Managing online save files in OCLC Connexion

Owned by Minna
Last updated: May 11, 2020
4 min read

Background

Each OCLC symbol has its own online bibliographic and authority save file and constant data. These files are shared by all who use the same symbol.
The maximum number of records in a save file is 9,999. Records saved in a save file will never expire. They must be deleted to remove them from the file.

There are different ways records can be deleted from the online save file:

  • You can select Delete Record from the Action menu, or press <Ctrl><Alt><D>
  • When you save a record from an online save file to a local file, Connexion prompts you to delete the record from the online save file.
  • A record is automatically deleted from the online save file after you produce or replace the record in WorldCat or update holdings (and when you close the save file after that).

Going forward, as more people will use the HUL online save files, ongoing maintenance of the files becomes even more important. The use of My Status is a key element in the ongoing maintenance.

My Status

Why use My Status

Using your name in My Status in all records you save in either the online save file or a shared local save file will ensure that both you and others will be able to find and recognize these records as yours.

How to set My Status for a record

To set My Status, open the record or select multiple records from a list. Then select Set Status from the Action menu, and fill in your name and check off the Save record box:

Any record brought in by an import process (i.e. CIP or vendor loads) will have an automatic My Status of blank. Therefore, you will have to manually add your name in My Status in these workflows.

When is a record's My Status set automatically?

The My Status value is applied automatically if

  • your OCLC client is set up correctly (See instructions on the wiki)
       and
  • your record is not imported into Connexion either singly or by batch

If the record was imported into Connexion, the My Status value is blank unless you set it manually.

How to set default My Status

From the Tools menu, select Options, and then open the My Status tab. Enter your full name in each of the boxes, then click on OK or press Enter. See screenshots at My status tab on the wiki page Connexion Configuration Settings.

Once the default value is saved, whenever you create a record in OCLC, or derive a record in OCLC, and save it to the online save file, your My Status will be automatically set.

How to find records by My Status

From the Cataloging menu, select Search, and then Online Save File. Write your name in the Search for box and select My Status from the pull-down menu next to it. Click on OK or press Enter.

The resulting list will include only those records where your name appears in My Status.

Note: Please use your own name when setting My Status.

Spring 2020 cleanup

When some of Harvard's symbols are consolidated, as part of the OCLC Data Sync Project, and those symbols are deleted, the online save files of the outgoing symbols will also be deleted. Before then, staff should

  • review their own records in its online save files (including those saved there by vendors on behalf of the unit),
  • delete any records that are not needed anymore, and
  • save records they need in a local save file.

Any records that are currently worked on and need to remain in the online save file for now, must have the cataloger's name in My Status. You can do this by selecting Set status from the Action menu and by entering your name in the Enter My Status Text box, then click OK or press Enter.

Staff who use online constant data should review and document it if they want to re-create them in the new symbol. Constant data records can also be saved to local file; please coordinate with other users of shared records before deleting them from the online file.

Ongoing maintenance

To keep the file clean prospectively:

  • HL staff need to always mark records with My Status as instructed above.
  • HL staff should routinely check for their own older records and clean them up when no longer needed.
  • Vendors need to be trained to also always enter My Status and to routinely clean up older records they saved in Harvard's Online Save Files.