A browser based app which allows a user the ability to input information about a book and generate a txt file which can be converted into a Marc Record.
The U.S. national standard for dissemination of bibliographic data. Marc stands for Machine Readable Cataloging which is basically a set of digital formats for the description of items catalogued by libraries, such as books.
At it's core, Marc records are primarily a set of specific character codes, spacing and formatting representative of an item, book or title. I loosely compare marc to formatting and/or visualization progamming languages like XML, CSS, HTML, etc. Marc record files may end in a .mrc or a .marc format.
=000 00000nam\\2200000\a\4500
=001 0123456789
=003 NjP
=005 19930422091534.7
=008 920806s1991\\\\nju\\\\\\\\\\\000\0\\eng\d
=020 \\$a0777000008
=040 \\$aNjP$cNjP
=100 1\$aSmith, John W.,$d1955-
=245 10$aPolitical tides in America /$cby John W. Smith III; with an introduction by Spencer Yarborough.
=260 \\$aCamden, NJ :$bTrendsetter Press$c1991.
=300 \\$a344 p. :$bill., maps ;$c26 cm.
=650 \7$aPolitical science$zUnited States.$2lcsh
=650 \7$aPopulism$zUnited States.$2lcsh
=700 1\$aYarborough, Spencer,$d1931-
The sample above displays the content and formatting of a text file produced upon clicking Complete and Download. This text file is needed to create a marc record, every line begins with an equal sign and a set of numbers. Each number and/or line is called a field and represents a different set of information for the title.
Field number 008 above (5th line down) begins with a set of numbers which represent the date creation of the marc record starting with the year, followed by the month and ending with the day. After that there is an S which signifies a single year for the publication date and after that (the 1991) is the year the item/title was published. Further in this line (or field) you notice the characters eng which represent the language of the title; eng means "english".
In field 100 (line 8) above, this is where the author's name will go.
In field 245 (line 9) this is where the name of the title/item will go. Here you notice more information and symbols with a $ which signify different types of information.
Marc is a very specific form of formatting characters and information, one which can easily get in depth allowing one to log any and every detail of an item/title. Rules and explanations are managed by the library of congress and can be found at https://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/
I manage a school library where a server crash occured resulting in a total loss of data. The library inventory/catalog software had to be reinstalled, marc records had to be uploaded again, but the true setback was the loss of all the titles that were manually entered. These titles did not come with a marc record and were not tied to a vendor who could provide one. Months of work was now lost and although I was assured the server has proper backups, I did not want to soley rely on this assurance. As a precaution I find it necessary for the library to have have it's own marc record backups of it's titles, especially those titles that previously did not have any marc records.
As of 2/11/19, a CSV document checker was implemented not only adding functionality but also a setup page/UI. Uploading a CSV (when the first column is titled ISBN) allows the app to check for any matching ISBN's to prevent duplicate marc/title creation when inputting new entry. There will always be a symbol at the bottom right corner indicating whether the CSV has been successfully uploaded. The app contains twelve (12) text input fields or selections that correlate to information about a book, however please notice that there are only six (6) bold fields that are absolutely necessary.
A user may enter as many book titles as they wish, once a book entry is complete they must click on the green Submit entry button. Clicking the entry button performs several checks like checking the CSV for a matching ISBN, checking a session array for matching ISBN's entered during browser session and checking another session array for duplicate ID numbers. Once/if successful the form resets and a brief summary of the last title entered is displayed at the bottom.
When completely done entering titles, the user clicks on the red Complete and Download button which will download the text file to the computer. This file may now be converted into a marc record file using the appropiate software. Additionally, if the user does not refresh or restart the page the session arrays will hold the information for the entered ISBNs & ID numbers allowing to continue a more accurate duplication check.
The web app only creates a plain text file which opens from any text editor program like Note Pad or Text Edit, but this file is needed by other programs in order to convert it into an official marc record. There are a number of ways and/or programs that allow one to convert text files into marc records but my preferred method is by using one called Marc Edit which is a free software that can be downloaded at https://marcedit.reeset.net/. In Marc edit you can convert the file, name it and save it wherever you like, once the marc record file is created I take that new file and upload it into our library inventory/database system.
Anyone can use and/or modify the program however please keep in mind that I wrote it specifically for our organization and the software used here (TLC) so some of the information may not apply to your library and some fields may not follow the Library of Congress marc record standards.
Also, J Query is used for some sections, you may reference J query with a CDN however I choose to include the JS file locally to prevent potential network errors when working with others.
- 1/28/2019: Wrote new function, consolidating method to create book entries based on prescence of ISBN and removing 20 lines of duplicate code.
- 1/28/2019: Restructured language selection dropdown resulting in removal of 28 lines of code which included the tag 008 & 041 creation functions.
- 1/28/2019: Replaced book detail variables for book object eliminating initial variables in JS.
- 2/2/2019: Added ability to input a 024, UPC field.
- 2/6/2019: Added auto capital letter of first/last name in author field.
- 2/6/2019: Fixed error catching null value if no book genre is chosen.
- 2/7/2019: Added if statements preventing entry submission when both ISBN and UPC field are empty.
- 2/11/2019: New setup section/initial UI that allows user to upload CSV used to check for matching ISBN's when inputting entries.
- 2/11/2019: Added isbn & barcode entry duplicate check for all books entered during session.
- 2/12/2019: Added clear button to remove all data from form.
- 3/7/2019: Fixed error preventing more than one entry if ISBN is empty.
Major Update (ver 2.) - added Google API function to search/find books, site redesign. removed use of Jquery
- Add ability to add quantity/dynamic field for more title/ID #'s
- Visual redesign w/ pop up notices
- Create pop-up help guide/FAQ
- Ability to view full list and remove selected entries