"ISBN pick" field questions

[Elizabeth Thomsen <et@xxxxxxxxxx>]

We have some questions about the ISBN pick field in acquisitions.  This 
is something that appeared in Phase 2, I believe, that lets you select 
an ISBN from a bib record and write it to the order record.  This is a 
major improvement for us.  As a consortia, we don't want people editing 
the bib record to rearrange the 020's.  Also, most of our libraries 
input brief bib records which we overlay with full cataloging, so the 
ISBN that was the first (or only) one in the bib record at the time they 
  input their order may not have been the first later, making it 
confusing   working with order records later, since you couldn't tell 
what ISBN had originally been sent.

So we're enthusiastic about the concept of ISBN Pick, but find the 
actual use of this field a little awkward.  We're hoping someone else 
has found a better way of dealing with this.

We put the ISBN pick field in all the templates for order records, 
because we always want the order record to contain the ISBN that was 
sent to the vendor.  But we'd like not to have it pop up in the wizard 
when it doesn't need to-- like when there is only one ISBN in the 
record, or when there's none.  Right now, it appears with a dropdown 
showing only one option (why bother?) or a dropdown showing no options 
(really why bother?)  If would be fine if it displayed the only ISBN so 
you could confirm it, but it shouldn't be a dropdown.  If there's none, 
it should also not be a dropdown.

Also, whether or not there are ISBNs in the record, when you get this 
field in the wizard, get the dropdown and click OK, you are left on the 
"Insert a nonMARC field" box, with the ISBN (if any) filled it.  But you 
can't edit this, or add one if there was none in the bib record.

Our last problem is in listing records from Create Lists.  The system 
adds a secord ISBN PICK field with subfield b for information on the 
date and time an order was sent...potentially a useful thing.  But we 
can't figure out how to list orders and include the ISBN Pick field (the 
real one) without also listing these order print messages.

Any suggestions?  None of these problems are preventing us from using 
this field, but we do so much training with so many different people 
that we wish we could set things up to make this work more smoothly and 
be less confusing.

-- 
Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager
NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange
Danvers MA 01923
et@xxxxxxxxxx