[Koha] LC numbers--same here

[Steven F. Baljkas]

Tuesday, April 27, 2004    15:35 CDT

Hi, Gregory,

Glad to read that the import of MARC records is going better with the
upgrade. :-)

Bernadette wrote in to share her library's temporary solution (clever,
Bernadette!!), to wit:
> > of including LC numbers in the biblio in the notes section!!

The developers are aware of the LC issue and I just want to stress - for the
sake of the harmony of the Koha family (shalom beit) - that we are all aware
of the complexity and huge amount of work they are doing and are not
complaining.

> Our books are also catalogued with LC numbers, and I have been trying to
figure out either an elegant solution or a hack, to enable me to use those
numbers in Koha. Can any one offer any suggestions?

Actually, you might have just missed Don Moses' very kind posting of his
workaround solution, which I found very elegant (way to go, Don!). Rather
than make you hunt through the archive, here it is in full from April 23,
2004:

   Hello Folks:

   Steven Baljkas (thanks Steven) suggested I write this up for those
wanting to
   use Library of Congress numbers with Koha. There has been much discussion
   regarding support for LC numbers in future versions of Koha, but until
that day
   arrives here is my workaround.

   1. Determine the MARC field used to hold the LC number in your MARC
records.

   This will vary from institution to institution. It is commonly in 090a
(which is
   a local call number field), but the MARC records I'm using have it in
099a.

   2. Ensure that this MARC field is mapped properly.

   Intranet Web Interface > Parameters > MARC tag structure > edit (or add)
your
   MARC field with the LC number and link it to the Koha
   biblioitems.classification field

   3. Link it to Koha

   Intranet Web Interface > Parameters > Links Koha - MARC DB > Select
biblioitems
   from the dropdown menu > edit the classification field and link it to
your MARC
   field containing the LC number

   4. Anytime you change the links between Koha and MARC you should test
your
   changes.

   Intranet Web Interface > Parameters > MARC Check

   If everything checks out ok, great. If not. hmmmmm.

   5. Whenever you change the links between Koha and MARC it is suggested
that you
   run the rebuildnonmarc.pl script... If you've got a lot of records, this
process can take awhile.
   Make yourself a pot of tea. (I'm not sure this step is necessary)

   For me the path to this script is

     /usr/local/koha/intranet/scripts/misc

   to run the script I often have to tell my system where PERL5LIB is (I
don't know why), so I type
   (** see below line for MJR's addendum)

     export PERL5LIB=/usr/local/koha/intranet/modules

   I make sure I'm in the right directory.

      cd /usr/local/koha/intranet/scripts/misc

    Then I run the script...

      perl ./rebuildnonmarc.pl -c

   6. To display the call number field you need to put it in your OPAC
template.

    Here is a snippet (there's lots of stuff before TMPL_IF and after
/TMPL_IF) from
    my opac-details.tmpl file

      <!-- TMPL_LOOP NAME="BIBLIO_RESULTS" -->
      <!-- TMPL_IF name="classification" -->
      <b>Call Number: </b><!-- TMPL_VAR name="classification" -->
      <br />
      <!-- /TMPL_IF -->
      <!-- /TMPL_LOOP -->

   A caution - the classification field (in the biblioitems table) only
holds 25
   characters ... you can increase it if you have call numbers that are
longer
   than that by increasing the field length.

   I had a great time exploring and experimenting with Koha for an
independent
   study I did. If you have any questions, let me know.

   To see how it looks on my version of Koha see
     http://69.156.111.211:8080/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?bib=652

   I've got some duplicate call numbers in my MARC data and I've not clean
it up so
   some of the data may look odd.

   Good Luck.

   Don

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------

** in response to Don's statement above
       to run the script I often have to tell my system where PERL5LIB is (I
don't  know why), so I type [...]

MJ Ray added that
     Koha uses its own perl modules as well as your system's ones. You can
also do the same by the command:
            perl -I../../modules rebuildnonmarc.pl -c

Anyway, hope all this helps, Gregory. Let us know how it goes.

Cheers,
Steven F. Baljkas
library tech at large
Koha neophyte
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada


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