Level 2 Cataloging in Evergreen

Sometimes there is no Evergreen bib record for the holding you are adding.  In this case you use “Z39.50” to import a bib record from another library.[1] When you use this protocol to add a new bib record you are adding the bib record for use by everyone in the consortium.  So here are a few important things to keep in mind.

• Always  attach your holdings to a bibliographic record already in the Balsam system before importing a new record. (Search Z39.50 first, looking for “native-evergreen-catalog”)
• Bring in the best record that you can find.
• If you edit the record, remember that your changes will affect all other Balsam libraries that have holdings connected to that record.
• If you see duplicate records, a level 3 cataloger may merge them. There is a separate set of rules and procedures for merging records.

1. Open the Z39.50 search from the Cataloging/Import Record from Z39.50 menu.

Services and Credentials

The upper right side of the screen is the Services and Credentials area.  It lists the services you can search for records and allows you to enter your username and password for services that require that information.  Check as many services as you want to search simultaneously.  Always include Local Catalog in your search.

Click the “Save as Default” button. The Save as Default button saves the services checked and username/password information for future use.

Query

On the upper left of the screen is the Query area.  After you have chosen the services to search, you see a list of fields into which you can enter your search criteria. If you need to clear the search form of all entered terms, click on the Clear Form button. When you have entered the desired search criteria, click the Search button. Good practice is to search first by Title.

Results

Once you have done your search, the results displays in the lower section of the screen.  You can take a variety of actions from the Results area.

Use the buttons at the top of this list to:

• If you are not sure that a record is the one you want,  click “View MARC” to review the record.
• If the record is already in Evergreen (use it!), click on “Show in Catalog”
• If the record is not already in Evergreen, click on either “Edit then Import” or on “Import”.

[1] Z39.50 is an international standard for searching and retrieving information from a database over the Internet. The standard as it relates to libraries is managed by the Library of Congress, and is used by thousands of libraries throughout the world to share bibliographic records.