Re: Adding text using global update [was: call number prefix]

[Elizabeth Thomsen <et@xxxxxxxxxx>]

You're welcome-- I didn't think it could be done, either until a few
months ago.  I was complaining about this at our office one day when
Christine Morgan of our staff said that of course it could be done, she 
had done it several times for various projects for our libraries, and 
showed me the trick.  This seems to be an undocumented feature, or perhaps 
an unintentional one.  But it works, which is all we care about, and I'm 
glad I had a chance to pass along the secret!


On Wed, 30 Apr 2003, Jackson, Richard wrote:

> Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing this.  I almost missed your second
> paragraph.
> 
> I had thought that it was impossible to append text to the end of a variable
> tag using global update.  That opinion seemed to be shared by others I
> talked to at IUG, including III staff, and an enhancement requesting this
> was the second highest vote getter last year for Cataloging/Database
> Maintenance.  Yet when I tried your method -- replacing nothing with the
> text you want to append -- it worked great, not just for call numbers but
> for any variable field.  I'm just sorry I didn't know about it sooner.
> Thanks again.
> 
> Richard V. Jackson
> Catalog Librarian / Database Manager
> Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
> 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, Calif. 91108
> (626) 405-2100 x2384   rjackson@xxxxxxxxxx
> 
> 
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: 	Elizabeth Thomsen [mailto:et@xxxxxxxxxx] 
> Sent:	Friday, April 25, 2003 3:20 PM
> To:	Innopac
> Subject:	Re: call number prefix
> 
> I'm assuming that your call numbers are MARC fields.  If so, it's easy to 
> add something to the beginning of the field using global update.  Just 
> search and replace |a with |aGen, or replace |a with |kGen|a if you want 
> the prefix to be in a separate subfield.  (Subfield k is a call number 
> subfield in our system, your may be configured differently.
> 
> It's also possible to add something to the end of a variable field.  Use 
> change variable field, specify the call number field, and don't put in any 
> data to replace.  In the replace line, put the suffix you want to add.  In 
> other words, you want to search for nothing and replace it with (Genealogy 
> Room) or whatever you want added to the end of the call numbers.  I don't 
> know why this works, but the system seems to decide that since it can't 
> find "nothing" it might as well just stick the data at the end of the 
> existing field.
> 
> I am writing this from the IUG, from memory, without access to Millennium, 
> and I'm explaining it badly, so please test out that second one on your 
> own system on a file of a few records to make sure it works.  (Preview 
> will show you what it's doing anyway.)  It works for us, anyway.
> 
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-- 
Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager
NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange
Danvers MA 01923
et@xxxxxxxxxx