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9.12. Appendix L: Merge/Overlay Profiles

Last Updated 04/03/2025

What do Merge/Overlay Profiles do?

Merge/overlay profiles using the MARC Batch Import/Export interface enable you to merge existing title records with imported records and specify which tags should be removed or preserved when you import MARC records into Evergreen. NC Cardinal has established several merge profiles for consortium use.  

Merge/Overlay Profiles

Only use merge/overlay profiles already created by NC Cardinal. Please contact NC Cardinal team if there is a specific use case for a different merge/overlay profile.

In most cases, Match-Only Merge is the appropriate merge/overlay profile to batch import bib records and/or holdings. There is background code built into Evergreen that specifies that any import using the Match-Only Merge profile (or any profile with the 901c in the Replace Specification field) will import only the new holdings if there is an existing record in the database that is determined to be a match, or bring in the new record and holdings if there is not (assuming that the Import Non-Matching Records box is checked).

If you are importing e-resources, please use the EBook merge/overlay profile. This will add the 856 field and the appropriate $9 that you have added using MARCEdit (please see Batch Import E-resources page for further recommendations).

The Full Overlay profile (or any profile with the 901c in the Preserve Specifications field) should be used rarely and with caution, as it will overlay the existing record with the newly imported matching record, based on the Match Set used. It is important not to overlay a full and complete record that already exists in the NC Cardinal catalog with a vendor record of unknown quality without first evaluating the existing matching record(s). The record retained should align with NC Cardinal best practices. It is also important to compare and evaluate if there are more than one matching records, as it may also be necessary to merge and/or edit those records.

To merge or overlay an incoming record with an existing Cardinal title record, one must specify which fields and subfields to preserve, which ones to remove, which ones to add, and which ones to replace. Below is a brief explanation of this process:

• Preserve - When fields are preserved, the MARC tags in the current NC Cardinal Title record, for example local subjects, are kept and not overwritten. No information is lost.
• Replace – When fields are replaced, existing information within NC Cardinal is lost for that title record. For example, the 500 tag in your incoming title record overwrites the existing information in the 500 tag.
• Add – When fields are added, a tag is created in addition to what currently exists within NC Cardinal. The tag must be a repeatable tag. For example, the 500 tag in your incoming record would be added to the list of existing 500 tags in the NC Cardinal Title record.
• Remove - When fields are specified to be “removed,” the incoming MARC record does not transfer a field’s information into the matching Cardinal title record. For example, if your vendor record contains a tag that you don’t want to appear in your catalog record, you can specify that tag in the Remove Specification field.

Merge/overlay profiles can be set up to completely replace an existing record within NC Cardinal. If 000 is entered in the Preserve Column, any imported record overlays the existing NC Cardinal record completely.