1. Creative Create Lists Elizabeth B. Thomsen Member Services Manager
North of Boston Library Exchange

2. Create Lists: What is it?
Program that brings together a file of records that have something in common
Searches data stored in the records
Creates a file of record numbers
Records met the search conditions at the time the search was run
Viewing, listing, etc., shows you current info

3. Create Lists: Why? Statistics– how many?
Delete or update records as a batch
Work on a group of records individually
Produce a list: Print, , send to script to make web page, export to Access or Excel, etc.

4. Starting a Search Select a review file Name the file
Choose the type of record
Choose the range for the search

5. Searching: Type of Records
What records do you want in your file?
For statements, you need patrons; for global update, you need the records you’re updating; for item call numbers, you need items, etc.

6. The Law of One Hop
You can always work with data in the selected record type, and records that are directly linked to it. This applies to searching, sorting, listing and exporting.
Items are linked to bibs; orders are linked to bibs; orders are not linked to items
Patrons are linked to items; bibs are linked to items; patrons are not linked to bibs

7. Record Links

8. Range for Searching Which records does the system have to examine?
This is one of the most important decisions you make when you set up your search
The fewer the records that have to be examined; the faster the search!
Upstairs/Downstairs : Different logic

9. Range of Record Numbers
By default, the system wants to search every record in the database. If your logins are scoped, you have the option to search a scoped range. (For NOBLE, logins are scoped to the library.)

10. Using a Review File as a Range

11. Call Number Index
The call number index is handy for shelflist reports.

12. Call Number Index
The call number index can also be used to get books on a specific topic.

13. Author Index
The author index is fast and easy to use. Note that the author index may include added author fields.

14. Subject Index
The subject index is handy – just remember to dedupe!

15. Advanced Sounds difficult, actually easy Advanced keyword indexes
Use all the tricks here: contexts, truncation, Boolean operators, etc.

16. Advanced Keyword Index

17. Search Conditions
Many Create Lists problems are the result of not understanding the data
Plan for Create Lists by using data in consistent formats
Consider adding new variable fields to records

18. Search Condition: Equals, Does Not Equal
Data must match exactly
Good with fixed fields to match codes
Also useful to search for the absence or presence of variable fields

19. Absence of a Field
Enter the field name, choose equals, and leave the field blank.

20. Presence of a Field
Enter the field name, choose does not equal, and leave the field blank.

21. Search Condition: Has
HAS searches for a string of characters anywhere in a field.
Punctuation must be included
MARC subfield delimiters need to be included in search if they fall within the string to be searched.

22. Search Condition HAS Example:
Searching within the call number

23. Search Condition HAS Example:
Note the subfield delimiters.

24. Search Condition: Greater Than; Less Than
Mostly used for money and dates
Watch out for blanks and zeroes

25. Matches: Unix Regular Expressions
Pattern matching; much more flexible than searching for a specific string
Can be incredibly complicated
Learning just a few simple tricks can be useful
Richard Jackson’s handout is invaluable!

26. Matching a Single Character
The period matches any single character
Two or more characters within brackets matches any of those characters [aeiou]
You can use ranges of digits or letters within brackets [1-4]
The carat within brackets means NOT these characters [^0-9]

27. Matching a Single Character
Matches location codes that begin with BE and end with A, no matter what’s in the third position.

28. .* The Wildcard Gone Wild .*
Wildcard: the period matches any single character
The asterisk after any character means it may be repeated 0 or more times.
Put them together and you have .* which means “maybe some stuff in between.”

29. The Wildcard Gone Wild Example
Matches any of the following:
African American actors|vBiography
African American inventors
|zMassachusetts|zLynn|vBiography.
African Americans|xBiography

30. Working with Bibs, Items and Orders
You can do just about anything you have authorization to do
Add, edit or delete records
View summary and edit attached records
Add holds
View the public display

36. Setting Up the Amazon Link
In Settings, turn on the option to Show Book Jacket

37. Setting Up the Amazon Link
In MilAcq, Choose Web Links to set up Amazon link

39. Removing Records from a Review File

40. Sorting Sort different ways, look at the top and bottom of the list
Check the middle record for the median
If sorting by a repeatable field, sorting can increase the number of records in the file by adding duplicates
Consider exporting or listing a single field, with the numbering turned on

41. Appending Records to a Review File
Appending lets you do another search, putting the new records into an existing review file.
Good for taking a “layered” approach to searching
Even more useful now that we have deduping
Use Append to merge two review file:
Merging files

42. Adding Records to a Review File
Instead of letting you do a new Boolean search, the Add option lets you do regular Millennium searching to select records to your review file.
You have to start with a review file with at least one item in it.

43. The Label Queue Trick
You can bypass Create Lists and create a review file by selecting individual items and saving them to the label queue.
Go into Create Lists, select an empty file, and click on Copy. Scroll down to the bottom of the list to find your review file.
One label queue per login

44. Label Queue Trick

45. Label Queue Trick

46. Listing Records Can list fields from any linked records
Can list by field group tag or MARC tag
(245|ab is often a better way to list titles)
Turn on the numbering option if you want to go back to the file– but remember to remove records from the bottom up!

47. Exporting Records Choose fields as you would for listing
Choose field delimiters
Exports to a file on your own PC; import into Word, Excel, etc.

48. Sample Searches
Sample Searches

49. Beyond Millennium
Telnet version works well for scripting, and has two important features lacking in Millennium: Limit to a subset, and Printing full records
Telnet staff catalog can also be used to produce review files: Spellmaster

50. Automate Your Systems Just schedule it Function Keys : Sample Macros
Saved searches
Scripts : telnet, Expect, etc., using the telnet version of Create Lists
AutoIt : Using Auto It

51. Working with Output
Reportster : Automating the process of getting data into Microsoft Access to produce standard reports
Booklist Scripts : We use Perl scripts with an gateway to create booklists linked to the catalog

52. Elizabeth B. Thomsen Member Services Manager
NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange
NOBLE Swapshop