January 28, 2008

Database backup & NHU-PAC reloads

Last week NHAIS Services had a call from a library which had lost its catalog to a catastrophic computer failure. Local backup files helped restore the database up to a point but entries from recent months were missing. It isn't the first time we've had a call like this. We hope it never happens to you but keep in mind that, should you need it, NHAIS Services can provide a file of MARC records representing your NHU-PAC holdings. What we can give you, of course, is based on what you've told us you have in your collection. If you've been reliably adding NHU-PAC holdings for new acquisitions and deleting NHU-PAC holdings for discards, we should be able to give you a useful file.

For those libraries that submitted a request to reload their holdings so the NHU-PAC would be more or less in synch with their local databases, please be patient. Generally, we're finding about 20 percent of the data submitted for this process needs to be handled manually. For a collection of 15,000 items, that's 3,000 holdings that need to be matched up one by one. It's taken 4 years to make it through 38 percent of the reload requests submitted. Because many larger libraries were involved at the beginning of this project, that 38 percent of requests represents a much higher percentage of NHU-PAC holdings. This year we'll continue working with smaller libraries that submitted reload requests.

If you haven't submitted a reload request but are interested in doing so, you can find a copy of the form online. To be eligible, your library must be able to provide NHAIS Services with a file or files of MARC bibliographic records representing your collection, must be an ILL participant, and must be adding holdings for current acquisitions to the NHU-PAC.