Where to get Resource Records

There is no such thing as a library without a collection of materials, and the next step in automating your library is to add resource records to your Surpass database. As with barcodes, you will handle this task differently depending if you are automating for the first time with Surpass, or if you are migrating from another automation system to Surpass.

Copy Cataloging

Surpass Cloud makes cataloging new library resoruces easy by taking advantage of the expertise of cataloging professionals at other libraries through the use of copy cataloging. Copy cataloging means to use another library's cataloging information as at least a starting point for your own.

Surpass Cloud can connect to hundreds of library's catalogs using a standard protocol, z39.50, used by larger libraries to make their cataloging data available to the public. One of the most popular for this is the United States Library of Congress and that is, by default, the first library searched. You can see the entire list of libraries and select the ones you want to search on the Settings : Resources : Cataloging Sources page.

When you're adding new resources in Resources View Page and select to Add New and either By ISBN or By Author and Title, you can then enter or scan and ISBN from a book, or enter an author and title to search other libraries for cataloging information. If there is more than one found, you select the one you like best. That cataloging information is then added to your Surpass system.

The fastest way to catalog resources that have ISBN barcodes (most books do) is to use the Resources : Quick Add feature.

Importing from Vendors

Most book vendors that specialize in providing services to libraries can provide MARC cataloging records for the items in your order.

In Surpass Cloud, MARC records from vendors and other sources can be imported on the Resources : Import page.

Adding Manually

In those cases where existing cataloging information is not available through either copy cataloging or importing, you can do your own cataloging. Surpass Cloud's cataloging templates hide most of the complexity of MARC records from you, making cataloging as easy as filling out a form. This is done using the Add New > Using Form feature on the Resources : View page. You can also, of course, perform detailed MARC record cataloging by using the Add New > Detailed MARC feature.

Migrating from Another System

In most cases, adding bibliographic records to Surpass from your previous automation system is as simple as exporting the records from your old system in MARC format, and then importing those records into Surpass on the Resources : Import page.

If you are migrating from another library automation to Surpass, then one thing you will definitely want to do before you import your MARC records into Surpass Cloud is to plan your categories (see Resource Categories). You may want to export the MARC records from your previous system into separate files based on which category they will be assigned to in Surpass, so they can be assigned to that category on import.

The reason for doing this is because it is very easy to assign a category to every record while importing, but it can be a very tedious chore to categorize your resources after the fact. For this reason, you'll want to have a plan and keep your categories in mind as you export records from your old system and import them into your new Surpass database.

If your previous automation system was not compliant with MARC standards, then you will likely need to have a custom data conversion done. You can find out more about this by contacting your Surpass representative.