server. By doing this, record deletions are processed alongside record updates.

    By default, record deletions are indicated by the letter "d" in the sixth position of the MARC leader field (position LDR/05). If you use a different flag, please let us know prior to uploading the files to the updates folder on the MFT server.

    You can use this option in combination with options 2 or 3. 

    Your files must be submitted in the correct format. For more information, see Exporting Your Records.


    Option 2: Submit File Containing Only Deleted MARC Records

    Upload your files, which contain only MARC records that you want deleted, into the deletes folder to remove all records in the file, regardless of any delete flags in the MARC record.

    The word deletes must be in the file name.


    Files containing records to be deleted should be named using the following convention:

    sourceid-packageid-deletes-`date +%F-%H-%M-%S`.marc

    For example:

    • yourlibrary-catalog-deletes-2011-01-26-13-18-58.mrc

    • yourlibrary-catalog-deletes-2011-01-26-13-18-58.marc

    You can use this option in combination with option 1 only.

    Your files must be submitted in the correct format. For more information, see Exporting Your Records.


    Option 3: Submit a Flat File (Text File)

    This option needs to be set up in advance. Please Submit a Case if you are unsure if this is configured for your library catalog.

    If you are unable to provide delete records in the MARC format, this option is preferable. You can use this option in combination with option 1 only.

    Provide the unique identifiers of records you want to delete in a simple text file and then perform the following steps:
    1. After we set up the system for flat-file deletions, follow these rules to create your deleted-records text file:

      • The file must only contain the unique identifiers of the records you wish to delete.

      • The file must contain only one record per line.

      • There must be a line break after every unique identifier.

      • The file must not contain extra fields, text, or delimiters (no spaces, pipes, commas or tildes).

      • The file must be UTF-8 encoded.

      • The file name should not include any spaces or special characters.

      • The file name should include the date and time.

      • The file extension should be one of the following:

        .deletes (preferred)
        .txt
        .keys
        .xml
        For example: yourlibrary-catalog-deletes-2012-01-26-13-18-58.deletes

      For an example file, see yourlibrary-catalog-deletes-2012-01-26-13-18-58.txt.

    2. Upload the text file into the deletes folder of your MFT directory.



    • Date Created: 9-Feb-2014
    • Last Edited Date: 17-Nov-2017
    • Old Article Number: 8805
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