[Koha] Converting ms-access database to Koha

[Steven F.Baljkas]

Friday, March 17, 2006     10:54 CST

Hi, Nitin,

In quick response, since I am at work ...

You will have better success in finding older books or others without ISBNs using sources like the Library of Congress (LC) and the National Library of Canada (NLC).

NLC replicates many of the records of LC (because all books published in Canada and the U.S. simultaneously end up in both systems) but with its free registered AMICUS service, you can batch downloads, which many cataloguers find more convenient.

With the registered service you can also set up your search screen interface. For example, I regularly have LCCNs (Library of Congress Catalog Card numbers) or ISBNs, so those are the default settings in the first two boxes for me. Otherwise I find that Title Browse works best, especially when one is seeking items without ISBNs.

You can find out more about AMICUS and register for it (it is free and they won't bother you with junk mailings of any kind) by surfing to

URL <http://amicus.collectionscanada.ca/aaweb/aalogine.htm>

the login page once registered: in the left column click on About AMICUS to read more.

You could certainly use your MS-Access database to create minimal MARC records  using a free tool, MARCEdit, available off the Library of Congress website page on MARC Records, Systems and Tools

URL <http://www.loc.gov/marc/marctools.html#recordtools> .

It allows you to take delimited text -- which you can export from Access -- and set up the MARC records.

If you want some help doing that, I'd be glad to help. Just contact me off listserv and we'll figure out what you need together.

Cheers,
Steven F. Baljkas
library tech (less) at large
Koha neophyte
Winnipeg, MB, Canada


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From: "Nitin Madhavan" <mnitin73 at gmail.com>
Date: 2006/03/16 Thu PM 09:36:36 CST
To: koha at lists.katipo.co.nz
Subject: [Koha] Converting ms-access database to Koha

I am a non-specialist librarian now running a library of around 500 books. I
decided to try out koha and have successfully installed the windows version.
Since the library computer does not have an internet connection (due to LAN
security policy), i am presently entering the isbn in bookwhere and then
taking the marc records on a usb stick and uploading them into the koha
reservoir. Since our many of our books are quite old, i am getting a hit
rate of just 20 -30%. We already have an ms-access database of the complete
collection with accession no, author, book name, price, etc. Is there any
way that i can directly upload this data onto Koha (if possible, only the
ones for which i dont get marc data). Thanks in advance,
Nitin

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