Import basics

Discover how to set up importing and which import data fields should be included in the data files you receive from your vendor.

 Note: You can automate file retrieval and import. See Automate file retrieval and import.

Set up importing

Before you can begin importing files, you must determine what type of files you want to import and work with your vendor to set up this feature. 

 Note: Importing files into WorldShare Acquisitions is free, but your vendors may charge for certain data delivery services.

Data you can import

There are three types of files you can import into WorldShare Acquisitions. The system accepts all file extensions.

The following types of data can be imported:

Data

Format

Description
Order MARC Order data contains information about items on orders you created using the vendor's website.
Order response data EDIFACT Order response data contains information on price, availability and shipping status of items previously ordered.
Invoice EDIFACT or MARC Invoice data contains invoice information about the items you ordered.
Shelf-ready EDIFACT or MARC Shelf-ready data contains the barcodes and call numbers of the items you ordered. You may receive shelf-ready data in the same MARC file as your invoice data.

 Note: Your vendor may provide invoice data in both MARC and EDIFACT. You will need to choose your preferred format.

Work with your vendor

After you have determined the type of data you want to import and when you want to import it, you must work with your vendor to set up your data files.

  • Your vendor must send data in the appropriate fields for MARC and EDIFACT files.
  • You are responsible for notifying your vendor.
  • If you are the first WorldShare Acquisitions library to import files from your vendor, you may also need to provide your vendor with the list of fields supported by WorldShare Acquisitions.

Make sure your vendor sends correct data fields

In order to import files, you must contact your vendor to make sure they can provide acquisitions data in the appropriate fields.

  • MARC fields must appear on a single line in the MARC file. For example, the 980 field should only have one entry with all the various supported subfields ($b, $c, $h) included in the line.
  • OCLC recommends the MARC fields be in order by number (e.g., 980, 981, 990, etc.)
  • Invoice and/or shelf-ready data can only be imported after:
    1. An order data file has been imported and the order has been placed in the system, and
    2. The vendor has sent you the file of shelf-ready and/or invoice data that matches the order.
  • Any invoice-level charges in the header of the EDIFACT invoice will be entered as non-bibliographic line items on the invoice.

 Note: 

  • To import invoice or shelf-ready data, make sure the vendor also includes a Vendor Order Item Number in 981 $z for each record in both the order data file and the invoice and/or shelf-ready data files. This is used for matching the invoice and/or shelf-ready data to the original order items.
  • If your vendor does not support this service, please contact OCLC Support  to request help with setting this feature up with your vendor.

Import data fields

The following tables outline the information that should be included in the data files you receive from your vendor. The data files must be set up by you and your vendor before you can import data files into WorldShare Acquisitions. You can provide your vendor with the information on this page to confirm they can supply you with the data in these fields.

MARC order data

The following information should be included in the MARC order data file you receive from your vendor.

 Note: If decimal points are not used, the system adds them at the end. For example, 56 becomes 56.

MARC order data - Table
MARC Element in Acquisitions Input type Description
035 $a OCLC Number OCLC number in this format: (OCoLC)1553114 The OCLC number is used to identify the bibliographic record in WorldCat that the order item is attached to. If you do not include an OCLC number, the system tries to find a matching record in WorldCat based on other values in the bibliographic record provided (e.g. title, author, ISBN).
949 $h Branch Integer User-entered value; represents the WorldCat Registry ID of the Home Branch Location of an item.
949 $l Shelving Location String User-entered value; represents the Shelving Location of the Home Branch Location of an item.
949 $p Fund Code String (Maximum: 40 characters) User-entered value representing the code of the fund used for encumbering.
949 $q Copy Quantity Integer (Maximum: 999) Number of copies ordered.
980 $b Unit Price Decimal (Maximum: 9,999.99) Cost for a single unit of an item. (Do not include tax or discount, if you plan to include these as percentages in the 980 $h or $i.)
980 $c Service Charges (per unit) Decimal (Maximum: 999.99) Service charges for a single unit of an item (e.g. $1.00 for Quantity of 5 equals $5.00).
980 $h Tax Percentage Decimal (Maximum: 100.000) Percentage of tax applied to price by vendor.
 

 Note: 

  • You can assign a percentage value up to three decimal places (e.g., 7.745%).
  • Percentage values with four decimal places will be rounded off to three decimal places (e.g., 7.7454% will be rounded to 7.745%).
  • By default, the percentage value has two decimal places unless a third decimal place is entered.
980 $i Discount Percentage Decimal (Maximum: 100.00) Percentage of discount applied to price by vendor.
980 $k ISBN Integer ISBN of item being ordered. Not used for matching. The bibliographic 020 field is used for matching.
980 $m ISSN Integer ISSN of item being ordered. Not used for matching. The bibliographic 022 field is used for matching.
980 $s Shipping and Handling (per unit) Decimal (Maximum: 999.99) Shipping and handling charges for a single unit.
980 $x Exchange Rate Decimal Exchange rate for the order, if currency is not the same as Library Currency.
980 $z Currency of PO ISO 4217 Three letter currency code ISO Currency Code - for Order
981 $a KB Collection Identifier String Identifier for the WorldCat knowledge base collection being ordered.
981 $b KB Title Identifier String Identifier for the WorldCat knowledge base title being ordered.
981 $g Account Number String Account or customer number, used by library for ordering and invoicing. (Also called "Subaccount")
981 $i Library Item Note String (Maximum: 256 characters) Notes provided for an item.
981 $l Order Name String (Maximum: 256 characters) Text string, representing name of order or cart.
981 $n Vendor Order Number String (Maximum: 256 characters) Internal number used to identify order by vendor. Provided to library for tracking purposes.
981 $v Vendor Note String (Maximum: 256 characters) Notes provided for an item by the vendor.
981 $x Library Order Comment String (Maximum: 256 characters) Comment on an order.

981 $z

Vendor Order Item Number

Required if importing invoice or shelf-ready data.

 String (Maximum: 256 characters) Unique identifier provided by a vendor for specific item ordered.

MARC invoice data

The following information should be included in the invoice data file you receive from your vendor.

 Note: If decimal points are not used, the system adds them at the end. For example, 56 becomes 56.

MARC invoice data - Table
MARC Element in Acquisitions Input type Description
981 $y WMS Order Item Number1 String (Maximum: 40 characters) Unique identifier assigned by WMS for a specific item ordered.
981 $z Vendor Order Item Number1 String (Maximum: 40 characters) Unique identifier provided by a vendor for a specific item ordered.
990 $b Unit Price Decimal (Maximum: 9,999.99) Cost for a single unit of an item. (Do not include tax or discount, if you plan to include these as percentages in the 980 $h or $i.)
990 $c Service Charges (per unit) Decimal (Maximum: 999.99) Service charges for a single unit of an item (e.g. $1.00 for Quantity of 5 equals $5.00).
990 $h Tax Percentage Decimal (Maximum: 100.000) Percentage of tax applied to price by vendor.
 

 Note: 

  • You can assign a percentage value up to three decimal places (e.g., 7.745%).
  • Percentage values with four decimal places will be rounded off to three decimal places (e.g., 7.7454% will be rounded to 7.745%).
  • By default, the percentage value has two decimal places unless a third decimal place is entered.
990 $i Discount Percentage Decimal (Maximum: 100.00) Percentage of discount applied to price by vendor.
990 $n Quantity Invoiced Integer (Maximum: 999) Total number of copies invoiced by your library for this Order Item.
990 $s Shipping and Handling (per unit) Decimal (Maximum: 999.99) Shipping and handling charges for a single unit.
990 $x Exchange Rate Decimal Exchange rate for the invoice, if currency is not the same as Library Currency. Used sparingly.
991 $f Invoice Date ISO 8601 date format Date invoice was created by Vendor. Use the YYYY-MM-DD format.
991 $m Invoice Number String (Maximum: 256 characters) Number used by vendor to identify a specific invoice.
1. Used to match invoice item to item ordered. If the invoice data file contains the WMS Order Item Number and the Vendor Order Item Number, the system will use the WMS Order Item Number as the match point.

EDIFACT invoice data

The following information should be included in the invoice data file you receive from your vendor.

 Note: Although the first column lists the WorldShare Acquisitions fields, the fields are listed in the order they occur in the EDIFACT file.

EDIFACT invoice data - Table
Element in Acquisitions EDIFACT field Description Example
Invoice number BGM

This is a required element and is used along with the Invoice Date to match to an existing invoice, or if no invoice is found, create a new invoice.

380 (invoice) and 38A (invoice for plans) are the only supported invoice types.

9 (original) and 43 (copy) are the only invoice functions supported.

Valid

BGM+380+inv122+43'

 

Invalid

BGM+381+inv521488'

BGM+380+inv665887+46'
Invoice date DTM

This is an optional but recommended element. It is used along with the Invoice Number to match to an existing invoice, or if no invoice is found, create a new invoice. Invoice date must be in CCYYMMDD format.

If this field is not present today’s date will be used for the Invoice Date.

137 (message date) is the only type supported.

Valid

DTM+137:20131029:102'

 

Invalid

DTM+131:20130911:102'

DTM+137:2013-09-11:102'
Currency CUX

Currency is an optional but recommended element. If provided, it must match an ISO 4217 three-alpha code. If not provided, the system will use the default currency of the Vendor.

2 (reference currency) is the only type supported.

Valid

CUX+2:EUR:4'

CUX+2:USD:4'

 

Invalid

CUX+2:EUR:10'
Invoice-level Discounts, Service Charges, and Shipping ALC (part of Header)

This is an optional element.

It must be a monetary amount and must occur in the EDIFACT Header, rather than the Summary.

If an allowance, it is entered as a non-bibliographic credit line item with a negative amount.

If a charge, it is entered as a non-bibliographic debit line item. The description of the item is determined by the special service code.

Valid

ALC+C++++BJ::28'

QTY+47:22'

MOA+8:140'

 

Invalid

ALC+C++++BJ::28'

QTY+47:22'

PCD+3:12.5:13'
Invoice-level Taxes TAX (part of Header)

This is an optional element.

It must be a monetary amount and must occur in the EDIFACT Header, rather than the Summary.

It is entered as a non-bibliographic debit line item.

Valid

TAX+7++++++'

MOA+124:10.5'

 

Invalid

TAX+7+VAT+++:::17.5+S'
Quantity QTY

This is a required element. The quantity must be equal to the quantity of not invoiced copies on the order item.

47 (invoice quantity) is the only type supported.

Valid

QTY+47:1'

QTY+47:3'

 

Invalid

QTY+1:1'
Unit Price PRI

This an optional but recommended element. If not provided, the price from the order item is used.

AAA (Net Price), AAB (Gross Price), and AAF (Information Price) are the only three types supported.

If multiple prices of different types are provided, then the price of type AAF will be used first, then the price of type AAA, then type AAB last.

When price of type AAA is used, item-level service charges, discounts, or shipping will not be processed.

When price of type AAF is used, item-level service charges, discounts, taxes, or shipping will not be processed.

When price of type AAB is used, item-level service charges, discounts, taxes, and shipping will be processed.

Valid

PRI+AAB:57

PRI+AAA:46.74

PRI+AAF:11.65'

 

Invalid

PRI+AAE:11.65'
Order Line Item Reference Identifier (for Matching) RFF

This is a required element and is used to match to an existing order item. It must be of type SLI or LI.

Type SLI will be matched to the Vendor Order Item Number, which is a Vendor-provided identifier for the line item on the Order. (This can be entered manually in the system or imported using a MARC file in the 981 $z field.)

Type LI will be matched to the Order Item Number, which is system-generated Identifier for the line item on the Order.

Valid

RFF+LI:PO-2014-1-1'

RFF+SLI:99954978355'

 

Invalid

RFF+SNA:954872665'

RFF+LBO:887458932'
Line-Level Taxes TAX (part of Detail)

This is an optional element.

Only percentage values are allowed.

 Note:

  • You can assign a percentage value up to three decimal places (e.g., 7.745%).
  • Percentage values with four decimal places will be rounded off to three decimal places (e.g., 7.7454% will be rounded to 7.745%).
  • By default, the percentage value has two decimal places unless a third decimal place is entered.

Valid

TAX+7++++:::17.5+S'

 

Invalid

TAX+7+VAT+++::::+S'

MOA+56:10.5'
Line-Level Discount, Service Charges, and Shipping ALC (part of Detail)

This is an optional element.

Only percentage values are allowed for Discounts or Allowances and must be contained in the PCD element.

Only monetary values are allowed for Service Charges and Shipping.

Whether a charge is considered a Service Charge or Shipping cost is determined by the special service code.

Valid

ALC+C++++BJ::28'

MOA+8:140'

ALC+A++++DI'

PCD+3:10'

 

Invalid

ALC+A++++DI'

MOA+8:140'

MARC shelf-ready data

The following information should be included in the shelf-ready data file you receive from your vendor.

MARC shelf-ready data - Table
MARC Element in Acquisitions Input type Description
959 $b Barcode String (Maximum: 32 characters) Barcode or piece designation.
959 $t Prefix String (Maximum: 25 characters) Prefix of call number (e.g. REF)
959 $u Class Number String (Maximum: 100 characters) Classification part of call number. (If you cannot separate call number into separate parts, include all parts in the class number.)
959 $v Cutter/Item Number String (Maximum: 25 characters) Cutter or item part of the call number.
959 $w Suffix String (Maximum: 25 characters) Suffix of call number (e.g. SPAN)
981 $y WMS Order Item Number1 String (Maximum: 40 characters) Unique identifier assigned by WMS for a specific item ordered.
981 $z Vendor Order Item Number1 String (Maximum: 40 characters) Unique identifier provided by a vendor for a specific item ordered.
1. Used to match invoice item to item ordered. If the invoice data file contains the WMS Order Item Number and the Vendor Order Item Number, the system will use the WMS Order Item Number as the match point.

EDIFACT shelf-ready data

The following information should be included in the shelf-ready data file you receive from your vendor.

 Note: Although the first column lists the WorldShare Acquisitions fields, the fields are listed in the order they occur in the EDIFACT file.

EDIFACT shelf-ready data - Table
Element in Acquisitions EDIFACT field Description Example
Order Response Message Type BGM 23C is the only supported order response message type. BGM+23C+777596001+2'
WMS Order Item Number RFF+LI Used to match the shelf-ready data to the appropriate order item in WMS.

Each item must be identified using either a WMS Order Item Number or a Vendor Order Item Number (see below).		 RFF+LI:PO-2020-1-1'
Vendor Order Item Number RFF+SLI Used to match the shelf-ready data to the appropriate order item in WMS.

Each item must be identified using either a Vendor Order Item Number or a WMS Order Item Number (see above).		 RFF+SLI:VOIN20200824abc-5'
Copy information GIR Each copy is represented by a number in a GIR segment. The number must be either a single 3-digit sequence (e.g., 001, 002, etc.) or the letter C followed by a number (e.g., C01, C02, etc.).
 

 Note:

  • You cannot import a shelf-ready item that has more copies (unique GIR segments) than you have copies in WMS that are available for receiving.
  • Available to receive copies are copies that have:
    • Order Status of Ordered (rather than Cancelled)
    • Receipt Status of Not Received or Returned.
 GIR+C01+0:LCO+BAR20200824abc_501:LAC+Schärding:LCL+Brunnenthal:LSM+35.99:LCV'

GIR+001+0:LCO+BAR20200824abc_501:LAC+Schärding:LCL+Brunnenthal:LSM+35.99:LCV'
Barcode LAC Each item barcode must be unique. You cannot import a barcode that duplicates an existing copy in the system. GIR+C01+0:LCO+BAR20200824abc_501:LAC+Schärding:LCL+Brunnenthal:LSM+35.99:LCV'
Classification Number LCL If you do not provide a classification number, but a value is transmitted in the LSM field, this value will be placed in the classification number field in WMS and all other parts of the call number (suffix and prefix).

This is because the LSM field is used to transmit the entire call number, including the prefix and the suffix.		 GIR+C04+0:LCO+BAR20200824abc_504:LAC+ClassNumber:LCL+München:LSM+35.99:LCV'
Call Number LSM Only imported if LCL is not provided. If imported, then Suffix and Prefix are ignored.  
Suffix LFS   GIR+C04+GARTHDEE.UNASSIGNED:LLO+GEN-RES-BOOKS:LFN+Reh:LFS+Uhu:LSQ'
Prefix LSQ
or
LSZ		 You must select which option you want to use. The default option is to not import the prefix at all.
 

 Note: OCLC recommends instructing your vendor to provide any prefix values in the LSQ or LSZ fields.

If they place prefix values in the LCL field instead, the prefix value will be placed in the classification number field in WMS, which will result in WorldShare reports that group by classification number grouping items by their prefix rather than their classification number.