MARC Report: Version 238

Background

Our original objective, in 1997, was to provide software for the Windows platform that finds errors in MARC records; to that end, what is now called 'Batch mode' was the only interface to these error messages¹⁾.

Not many users were comfortable working with files at the batch level, and so a record display interface was added that would display each record in one panel, and the list of cataloging errors for that record in another. The ability to edit the records being displayed was added to the program soon after that.

This interface has been showing its age for a number of years now. However, we were unable to change it, up until now, because of a technical issue with underlying components.

Version 238

MARC Report version 238 addresses the obvious display limitations of the current interface. Version 238 also adds more customization possibilities to the editing functions, and provides a good foundation for future development, whether that leads to MARC, XML, or some yet-to-be adopted format.

At first glance, the new interface should look familiar to existing users:

Looking more closely, notice that the Fixed Field display at the top of the record is now enclosed in its own panel–this panel can be re-sized, closed, re-opened, etc., simply by using the splitter bar. Each fixed field is now accessed by clicking the appropriate button: Leader, 006, 007, 008. If a field is not present, clicking the button for that field opens the fixed field template menu.

The error message panel on the right is now collapsible and re-sizeable also.

When you click on an error in the Brief Message window, the program of course highlights the problem area in the MARC view; but it also adds the error message to the 'FindNext' box beneath, and you can then jump through the file, searching for only those records, with that message using the green arrow on the right.

Click here for more screenshots of the main view

Notice the tabs along the left-side of the window in the above screenshot; each tab switches to a different 'view' of the current record. All of the navigation controls at the bottom of the form remain fixed, however–so its now possible, for example, to navigate through a file completely in Text mode, if you wish.

Screenshots and descriptions of each 'view' are available from the links that follow.

• The default (MARC) view (the screenshot above, and those that follow, on this page)
• Text view ( <F10> in the current version)
• XML view ( <F5> in the current version)
• Title List (under 'View Reports' in the current version)
• Related records ( <F4> in the current version)
• CWAM: Excerpts from: Cataloging with AACR2 & MARC21 by Deborah Fritz

The other main enhancement to version 238, apart from the obvious interface update and the support of multiple views, is the support for 'filtering' the records in an edit session.

Filtering makes it possible for you to focus your work in an Edit session by selecting–using a variety of methods–only those records, or problems, that you want to look at.

Apart from the 'FindNext' function mentioned above, there are four additional ways to filter records in version 238:

• Brief message filter
• MARC Review filter
• TitleList filter
• Bookmarks

Click here to learn more about filters in version 238.