Sonny Software

This is a problem which has been vexing me for a while: how to properly import references with Unicode characters from the LIbrary of Congress catalogue. Using the BE online search tool, the Unicode characters are not properly rendered, which I vaguely recall is due to the fact that the Z39 protocol does not handle Unicode properly. I therefore tried to use the instruments provided at the LOC website to display references in MARC-Unicode, copied the contents of the Safari window to clipboard and tried to do an import from clipboard into BE using the LOC import filter, but to no avail. I just get the message "No references imported".

Any other possibilities? I would really like to have the possibility to import such references in a non-manual way into BE as I rely heavily on them for my work.

Example of a reference (in Azerbaijanian) which I tried to import today:

http://lccn.loc.gov/2002443305

Hi,

First, you could import the record you linked to from the clipboard, but you'd of course have to make a new filter with new tags -- it is not a MARC record.

Second, z39.50 handles unicode just fine. It's the Library of Congress gateway that doesn't. So you can create your own LOC filter that uses z39.50. In fact, I have created such a filter, and I'll send it to you if you contact me directly (support@sonnysoftware.com).

Jon
Sonny Software

OK. I will write to you in a minute about this filter.

As for importing from clipboard, I just provided the permalink to identify the publication concerned. Clicking the option "View LC holdings for this title in the: LC Online Catalog" at the top of this record, the next window provides the option (at the bottom) to "Save, Print or Email Records". Setting the download format to MARC Unicode and hitting the Save-Print button brings up a window with the reference formatted in MARC. I copied the contents of this window to the clipboard and tried to import it into BE, but this results in a message "No references imported".

For several reasons. One is that there are no returns in the MARC output to separate lines. Second, you'd have to tell the Bookends filter how the record begins (in this case, (LC Control No.:" or perhaps "000" would do).

Jon
Sonny Software