Hi Colm, I agree with Deanna. When it comes to barcodes, save yourself some hassle and buy them from a vendor.
When it comes to pulling MARC records, the freeware called JTacq http://www.jtdata.com/jtacq.html is a good option. When you say that your collection pre-date barcodes, I assume you mean that there are no ISBN barcodes on the book cover. That's unfortunate. If there were you could have used a light gun to scan those barcodes, and created a file that JTacq can use to pull bib records using its Z39.50 feature. JTacq can pull from Library of Congress, or any other Z39.50 target you point it to, including WorldCat if you have an OCLC subscription. Also, like EZCat, JTacq will let you search multiple Z39.50 sources at the same time. Since that isn't an option, you will have to key in ISBN numbers when they are present. Another JTacq feature is called drag-n-drop. This feature allows you to highlight the OCLC or ISBN number in the public WorldCat, and drag it into JTacq. This number can then be used to pull bibs using Z39.50. I don't think Library of Congress has an option to pull from it's Z39.50 portal using OCLC numbers, but I may be wrong. There are a lot of things you can do in JTacq's MARC Processing area, including deleting or adding fields in a batch process. Once the bib records are to your liking. Simply export them into a file, then download them into your library system. One free system you may want to consider using is available from Mandarin Library Automation, Inc. http://www.mlasolutions.com/ It is probably sufficient for a library your size. Hope that helps a little, Don Don Butterworth Faculty Associate / Librarian III B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary [email protected] (859) 858-2227 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Deanna Frazee" <[email protected]> To: "Evergreen Discussion Group" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 6:14:03 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Library Catalog I am sure that there is some free software out there for creating barcodes, but they are pretty inexpensive and you may find it is just easier to buy some from a vendor who will keep track of the numbers. In general, the first few digits of your barcode will identify your institution, and the rest will identify the item. As for the cataloging, what you are hoping to do is called copy cataloging. With 20,000 items in the collection, it will still take you quite a bit of time since each item will need to be searched and downloaded. You can do this relatively inexpensively with EZcat from Book Systems, or you could even do it with the z39.50 search in Evergreen. EZcat is extremely easy to use, so it really is worth your time to look into it. You can also use MARCedit, a free program that is quite nice. It just won’t let you search multiple z39.50 sites at one time like EZcat will, and searching sites separately can slow you down a bit. Please pardon me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you are not familiar with cataloging. If not, be warned that it is not something you want to dive into with a collection of 20,000 items. Whether you use the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress system for assigning call numbers, it is something most of us studied while in grad school and then spent a good deal of time learning how to do in a practical work setting. Not to mention that learning to modify a MARC record is not all that easy. You can hire someone like MARCIVE or even a good cataloger who takes on that sort of work on the side and save yourself a lot of stress and frustration. Whatever route you take, good luck! Deanna Deanna Frazee Director of Library Services Killeen City Library System 205 E. Church Ave. Killeen, TX 76541 254-501-8995 [email protected] From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Colm Estridge Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 2:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Library Catalog Hi, My employer has acquired a small library (approx. 20,000 titles) and would like to create an in-house catalog for them. There was no card system with the books, and they all pre-date barcodes. I have attempted to use WorldCat, to catalog these books, but have found no way to create call numbers/labels/bar codes so that we can search and label them. So, is this community aware of a system where I can import the data pertinent to each title (thus not having to reinvent the wheel and research the subject matter of each) and create a call system, wherein I can print my own bar codes for our scanner? Thank you for your help. Best Regards C
