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Automatic MARC Record Repair is the first stage of record cleanup and is done automatically by the program. As records are imported into MARC Magician, it automatically checks them for structural accuracy and corrects all ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description) punctuation, GMD (General Materials Designation), more than 90 different non-filing indicators (a, an, the, los, las, etc.), and invalid control fields and codes (007 and 008). The user can also set the automatic record-repair options to fix additional types of errors during import.
Active Error Checking lets the user define what sorts of errors and omissions in the database should be reported. For example, the user might want to be warned about records with no page count, no publication date, or a title in all uppercase letters. The program immediately shows whether each imported record meets the user’s criteria and what needs to be done to fix it. This feature can help ensure that the MARC records meet the library, district, regional, or statewide union catalog standards.
MARC Magician also offers 16 different commands to make global changes to both bibliographic and holdings data. The user can change and update subject headings, change one field to another, fix capitalization, modify holdings information, add or change control field codes, add entire fields and subfields with text, delete fields and subfields, and correct records that were cataloged using the wrong format. The Advanced Only When feature allows the user to make changes only when a specific condition is present.
In addition to record-cleanup functions, MARC Magician provides a user-friendly approach to original cataloging, according to the announcement. The program automatically creates MARC tags, indicators, subfield codes, GMD, and control fields (Leader, 006, 007, and 008), and handles all ISBD punctuation and non-filing indicators. The program guides the user with English prompts, AACR2 rule numbers, and on-screen tips and examples for most fields and subfields. It also has a built-in spell-checker with American English, British English, French, and Spanish dictionaries, and it supports the complete MARC character set.
MARC Magician comes with 23 cataloging templates, each of which can be further customized to meet the individual library’s needs. Users can create their own custom templates to include common text, control field values, and holdings information that should appear in like material. Custom templates can be transferred from one library to another and can be shared throughout the district, region, or state.
Source: MITINET/marc Software, Mad-ison, WI, 800/824-6272; http://www.mitinet.com.
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