Resolving a MARC Record Error

At the time of import, Horizon checks that all incoming records are in MARC format. Occasionally Horizon reports errors in the leader, which includes the first 24 characters of the record. Each position has an assigned meaning. (For more information, see Library of Congress publications about MARC, or visit the Library of Congress web site at http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/.)

Here is an example of a bib record in MARC format showing where errors might occur:

 

Depending on how your word processor imports the characters, the marks between MARC fields may display differently than in this example.

This table explains errors that may occur in each position:

Position

Description of errors

Leader

(positions 00‑23)

If the record you imported contains less than 24 positions or does not contain a leader, Horizon displays this error message: “Record length is less than minimum record size.”

Record length

(positions 00‑04)

If the record you imported contains non‑numeric characters in these positions, Horizon displays this error message: “MARC record length field non‑numeric.”

If the record you imported contains fewer bytes than the first five positions indicate, Horizon displays this error message: “End of file reached before end of MARC record.”

Record status

(position 05)

If the record you imported contains a numeric character or a character that is not MARC‑defined, Horizon displays an error message.

Base address

(positions 12‑16)

If the record you imported contains a number in this section of the leader that does not match the actual position of the first character of the first MARC field, Horizon displays this error message: “Base offset is not numeric. Base offset is not correct.”

Record delimiter

(end of record)

If the record you imported does not end with a record delimiter, Horizon displays this error message: “MARC record does not end with record delimiter.”

To resolve a MARC record error, you must either get a new record from the vendor or edit the record in Notepad so that it is correct according to MARC standards. Then save and import the record. (For more information about editing a file in Notepad, see your Notepad documentation.)

If you make changes to the file in Notepad or in another word‑processing program, be sure that you make changes that are accurate and in the right positions. Follow these guidelines:

Do not delete necessary characters or add unnecessary characters.

Make sure that you save the file with the same file name—do not let Notepad add “.txt” to the file name. (For example, if the file name is “123.dat,” make sure that when you save the file after making your changes, Notepad does not name it “123.dat.txt.”) If Notepad saves the file with a .txt extension, rename the file back to the original name in Windows Explorer. (For instructions, see your Windows Explorer documentation.)

 


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