880 MARC tag setup for non-roman characters

Non-Roman characters

Amlib has the ability to display alternative graphic representations of non-roman characters through Unicode. This means that MARC records imported from sources that include Alternative Graphic Representation of tags such as the title statement can have these characters display within NetOPACs. Any character that is encoded may not display correctly in the Amlib client/server modules but will still correctly display in all browser applications such as NetOPACs.

A way around non-compliance between library systems is the 880 MARC tag for Alternate Graphic Representation:

Setting up the 880 MARC tag

Before records can be downloaded containing Unicode compliant characters, the 880 Tag has to be inserted into the MARC Tag list within Amlib.

1. Launch the Amlib client
2. Go to Main > Authorities > MarcTags – the Marc Tags Within the System screen will display
3. Scroll through the list to see if the 880 | Alternative Graphic Representation (Unicode) Tag has already been added
4. If there is no 880 Tag, then click the F1 New button – a new entry will appear in the table
5. Enter the following details:
   • Tag No = 880
   • Tag Description = Alternative Graphic Representation
   • Can the Tag be repeated in a Catalogue (Y/N) = Y
   • Is the Tag an Authority that is only used in 1 Catalogue (Y/N) = Y
   • Keyword Search Code = <leave blank>
   • Default Catalogue Show Sequence = 88000
   • Allow Xrefs with these comma sep list = 880
6. Click the F3 Update button when complete

Setting up the subfields

The Subfields set for an 880 MARC Tag are slightly different to those set up in other tags. Because the 880 replicates other tags, each Subfield used in those tags must be set up. The most common tags to include are; a, b, c, d, e, h, p and v. This will allow the majority of Title, Author and Series Tags to be imported, in addition to any tag that uses those Subfields. If the library is to be importing records containing Alternate Graphic Representations, it may be prudent to contact your MARC record supplier to discover which Subfields should be set up.

When setting up a Subfield, the details should be as below. Once the Subfields are set up, Amlib will need to be restarted in order for the tag to take effect. The final subfield, subfield 6, is a linkage code and its set up is slightly unusual. Although it is repeatable, the tag is NOT used in the search key or MARC display.

1. Highlight the 880 | Alternative Graphic Representation (Unicode) Tag and click the F7 SubF button – the Tag Subfields screen will display
2. Click the F1 New button and enter the details as below:

   Subcampo	Subfield Description	Can be Repeated (Y/N)	Used in Search Key (Y/N)	Used in Marc Display (Y/N)	Create Keywords (Y/N)	Seq No
   a	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	10
   b	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	20
   c	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	30
   d	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	40
   e	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	50
   h	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	60
   p	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	70
   v	Unicode	Y	Y	Y	N	80

3. Repeat this process until all subfields are entered as above
4. Click the F3 Update button when complete
   

Setting up the $6 Subfield

Although Amlib does not store the $6 Subfield, it can be added to various tags so that Amlib sequences tags correctly. The $6 Subfield is used to link two tags together and can be used to link the 880 Tag to any other Tag. For example: if linking the title ‘Xiao shi de mi shi’ to its Chinese characters ‘消失的密室’, the $6 Subfield would need to be set up for the 245 | Title statement Tag and the 880 | Alternative Graphic Representation (Unicode) Tag.

Two examples of the $6 Subfield setup are shown below, first for an Authority and secondly for a non-Authority.

Importing Records

A normal MarcTakeup is performed for all records containing 880 tags. On the Import screen, when the records are viewed, the 880 Tag will contain a series of characters which look like meaningless information. The codes and numbers here represent the characters which Unicode uses to create the writing that will appear in the MARC view in NetOPACs. In the instance below, the $6 subfield of the 880 Tag has been used to indicate which Tag each instance represents.

Once imported properly you can view the catalogue in the MARC view of NetOPACs. The above record is shown below with the $6 Tag included (for display purposes). If you are importing in Version 5.1 or later, the Unicode characters will match based on the $6 subfields and be displayed below the transliterated information.

Non-Roman Characters

Due to the way Amlib currently handles Unicode, the characters themselves are not able to display within either the Amlib client program or the Amlib OPACs. A screen shot of the same Chinese record in the Cataloguing module of Amlib is available below.

Although each of the 880 fields appears to be fairly empty, double clicking on a line displays a box containing the code for each of the Unicode characters.