Summary
Most library books are discovered through the library catalogue (ILS or OPAC.) Thus a key feature of desLibris is its integration with the OPAC through the MARC records we provide.
Any desLibris subscriber may order or obtain MARC records. For subscription or growing collections, new records are delivered monthly throughout the life of the subscription.
The key element in the record is the 856 field, which contains a link to the book url. This allows direct access from OPAC to online books.
MARC Policies
Unique identifiers:
- The 001 field is the key, providing the document identifier.
- The 028 field is designed to provide a second unique identifier in case 001 is appropriated by the ILS.
The 856 field, the url/link, is currently provided only in English. Francophone libraries may want to create a script to translate the $z phrase "An electronic book accessible through the World Wide Web; click to view."
MeSH and NLMC: Medical subject headings and National Library of Medicine (NLM) call numbers are provided to records prior to 2017 for medical materials.
Process and Timing
All materials are catalogued as electronic publications, without the earlier 533 describing the item as a reproduction. The 260 imprint is enhanced to describe the source of the electronic version:
In early 2017 automated MARC processing for Documents was implemented, so that Documents records appear as soon as the title appears in the online service.
More information here.
MARC Record Deletions
From time to time, titles may be removed from the desLibris subscription packages. When this happens the MARC record is removed from the current sets. On the delivery page are links which may be used to download sets of records which have been deleted for any reason since the record was initially distributed. These Zip files contain a csv list of control numbers and the MARC records affected.
These sets contain delete records for any title removed since the first desLibris subscriptions were licensed in 2014.
We have created separate books delete sets for libraries that took part in the 2008 CRKN purchase, since the CRKN libraries retain access to some titles that are no longer in the books subscription collection. Some libraries may hold additional titles that are also in the subscription collection, so may want to check the deletions set against their holdings.
Sample Records