Home → Cataloging Bibliographic Records → Managing Electronic Resource Records → Uploading Electronic Resources in Evergreen

14.4. Uploading Electronic Resources in Evergreen

Last Updated 05/20/2026

E-resources that are offered to the consortium as a whole, such as the NC KIDS Digital Library or through NC LIVE, as well as purchases through the E-inc and NC Digital consortia are uploaded by designated staff. Any supplemental e-resources purchased by an individual library system are uploaded by staff at that system following these best practices.

The 856 field:

• Bibliographic records for electronic resources (i.e. e-books, e-audiobooks, e-videos) that require authentication through another website should never have physical holdings attached; they should include an 856 field with $x link text showing the vendor/group (i.e. e-inc, ncdigital) for batch import of e-resources.

• Never delete 856 fields that include a link to an actual e-resource (e.g. e-book, e-audiobook, e-video) or other complete version of item*. Remember that bibliographic records belong to the consortium, so the link may not be for your library system.

  • *NOTE: some bibliographical records for physical holdings may have 856 links to full digital pdf versions of the print resource, in which case, the $x is not required. Do not delete these 856 field(s). Also, do not delete digitization request links for bibliographic records that include Government and Heritage Library holdings.

• Always delete 856 fields that are not a link to the actual resource, but only to supplemental material (e.g. table of contents, cover image, excerpt).

  • Some records may contain 856 fields with these supplemental links for anything from a table of contents to a thumbnail image. These links are sometimes broken and often do not stay up-to-date, so should be stripped out.

Importing E-resources

It is important to edit the e-resource MARC records provided by your vendor using MARCEdit or other software before importing into Evergreen:

• On each 856 field with a $u link to the resource, you must add a $9 for each library system that has access to the material. Otherwise, the patron will never see the link to the resource. Enter the Evergreen short code for your system or the consortium (CARDINAL) in the $9. This field is case and space sensitive, so make sure you use the correct short code for you system in all caps and there are no spaces before or after the text entry. You can find the short code for your system listed on the Holdings Maintenance screen in all caps before the colon. (The full library name is in mixed case after the colon.)

• Remove any 856 field that is a link to supplemental material identified by the $3, including Excerpt, Image, Thumbnail, etc. from the bib records before importing; these should never be retained as the extra links distract from the one(s) providing access to the actual resource and are frequently broken after a short period of time

• On each 856 field with a $u link, add a $x to create an identifying code for reports using this formula: vendor-short code. This field is not case sensitive, but you need to be consistent in order to effectively use reports to identify these records at a later date. Examples: $xnckids, $xncdl, $xeinc

• If your vendor records do not already include the $9 and $x information, you can use MarcEdit software to make these changes in batch before import. There are instructions on the Preparing E-resource MARC Records for Upload Using MarcEdit page. Otherwise, you must be sure to make these changes to each record after import.

Batch Import Configuration:

   1. Click on MARC Batch Import/Export in the middle of the splash screen. 

   2. Record Type = Defaults to Bibliographic Records.

   3. Create a New Upload Queue = Type in an appropriate name, one that is recognizable and unique. You could use some variation on the filename created above.

NOTE: If you accidentally skip this field, an unnamed queue is created for you by default. It appears as a blank line at the top of the drop-down list for Existing queues. Any new batches with no queue selected will be added to the unnamed queue.

   4. Record Match Set = Always use the default Cardinal match match set. If you believe you need a different match set, please contact the NC Cardinal team.

   5. Holdings Import Profile = This is not necessary when importing e-resources.

   6. Select a Record Source: Choose a record source. System Local or OCLC are appropriate in almost all cases.

   7. Merge/Overlay Profile: Please use the EBook merge/overlay profile. This will add the 856 field and the appropriate $9 and other changes you have made using MarcEdit software.

   8. Import Non-Matching Records = Check this box.

   9. Merge on Exact Matches (901c): Do NOT check this option. This option is only used when Evergreen records have been exported, edited, and then you wish to replace the EXACT record.

  10. Merge on Single Match: It is unnecessary to check this option if you check Merge on Best Match.

  11. Merge on Best Match: Check this box.

  12. File to Upload: Once you’ve created an Upload Queue and the appropriate Record Source, select the record file. The file should be a record or set of records you have saved in MARC format. Click the Browse button. The File Upload window opens. Use the Look In drop-down box to find the file you need if it is not displayed. When you have selected the MARC record file and it is displayed in the File Name box, click the Open button. The File Upload window will close and your file should be displayed in the “File to Upload” field.

  13. The Upload button transfers records from the import file to the CARDINAL server. Once the upload button is clicked, the screen displays “Uploading… Processing…” to indicate that the records are being transferred. A progress bar should display, showing the actual import progress.

  14. When the records have finished uploading, the Record Queue screen should display. If you selected Import Non-Matching Records, all new records and holdings should automatically be imported. Any records that duplicate existing records within NC Cardinal will be displayed in the import queue you created.

Review Queue:

Confirm all records were loaded or updated and have an associated TCN.  Conduct quality control by reviewing at least 2 bib records.

Investigate and correct any records with more than 1 match identified.  If needed, download queue as a .csv and share results.