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Home > Minerva > System Info > Settings > How To Load Batches of Patron Records

How To Load Batches of Patron Records

This procedure outlines how to load patron records into the Millennium system. It is routinely done when a library joins the Minerva system, or when new students need to be added to the database. Because there are multiple loads of new students at academic libraries each year, there is at least one person at each academic library authorized to load their own patron records. For school systems that only require one student load per year, Maine InfoNet staff will load these records.

The following procedure uses the old Telnet/character-based side; it will be updated soon with information on using Data Exchange in Millennium.

Procedure

(Below you will find the old procedure with which a number of libraries are familiar. It uses the telnet interface to Minerva. There is a newer and simpler way to do this using Millennium. Until the description of that method is added to this page, please contact Minerva Support for information about it.)

  1. Create a text file of patron records in the specified format.  See the format description below.
  2. Place the file on an FTP server. If you do not have one available to you, MSL can provide info on how to use its server.
  3. Enter the character-based Minerva system and select A>Additional System Functions... M>Read/Write MARC Records... P>Load MARC Patron Records.
  4. Import the patron file by selecting F>Read MARC File Into Innopac Using FTS, responding to prompts and selecting files from your FTP server.
  5. Preprocess each file by selecting P>Preprocess Text Patron Records Loaded Via FTS. Error messages indicate a format problem.
  6. Select the appropriate load option from among:
    • L> Load a MARC file (ID Overlay) If you use Social Security Number as ID and select this option, see note below
    • B> Load a MARC file (Barcode Overlay)
  7. Use the load menu to test your data file, and to manage the load. (Caution is called for. Use of Testing Mode, followed by test load of several records to verify proper overlay behavior, is essential to responsible use of this facility.)
  8. Use the T> Mode option to change from Loading Mode to Testing Mode, then choose L> Load Record. The system will act as if it were actually loading records, reporting the number of new and of overlayed records resulting from your file. This "dry run" can point out overlay match problems that would be much trouble to correct later.
  9. Use the N> Set Total Number of Records to Load option to specify that just the first x records will be loaded when on selects L> Load Records. It is sound practice to load the first 3 to 6 records in the file, then examine them from Millennium Circulation or character-based circulation to be sure that data elements are being placed in their proper fields. The system keeps track of where you left off, so that next time you load this file, it will not try to load the same records over again. S> Set Start/Stop Block can be used to "zero out" this marker, if necessary.
  10. After the load a statistical report appears on the screen.  If there were any load errors (some of which are more advisories than real errors), an error file will be generated.  Every time you load, print both the summary and the error file to your email address. If it is later discovered that something went wrong in loading, these files are indispensable in diagnosing the problem. Having them in electronic form facilitates sending them to MSL staff, should the need arise.
  11. Delete your files when loading is done, using the D> Remove File option. Retain locally a copy of the file you loaded, however. That too will be necessary if problems are found later.
  12. Documentation of this process can be found in the online manual at: http://minerva.maine.edu/manual.  See section 101687.

Format

The system accepts information in several formats.Details can be found in the Getting Started Manual at http://gsm.iii.com. Select DB Profile - Patron Records, then Patron Record Formats. Much of the same information is also presented in the online manual, starting at section 101687, http://minerva.maine.edu/manual. A review of this material is highly recommended to anyone loading their own records. Contact MSL staff if you do not have the GSM id and password.

MSL Staff have found Format 3 the most flexible. Here is a sample record:

0123  234xyz    12-31-03
nSmith, Jane
aP.O. Box 177$305B East Hall
t(510) 555-1305
h123 Hill St.$Oakland, CA 95155
p(510)444-1010
u123-45-6789
b2117102003159
zjanesmith@campus.edu

Each record must begin with a 24-character "zero field". The first character in the zero field is zero.After it come the following elements:

Patron type 3 digits (000 to 255)
PCODE1 1 character (generally blank in Minerva)
PCODE2 1 character  (generally blank in Minerva)
PCODE3 3 digits (000 to 255)
Home library 5 characters, e.g., "main" (generally a 3-character code followed by 2 spaces in Minerva)
Patron message code 1 character (generally blank in Minerva)
Patron block code 1 character (generally blank in Minerva)
Patron expiration date 8 characters (mm-dd-yy)
 

Each line following the zero field line contains a single-character field tag in the first column, followed by that field's data and then a carriage-return / linefeed. Allowable values in Minerva include:

n  Name  (Lastname, Firstname format)
a  Primary mailing address (used in printed notices) (on-campus address in academic libraries)
t  Primary telephone number
h  Secondary mailing address (home address in academic libraries)
p  Secondary telephone number
u  ID number  (can be used as an overlay match key)
b  Barcode number (can be used as an overlay match key)
z  Email address  (if present, patron will get notices by email as default)

Other, less used possibilities:

c  College / Affiliation
d  Dept
e  Employee Status
j  Major
k  Parent Name
m  Message
q  Address 3
s  Upd Status
v  Extract Date
x  Note

Note that the '$' in the address fields denotes line breaks for printed notices. Each new record begins on the line below the last line of the previous record.

Note on Use of Social Security Numbers as ID Number

Overlay on patron barcode is preferred because it is absolutely unique within Minerva.  If you use Social Security Number as your student ID, uniqueness cannot be assured.  In a small number of cases, an incorrect overlay may take place.  The procedure below describes how to deal with these instances.

A batch load on SS# results in one of these situations:

  1. The SS# does not exist in any existing Minerva record.  Your incoming record is created from scratch.
  2. A single record for your patron was added in a previous load.  The incoming information overlays properly on the existing record, with all info except barcode being replaced by newer values.
  3. A student at your school is also enrolled at another institution.  Each of the existing patron records contains an identical Social Security Number.  The load program does not know which record to overlay, so instead generates yet another record. The error file created by the load program indicates this multiple match situation. You must immediately go into the system and eliminate one of the records representing the individual as your patron. You may wish to preserve patron stats by retaining the old patron record, but updating address, phone number and other fields manually.
  4. On a very few occasions, a single record containing the SS# may exist, but represent the individual as patron of another library.  The insidious result: the incoming information for your library will overwrite that of the other library. Only the original barcode number of the other library will survive.

The only way to recover from case #4 is to compare Home Library and barcode. For instance, after loading you could create a list of all patrons with the home library code for your library. Sort the list by barcode. Look at either end of the sequence. Any barcodes that begin with a library identifier other than that of your library represent improperly overlaid records.You should manually create a record for the individual as a patron of your library, and fix the existing record so that Home Library, Ptype, Pcode 3 and/or Pcode 4 correspond to the library indicated by the barcode prefix.

If any of this is not totally obvious, you should call the unintended overlay to the attention of someone at the home library of the patron, indicating that they will need to examine the record to be sure it is properly coded.

Note that this is a "no-fault" situation.  Any library that uses Social Security Number for overlay is equally likely to be both the victim and the perpetrator of such unintended overlays. Fortunately, case #4 is not very common. However, it is the responsibility of anyone who uses SS# in this way to be extra careful during loading and to maintain a sense of perspective when things go awry.

Updates

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