Record Overlay Rules
Record overlay rules allow catalogers to protect specific MARC fields while editing and overlaying.
Within the Administration module, select Record overlay rules.
There are a few columns within these rules.
The columns Module, Filter, and Tag are used to define when your rules will be applied.
Module - source, user category, and user name
Filter - wildcard *, batch record modification, staff client marc editor, staged MARC import, z39.50
Tag - enter the MARC tag to which this rule will be applied
The columns Preset, Added, Appended, Removed, and Deleted are used to define what our rules are going to do.
Starting at the column, Preset, the dropdown gives us some options to protect, overwrite, add new, add and append, and protect from deletion. By choosing one of these presets, Koha will fill out the other columns - added, appended, removed, and deleted. There is one option in the Preset dropdown, Custom, which can allow users to create their own options for the other columns.
Each column, added, appended, removed, and deleted contain little "info" options that if you hover over the "i" circle, Koha will explain a bit about each of these options.
Here is a brief explanation of each of these options:
Add - add an entirely new MARC tag into the record that didn't previously exist
Append - add a new MARC tag, but where another MARC tag already existed
Remove - take away a tag, where there will be still one remaining
Delete - take away the last tag, and there will not be another tag
Each column, added, appended, removed, and deleted contain little "info" options that if you hover over the "i" circle, Koha will explain a bit about each of these options.
The columns Preset, Added, Appended, Removed, and Deleted are used to define what our rules are going to do.
Example Rules
A rule can be created to protect the 942 tag. To do this, set the module to Source. The Source option means the rule will only apply to the Batch Record Modification tool. This rule uses the * wildcard in the filter column, because most libraries would like to see this MARC tag never deleted, regardless of the cataloging process. Enter 942 into the tag field. Select the Protect preset to protect the field from being modified or deleted.
Rule Priority
If there are multiple rules that could potentially be applied to a record, Koha will determine the priority of the rules.
Koha will look at the rules and group them by Module and Filter. Koha will then look at each rule group, and identify any rules that are not using a wildcard. Preference will go to a non-wildcard rule first.
Next, Koha will rank the hierarchy by Module, so Username module will take precedence over a rule that is applying to a Patron Category or Source. The Patron Category will be next in the ranking and then the Source would be last.
A permission has been created specifically for this feature. It can be found in the Manage Koha system settings (Administration panel) (parameters) section and is called Manage MARC overlay rules configuration (manage_marc_overlay_rules).
Tutorial Video on Protecting MARC Fields:
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