About Workforms

A workform is a template that you use when you enter data to create a MARC record in Horizon’s database. Workforms display the basic fields and subfields for the most used tags for each record type. When you create a new MARC record using an existing workform, those basic tags, fields, and subfields display automatically. You can add other tags as you create a new MARC record. You can also leave some fields and subfields blank if you do not need them. Horizon removes empty fields and subfields from the record when you save the record or use the MARC reformat function.

By setting up a workform ahead of time, you can more easily remember which data you most likely need to enter when you create a certain type of record. (For example, a map workform might include tags for the geographic area covered, while a video recording workform might include tags for performer notes and playing time.)

You can create a basic workform for each general type of record that you want to create. These might include books, sound recordings, maps, and authorities. Some workforms come with Cataloging when Horizon is installed. You can create new workforms, or edit existing ones to suit your library’s needs. You can even create bibliographic (bib) workforms that have some data entered into certain subfields. This saves time and reduces typing errors if you need to catalog items that share a lot of the same data. (For example, if you are cataloging the Nancy Drew Mystery series, you could create a bib workform that includes the series name. It could also include the publication information if each of the books in the series that you are cataloging came from the same press.)

A workform has two ownerships. One specifies the owner of the workform and the other specifies the default ownership assigned to bib and authority records created from that workform. When you start to create an authority or bib record, Horizon displays a list of workforms to choose from. This list is filtered based on ownership, so you see only those workforms for which you have rights. If you need to use existing workforms that do not display in your list, see your system administrator to get rights for the appropriate ownership.

 


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