1. MarcEdit: free software that lets you edit MARC records and more!
Susan Lytinen
Data Projects Specialist
Gail Borden Public Library District
LACONI TSS:
The Un-Conference
September 21, 2018
I’m sorry for the “and more,” but something about giving a presentation just compels you to add it. I also found myself using too many exclamation points.
There are many sources of information about MarcEdit. I am far from being an expert, but that can be to your advantage. I will demonstrate simple things we have done with MarcEdit at my library, and you can go home and start using it yourself.

2. Screen shots Editing MARC records
Individually
As a batch
Creating MARC records from an Excel spreadsheet
Saving commands as a template
Using RDA Helper
MARCNext
I’m going to be using screen shots instead of the actual software, which I did not want to load onto this laptop. As software goes, it’s pretty light-weight: it loads easily and runs quickly.

3. Created by Terry Reese, Head of Digital Initiatives, The Ohio State University Libraries
Terry Reese has been working on MarcEdit since He is constantly adding new features.
This is the MarcEdit website, which is also constantly being changed.
The current version of MarcEdit is 7.0, which you can get by clicking on “Downloads” at the left.

4. Help abounds! MarcEdit development website You Tube videos
Conference presentations
Terry Reese workshops
Links on MarcEdit start page
MarcEdit field guide table-of-contents/
MarcEdit-L
An almost ludicrous amount of help is available. Yes, you can find some of it by Googling.

5. MarcEdit start page
MarcEdit field guide:
Some of the stuff on the MarcEdit development website is almost buried. For instance, I found the MarcEdit field guide, a very detailed instruction manual for some of MarcEdit’s functions, by clicking on “Edit a MARC File” on MarcEdit’s start page. It describes an older version of MarcEdit, so screen prints would be different, but the functionality has not changed.
The icon with the tools and paint can links to the MarcEdit development website.

6. Joining MarcEdit-L https://listserv.gmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=marcedit-l
The MarcEdit Listserv has lots of daunting expert-level posts, but the participants are also very happy to explain basic operations

7. Joining MarcEdit-L https://listserv.gmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=marcedit-l
I’m not used to the Listserv interface, so it took me a while to see the link for subscribing.

8. Editing MARC records – we need software!
As you know, you need special software to edit MARC records because they are impenetrable. MarcEdit can present MARC records like this, so that they are easily read and edited.

9. Pieces of MarcEdit and file formats
Start with a MARC file, usually .mrc
Some MARC files come with different extensions, such as .bin
Call up MarcBreaker to create editable, “mnemonic” file, .mrk
Use MarcEditor to edit the .mrk file
Use MarcMaker to change back to MARC file, .mrc
Delimited Text Translator can convert .txt, .csv, .xls, .xlsx, or .mdb into .mrk
Delimited Text Translator templates are saved as .mrd
When you use MarcEdit, it feels like a bunch of different pieces of software tied together. They are almost like phone apps: you call up a specific piece of software to perform specific operations.
But the interface is very Windows-y, in that there are different ways to do the same thing.
Sorry about bombarding you with file extensions, but when you start to use MarcEdit, it creates various files, and you need to know what they are. Changing a file from one format to another is like “Save as”: you still have the original file, and you have a new file in a different format.
Delimited Text Translator templates let you save commands, so that you don’t have to re-enter them every time you want to translate a spreadsheet into MARC.

10. Start MarcBreaker
You can find MarcBreaker by clicking on the “Marc Tools” link on the StartPage.
MarcBreaker takes a MARC file and creates an editable .mrk file, so you have to tell it the name of the existing MARC file. You also have to specify the name of the .mrk file you want made.
To search for your MARC file, click on the little file folder by the “Open” box.
To tell MarcEdit where to save the .mrk file that will be created, click on the little file folder with the green arrow by the “Save As” box.
Then click on the “Execute” button.

11. Finding MARC files with extension .bin
When you are searching for the MARC file you want to edit, MarcBreaker will expect it to have the extension .mrc. If it is different, change MarcBreaker to find “All Files.”

12. MarcBreaker is fast
Once you have specified your input and output files, click on “Execute.” MarcBreaker will show you how many records were processed and how long it took.
To start editing the .mrk file, click on “Edit Records.”

13. .mrk rules: not that hard!
Hard return at the end of each field
Blank line between records
= at beginning of each field, then field tag
2 spaces before indicators
Blank indicator is backslash \
$ is subfield delimiter. Must include $a
No space between delimiter and subfield contents
# at beginning of line makes it a comment, won’t be included in MARC record.
When you read the rules for the .mrk file format, they sound complicated. But when you see the records, they aren’t that bad.

14. To edit, just type
I added a 520 summary by typing in the 520 tag, then copying and pasting a blurb from Amazon.com.
Working with a .mrk file in MarcEditor is just like editing a text file in Notepad.
I know using a blurb as a summary is not correct cataloging practice.
Please note the 245 $h GMD, since we’ll be dealing with that on the next slide.

15. “Find and Replace” is under the “Edit” menu
We keep GMDs in our title fields for Boopsie, our mobile catalog app. We have a long list of custom terms.
Notice that Terry has made the editing function windows multi-purpose: this one has Find and Replace in one window. That is a change from early versions of MarcEdit.

16. “Add/Delete Field” is under “Tools”
“Electronic books” is entered various ways:
=655 \4$aElectronic books.
=655 \7$aElectronic books. $2local
=655 \0$aElectronic books.
I’ll delete all versions, then add what I want.
There are only 17 records, but some had more than one “Electronic books” field.
This batch editing window is very multi-function. If you click on the terms in blue at the left, like “Copy Field Data,” you will see the same window as if you had chosen “Copy Field” from the Tools menu.

17. The same utility adds fields, as well as deleting them.
Be sure to save your changes to the .mrk file!

18. MarcMaker compiles your .mrk file to MARC .mrc
It is probably best not to overlay your original MARC file with your edited MARC file, so use a different name.

19. You can extract records to edit from a MARC file.
If you don’t want to wade through an entire MARC file to find the records you want to edit, you can isolate them into their own .mrk file.
From the StartPage, click on “Tools,” “Select MARC Records,” and “Extract Selected Records.”
In the “Modify Selected MARC records” window, find your MARC file by clicking on the folder next to the “Source MARC File:” box. Then click on “Import File.” The titles from each record will display.

20. You can choose individual records by clicking on their check boxes, or you can do a keyword search.
After you click on “OK,” click on “Export Selected.”
After you choose “Yes” or “No” in the “Delete Extracted Records” window, MarcEdit lets you save your extracted records.
Then decide whether you want the records that you extracted to be deleted from the original MARC file or not.

21. Creating MARC from a spreadsheet
As you can see, this is an old example – the order is from September But I made new screen prints to show the current version of MarcEdit.
This is a spreadsheet that we downloaded from a vendor called CD OneStop.
Each line in a spreadsheet can be made into a separate MARC record, which we can then import into our ILS to create bibliographic and order records.

22. Decide which columns you want to map
I have temporarily added some information to my spreadsheet that helps me plan how I want to map it.
MarcEdit calls the first column of a spreadsheet Field 0, so I numbered the columns 0 through 13.
As you can see, I don’t want to map all the fields in my spreadsheet. I also want to add some information to each MARC record.
The PO number will change every time we download a spreadsheet, so, as you’ll see on the next screen, I’ll be putting that into the column of the spreadsheet that I have numbered “Field 3.”
However, the subfields I want to add to 960 and 961 will be exactly the same for every spreadsheet, so I will be saving them as constant data.

23. Delete everything but the rows you want to make into MARC records
I put the PO number in Column D (which MarcEdit will call Field 3).

24. Start the Delimited Text Translator
You can find the Delimited Text Translator in the Tools menu on the StartPage.
It acts like a wizard.

25. Tell the DTT the names of your files
The Delimited Text Translator can handle text (.txt), Excel (.xls or .xlsx), and Ms Access (.mdb).
As you can see, the output file will be in .mrk (human-editable) format. It will take one more step to get the MARC records.
If you translate an Excel file, you have to choose the sheet to translate from the drop-down list next to “Excel Sheet Name”.
If you translate a text file, you have to specify your delimiter, and the text qualifier if you used one.
Then click on “Next.”

26. DTT displays the 1st few lines of your spreadsheet
It helps to be looking at the spreadsheet with the information on how your want to map the fields.
The box that displays the 1st few lines of your spreadsheet is just there to let you preview the data. You can’t select on it.

27. Field 0 maps to 024 8\ $a
Under “Select,” choose the field you want to map from the drop-down list.
In the “Map To:” box, type the MARC tag and subfield.
In the “Indicators:” box, type the indicators. Use the backslash \ for blank.
Click on “Add Argument.”
The “Arguments” box will change to show the field number, MARC tab, and subfield. The “0” at the end means that the information to go into that tag is coming from the spreadsheet, not from constant data. The indicators have been saved, but they don’t display in the “Arguments” box.

28. Field 1 maps to 024 1\ $a

29. Field 2 maps to 960 \\ $o – oops!
I selected Field 3 when I wanted Field 2. Fortunately, if you make a mistake when you map, you can right click on the faulty argument and delete it.
I haven’t tried editing an argument, although apparently you can do that, too.

30. Field 2 maps to 960 \\ $o
This is what I should have done.

31. Entering constant data
960$ge$tgacs$ucdc$vcdos
Now that Field 2 is mapped to MARC tag 960 subfield o, we can add constant data for other subfields in MARC tag 960.
Select Field 2 for a second time.
In the “Map To:” box, type the constant data: $ge$tgacs$ucdc$vcdos
The “Indicators:” box can stay \\ (blank blank)
Click the “Constant Data” checkbox, then “Add Argument.”
A 2nd line for Field 2 appears in the “Arguments” box. The “1” at the end means that the information is constant data, so it is added to each record.

32. Join the constant data to the previous line
In the “Arguments” box, highlight both lines that show Field 2. (To highlight a line, click on it. To un-highlight, click on it again.)
Right click, then click on “Join Items.”
An asterisk will appear at the beginning of each joined line.
This way, you will get one 960 field with all the subfields, instead of two partial 960 fields.

33. Field 3 maps to 961 \\ $p

34. More constant data
Now that Field 3 is mapped to MARC tag 961 subfield p, we can add constant data for other subfields in MARC tag 961.
Select Field 3 for a second time.
In the “Map To:” box, type the constant data: $dwb
The “Indicators:” box can stay \\ (blank blank)
Click the “Constant Data” checkbox, then “Add Argument.”
As you add more arguments, you have to scroll down in the “Arguments” box to see the ones at the end.

35. Join the constant data to the previous line (again)
In the “Arguments” box, highlight both lines that show Field 3.
Right click, then click on “Join Items.”
A double asterisk will appear at the beginning of each joined line, to differentiate them from the previous joined lines.
Notice that the 2nd double-starred line, the constant data line, ends in “1” instead of “0.”

36. Field 9 maps to 100 1\ $a
You can put terminal punctuation, such as a period for the end of the MARC 100 tag, in the “Term. Punctuation:” box.

37. Field 10 maps to $a

38. Saving a template
If you think there is even a vague possibility that you ever will have to use the same set of mapping commands again, save them as a template. Click on the “Save Template” checkbox.
If the columns of your spreadsheet are not in MARC tag order, it is also useful to click on the “Sort Fields” checkbox.
“Calculate common nonfiling data” should fix the filing indicator on your 245 title field.
“Ignore Header Row” is a new command for me. I wish I had known about it earlier, because it is a pain to deal with a spreadsheet without a header row.
Then click on “Finish.”
MarcEdit will ask you where to save the template. The template has a file extension of .mrd.

39. You have created a .mrk file
When you click on “OK”, the Delimited Text Translator closes, so don’t be alarmed.
Remember, you don’t have a MARC file yet.

40. Use MarcEditor to look at your .mrk file

41. The records look complete
It is always fun to admire your handiwork.

42. Compile the .mrk file to MARC
Now you have a MARC file!

43. Loading commands from a template
The next time you want to make MARC records from a spreadsheet using the same mapping commands, all you need to do is load the template.
The “Load Template” button is on the 2nd screen, which you see after you put the filenames in the first screen and click on “Next”.
When you click on the “Load Template” button, MarcEdit opens an Explorer window so you can find your template file.
When you click on “Open”, the arguments you saved in the template file will appear in the “Arguments” box.

44. But wait… there’s more! https://marcedit.reeset.net/features
Regular expressions
Task lists
Scheduler
Z39.50 searching
MARC to Dublin Core
BibFrame Testbed
RDA Helper
Link Identifiers…

45. RDA Helper
The RDA Helper generates RDA fields for MARC records that lack them.
I haven’t been able to figure out a direct way to open it. If you type “RDA Helper” in the search box on the MarcEdit start page, the RDA Helper will open up.

46. Fields added by RDA Helper
Notice that the URL (field 245 subfield h) has been deleted.

47. MARCNext
Some of MarcEdit’s experimental features are under “MARCNext”.

48. Linked Data Tool
One of the methods of linking data in bibliographic records is putting the link to an authority record at the end of an authority-controlled field.
MarcEdit has a built-in rules file that lets it add the links.
The process takes a little longer (almost a minute for 17 records) because it is finding the authority-controlled fields and comparing them to the rules file.

49. Record with URIs in subfield 0

50. Linked authority record
This is the online LC authority record to which the link refers.
However, I believe that with our current ILSs, catalogers find it more desirable to delete these links than to make them.

51. Sample files
I numbered these sample files so that they would list in the same order as they appear in the presentation.
01 I didn’t actually use this file in the presentation, but I thought you might like a MARC file with the traditional .mrc extension.
02 This is the file that I changed from MARC to .mrk with MarcBreaker on slide 12.
03 This is the .mrk file shown on slide 13.
04 This is the original spreadsheet used to demonstrate the Delimited Text Translator on slide 21.
05 This is the spreadsheet showing my mapping decisions on slide 22.
06 This is the spreadsheet ready for the Delimited Text Translator on slide 23.
07 This is the .mrk file that was made from the spreadsheet on slide 39 and viewed on slide 41.
08 This is the .mrc file on slide 42.
09 This is the template file on slide 43.
This is the .mrk file made the RDA Helper on slide 46.
11 This is the .mrc file made by the Linked Data Tool on slide 49.

52. Questions? Text of presentation is in notes of PowerPoint file
Susan Lytinen Data Projects Specialist Gail Borden Public Library District 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin IL (847)