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Home > Minerva > Cataloging > How To's > How To Make Changes to Records for Random

How To Make Changes to Records for Random

Introduction

It is often necessary to make the same change to records for a random group of items.  Here are some examples of this situation:

  1. Stacks of books from the New Fiction section must be assigned the location for Regular Fiction 6 months after arrival in the library.  However, this routine involves removal of a sticker and thus cannot be done simply using Create List to gather all records based on record creation date.  Only items in hand should be processed.
  2. A selection of crafts books will be in the display case for the next week.  They must be given the status "On Display", then changed back to status "Available" afterward. This should be done as quickly and conveniently as possible.
  3. A group of new videos was cataloged with no price, or an incorrect price.It has been determined that at the time they are moved from the New location to the regular video shelves a default price of $25.00 should be inserted in each record, in addition to the shelving location change.

These and many more changes have one thing in common. They involve an "informal" selection of items, rather than one that can be based simply on data elements such as Created Date or the presence or absense of a particular code in the data record. They are hard to do using Rapid Update against a review file built using Create Lists. They are, however, easy using Rapid Update on individually scanned items, as described below.

Procedure

This procedure is done from the character-based side of Minerva.  It is described in additional detail in the online manual in section 101388.

  1. Use QVT or another telnet client and your "staff" login, e.g. "aplstaff", "litstaff", "xyzstaff" to bring up the Main Menu for the system.
  2. From the Main Menu, select D> Catalog DATABASE Maintenance, R> RAPID Updating, I> Item Records.
  3. Answer the systems questions as indicated:
    • Do you want to maintain YTDCIRC and LYCIRC? (y/n) - N
    • Do you want to key marc fields? (y/n) - N
    • Update records in a review file ? (y/n)  - N
  4. At the "Record #" prompt, scan or type a barcode number, then hit the Enter key.
  5. The system displays an item record number and prompts for "New Data".Type the number or letter corresponding to the field you wish to change. For instance, type "7" for Location. (Usually, you do not need to type Enter, as the system will immediately display a "Location=" prompt.)  Type the NEW field value you wish entered -- in this case the new item location.
  6. Multiple changes can be specified for each record.  The system places a comma after each value you enter and waits for you to specify an additional field and then a new value for it.  This continues until you press Enter rather than specifying a new field.   After you press Enter, the system performs the change and redisplays the "Record #" prompt, requesting another bar code.  Scan the bar code.
  7. If you wish the same changes made to this record as were made to the previous record, just type Enter when prompted for "New Data".  The process proceeds in this manner for as many records as you wish to treat, potentially hundreds or thousands, until you type Enter at the "Record #" prompt.

Notes

The Online manual displays additional information about this process.  Entering the tilde "~" at the appropriate spot causes the system to show you the record being changed.  A second tilde turns this display off again.

This type of batch process works with other record types as well.  For instance, you could gather patron cards from a group using the library and update everyone's patron record to the same new expiration date and Patron Statistical Code.

Care in required to avoid inadvertent changes to fields that one does not wish to change.  Users should proceed carefully at first until experience with this function builds confidence.

If your Initials and Password do not have Rapid Update permission, please contact MSL staff.

It is anticipated that this capability will appear in Millennium Cataloging, and probably also in Millennium Circulation, in a future release of the software.

Updates

This document is updated as required, and in response to user suggestions and questions.  If you have comments in this regard, send feedback.