Resource Profile Records are a subset of the Master Metadata File (MMF). The MMF resides on the Ingres SQL server run by AcIS.

Ingres SQL = a type of SQL server, runs on Unix
SQL = Standard Query Language

1. DATABASE INPUT MECHANISMS

   1. Data is input to a Web form and saved to a file which passes through a batch intake job to enter the MMF. Note that the intake job is not immediate; it is a batch process.

   2. The Resource Profile Record data elements are based on the CU Metadata Data Dictionary.

   3. Not all the data needs to be input directly; some data elements are generated from values in the Resource Profile Record with boilerplate text, e.g., the "service availability" statement.

   4. Inputters must be members of the culerc permission group.

2. DATABASE MAINTENANCE MECHANISMS

   1. Modifications are input by displaying the Resource Profile Record Modify Screen, editing it as needed, and then submitting a new Record to overlay the existing one.

   2. It is not possible to submit more than one Resource Profile Record Modify Screen for a particular Record per batch processing cycle. If, by mistake, you submit more than one, only the data present on the most recent one will pass through the batch intake job.

   3. Deletions are input by displaying the Resource Profile Record Delete Screen and clicking on the Delete button.

   4. Inputters must be members of the culerc permission group.

3. DATABASE OUTPUT

   Batch jobs are used to generate HTML pages. In SQL terms, these are really just reports from the database:

   1. LibraryWeb
      1. Reference Tools & Indexes (RTI) Menu Pages
      2. Connect Screens

   2. SWIFT -- View/Modify/Delete Screens, for viewing and maintaining Resource Profile Records.

   3. NERG Report -- Selected fields only; this was a one-time report for generating pages for the Networked Electronic Resources Handbook. This report won't necessarily be updated.

1. CAUTION

   If you are creating a Resource Profile Record for a new electronic resource, the first thing you need is a mnemonic ID assigned by LSO. For your convenience, when possible, IDs are assigned as soon as LSO becomes aware of a proposed title; IDs are assigned at the same time that the title is added to the Networked Electronic Resources Tracking Information page on SWIFT.

   Please consult this page *before* beginning the Create a New Record process. We cannot change the mnemonic ID of an existing record, so the only way to get rid of a "bad" ID is to delete the record and start over.

2. GATHER DATA

   Review the fields in the Web form for creating a Resource Profile Record and assemble all of the data you will need. Here are some suggestions for sources of data:

   1. Publicity from vendor

   2. Information contained within the resource itself

   3. Existing Resource Profile Records for similar or related resources
      Display the View/Modify/Delete Screen and click on "V" to View.

   4. Existing LibraryWeb Reference Tools & Indexes Menus and Connect Screens for similar or related resources

   5. Examples of particular fields in existing Resource Profile Records

   6. CLIO record, if available

3. GET A MNEMONIC ID

   Look at the Networked Electronic Resources Tracking Information page to see if a mnemonic ID has already been assigned. If your resource is not present on the Tracking page, send email to cul-ner@columbia.edu to inform the NER Librarian that you are preparing to create a Resource Profile Record and to ask for a mnemonic ID.

4. FILL OUT THE WEB FORM

   Fill out the Web form for creating a Resource Profile Record. It will automatically be saved as a draft, and an email message will automatically be sent to LSO.

   Input Guidelines

   1. Please do not use any quotation marks or hard-carriage-returns in your records. The results are unpredictable at best; frequently they cause data to be lost.

   2. Sometimes, apostrophes are a problem. If they display strangely on the Connect Screens (e.g., as little boxes) use ' for an apostrophe, e.g., women's for women's.

   3. For a copyright symbol © use ©

   4. For an "at sign" @ use @

   5. For other symbols see the HTML Document Character Set.

   6. Keep in mind that the "big" free text fields are limited to 255 characters.

   7. Subject Keywords -- This field is supposed to contain a list of terms, separated by commas. You can't have connector words such as "including" and "and" -- the terms get put in alphabetical order by the program. Please don't use capital letters (except for proper names) or periods. Just terms and commas. Also, please do not use a period after what you think is the last keyword in the list. The reason: the batch intake job sorts the list of keywords alphabetically no matter how you input them.

   8. Subject Description -- This field is supposed to contain a narrative description of the subject. It is not a required field. If you are considering using it to simply record information which does not give an indication of subject and which is repeated elsewhere, it makes more sense to just leave it blank.

   9. Updated -- Input the periodicity of updating as an adverb ("quarterly"), not as a noun ("annual").

   10. LibraryWeb -- This field is where you put the URL for the resource itself. The vendor has to give it to you. Do not input any text such as "Reference Tools and Indexes." By the way, the program already knows that this is intended for RTI.

   11. Menu Label -- For menu labels, please do not capitalize the first letter of the first word. The reason: between the title and the menu label, a double hyphen is inserted by the RTI regen program.

       Also, for menu labels, please do not use a verb as the first word (such as "provides"). Just answer the question "what does this resource contain or consist of" by beginning with a noun such as statistics, full-text, citations, publications, articles, etc.

5. BATCH PROCESSING

   After you have input your record, LSO will then do the following:

   1. Run the batch intake job

   2. Review the draft, making edits as needed

   3. Notify you that the batch intake job has been run

   When you are ready, convert the draft to a final version.

   LSO will then do the following:

   1. Run the batch intake job and regenerate LibraryWeb's Reference Tools & Indexes pages

   2. Notify you that these batch jobs have been run

   3. Proofread the output in LibraryWeb's Reference Tools & Indexes pages

   4. Announce the availability of the new resource

1. Please do not modify URLs in any Resource Profile Records, including free and fee services, regardless of authentication method or type of URL. To request a URL change, please send email to cul-ner@columbia.edu

2. Display the View/Modify/Delete screen. This table contains entries for draft and final Resource Profile Records that have been processed by the batch intake job.

3. Click on "M" to Modify.

4. Edit the record as needed. If it is already a final version, you will probably want to keep it that way; draft versions do not appear in LibraryWeb.

5. Remember -- It is not possible to submit more than one Resource Profile Record Modify Screen for a particular Record per batch processing cycle. If, by mistake, you submit more than one, only the data present on the most recent one will pass through the batch intake job.

6. An email message will automatically be sent to LSO, in order to prompt a request that the batch intake job be run.

If you want to delete a Resource Profile Record, please request the deletion by sending email to cul-ner@columbia.edu

Although it is possible for you to delete the record yourself (via the MMF1 interface), please do not. This is because we do not have an automatic notification process in place for record deletions. Therefore, if you delete a record, LSO will not be aware of it.

We need to be kept informed of deletions so we can keep NERtrack up-to-date. Other considerations are related CLIO records and LWeb links. Keep in mind that when you delete a record, the corresponding CLIO record (if any) will become obsolete, and you might be breaking links on LWeb pages that cited your resource.