Question

A basic summary of steps to load a batch of electronic resource BIB records from a file.

Answer

1. Verify that the file of records supplied by the vendor is in MARC format (you can test to see if the file is in MARC format by trying to open the file with the Voyager cataloging client. If you get an error that says: “The record character encoding does not match the import format …” this means the file is in MARC format but your client's "Expected Character Set" needs to be changed).
2. Decide if record customizations are needed by carefully reviewing the raw set of records (in some situations the bibliographic records received from the vendor will not meet local best practices). Customization can often be done by the vendor; in-house they can be done using MarcEdit.
3. Create a specific e-resources location in Voyager System Administration, if needed (many libraries have one location for all electronic resources).
4. Complete the System Administration Bulk Import Rule setup, if needed, which is required for the loading of the records into Voyager (Bulk Import Rules contain parameters for batch loading of bibliographic records; options include but are not limited to, format of the records, whether bib, holdings and (possibly) item records are to be created during the load, and etc.). As a best practice, some sites create a unique Operator Name to be set in Bulk Import so that in the future the records can be easily identified.
5. Complete the System Administration Duplicate Detection Profile setup, if needed, which is required for the loading of the records into Voyager (Duplicate Detection Profiles manage record matches and whether the incoming bib should replace the content of an existing bib, and so on).
6. Import your records by running the Pbulkimport command on the server or by using the WebAdmin Server Utilities (See the Technical User's Guide)
7. Review a test load of a few records and the log files.

It is recommended whenever possible to create separate bibliographic records for monographs or monographic sets issued in electronic form (e.g., one bib for the print version, one bib for the electronic version). 

It is recommended you do not mix print and electronic resources within the same Location.

Additional Information

See also: Summary of steps for importing bibliographic records from MARC record files using the Voyager cataloging client

• Article last edited: 03-Aug-2020