Augmenting the Cataloger’s Bag of Tricks : Using MarcEdit, Python, and PyMARC for Batch-Processing MARC Records Generated From the Archivists’ Toolkit

Catalogers have traditionally created and edited MARC records on a one-by-one basis. Recently, it has become more common for catalogers to delve into scripting and programming tools in order to automate the processing of large numbers of records simultaneously. This article provides a case study showing how MARCXML archival records generated by the Archivists' Toolkit (AT) can be modified in batches using the MarcEdit software, Python scripting and the PyMARC module in Python. It analyzes selected problems with the MARC records exported by the AT and shows how MarcEdit and Python are used to resolve them so that the records are formatted correctly for loading into the library's local catalog. Similar methods could be used by catalogers dealing with any large set of MARC data, such as ebook records from vendors.