Update existing records in OPALS

If you are unsure about these instructions, check the OPALS documentation for assistance.

OPALS has different procedures for adding new records and updating existing records. If these are brand new records that are not already in OPALS, follow the Import New instructions.

Backup database

If your system is backed up regularly, you should not need to do an extra backup, but you need to make sure that you have access to the backup in case you need to start over.

Contact your IT department about how your system is backed up. If your system is not backed up regularly, see the OPALS documentation about the backup procedure.

Update Instructions

  1. Start OPALS
  2. Select Items and choose Import

    Import
  3. Click on the Browse… button and navigate to the MARC records
  4. Under Record type, choose the appropriate option
  5. Under Record source, choose Re-Import
  6. Under Character encoding scheme, choose MARC-8
  7. Under Import Option, choose Automatically merge
  8. Under Holding Import Option, choose Update
  9. Set the Lists and Additional Holdings Subfields options based upon your local policy
  10. Click on the Upload button.
  11. The upload will process. This may take several minutes. To check on the status of the process, refresh the Import page and the status will display “Done” when complete. You may navigate away from this page while the processing is running and return to check the status later.