MARConvert™ is the easiest way to convert MARC records!

OPEN-SOURCE NOW AVAILABLE Updated June 18, 2009. You may now download the source code and documentation for MARCView and MARConvert, free to the community under the Apache 2.0 license. Source code and documentation Documentation only (provided as ODT and PDF) We are working with an organization who wishes to sponsor the source code; this organization will be able to provide mechanisms such as a repository and listservs. We regret that we cannot provide these, but in the meantime, we offer the code and documentation. Please see the documentation for the tools required to work with the code. Please email any questions about the code and documentation to info@systemsplanning.com. We will do our best to help you. Background: After 16 years, we have decided to stop developing MARCView and MARConvert in order to focus on other projects. You may continue to order MARCView from our ecommerce site. Of course it will keep working forever, so this change will not reduce its value. Please see the Order Page for prices and links. We are no longer taking orders for MARConvert. We will continue to honor our support policies: For MARCView support is a non-issue -- it is so reliable that we have had only three support requests in 16 years. Even so, we will support the current release (3.12) for at least two years after your purchase. (Support for earlier releases has expired.) If you have a MARCView site license, the download file is no longer on our website but on our fulfillment service. Please email if you need to re-download. For MARConvert, support will be provided for five years after the initial delivery. All support is free. We thank all our clients for their business and suggestions over the years. Sixteen years is a long run! We will continue to provide ways to search and view MARC files through our MWeb Universal product.

MARConvert handles special problems or unusual requirements in converting records into or out of MARC21, UNIMARC, or MARCXML bibliographic or authority formats. It will also convert MARC records from one character set to another.

"Thanks again for your continued guidance and excellent product support!" Unsolicited comment from a MARConvert client

MARConvert is available only in custom versions, guaranteed to work with your specialized or non-standard data. We and our clients have converted millions of records using this software.

Database Integration

MARConvert can write to databases such as SQL Server. There are three ways the data can be loaded:

1. MARConvert converts MARC records to delimited-text files for you to load.
2. MARConvert produces delimited-text files and immediately loads them into the database using a third-party utility, such as BCP for SQL Server. One million MARC records can be converted and loaded in only 20 minutes.
3. MARConvert inserts directly into the database using ODBC without generating output files.

Formats

Since MARConvert is customized to your requirements, it can convert MARC records to or from any other format:

• Delimited ASCII files (using whatever delimiter you require)
• Tagged-text formats (in which each field is on a separate line preceded by the fieldname)
• Markup formats such as XML or HTML
• Relational tables or databases
• From MARC21 to UNIMARC or the reverse
• From MARC21 to MARCXML or the reverse

There is no limit to the number of records whether converting into or out of MARC. The size of the MARC file (whether converting into or out of MARC) is limited to 2 gigabytes (2,147,483,647 bytes, about 2 million average MARC records); if this is too small, multiple files can be converted in a single operation. Input files are unaffected by the conversion.

Character Encodings

Character encodings can be converted from anything to anything. Conversion can be based on the Leader byte 09 in each record (which indicates the MARC-8 or UTF-8 encoding) or another data element. MARConvert currently handles MARC-8, Latin-1, UTF-8, UNIMARC, and the character set used in the Library of Congress' MakrBrkr programs. Other conversions can be added to your requirements.

For both MARC-8 and UTF-8, conversions can include the entire MARC-8 repertoire of almost 17,000 characters, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, and Cyrillic. Both pre-composed and decomposed UTF-8 characters are converted.

Modes

MARConvert operates in two modes:

Main window showing interactive interface Click image for larger view

1. Interactive mode: An interactive Windows program in which you specify the file to convert and other options using a Windows interface. In this mode you also have all the features of MARCView™, so you can view, search, and print MARC21, UNIMARC, and MARCXML files.
2. Batch mode: MARConvert can be called from a batch program so you can integrate it with other programs. Or you can write a command file so numerous files can be converted quickly without having to select each one.

These two modes are combined into a single product.

Flexibility

For simpler conversions, MARConvert uses a plain-text Translation Table that specifies how records are converted. You can edit the table with Notepad to modify the conversion if your needs change. The Translation Tables provide flexibility to describe:

• How fields are combined and separated
• The separator used between the field label and the data, as well as the separator between records (separators may be more than one character and can include spaces, tabs, and line-feeds)
• How constant character strings are combined with record variables (data may be preceded, followed, or surrounded by any text)
• Subfields added to the MARC record either by default or only if a specified field is present in the source file

Complex conversions must be coded into the program and cannot be altered using the Translation Table.

Data Validation

We can validate or modify your data to your requirements, such as:

• Records combined or split during conversion
• Split output into multiple files
• Conversion that depends on relationships between records
• Values replaced or modified from authority files
• Code lookup and replacement
• Checking for invalid MARC record structure
• Checking for illegal characters in records
• Any other processing you can think of!

MARConvert is Fast!

MARCView typically converts 1,000 to 3,000 records per second, depending on the special processing required.

It Just Works!

We do the programming so you don't have to. You will not have to learn complex coding, write scripts, capture sequences of commands, download and install libraries, or anything like that. From the text-based Translation Tables to the easy interface, MARConvert is among the easiest MARC converters to use.

Conversions

MARConvert has been used to convert 100 million records since its origins in 1993. Here are some of the recent conversions:

• Conversion of MARC21 records into a specialized SQL Server database. MARConvert produces delimited-text files for the client to load in a separate process, as well as the option to load directly using ODBC. Character encoding is converted from MARC-8 to UTF-8.
• Daily conversion of one million MARC21 records into a specialized SQL Server database. MARConvert produces delimited-text files and immediately loads them into the database using BCP (Microsoft's bulk-loading utility). MARConvert performs the conversion and loading of one million records in under 20 minutes. Data is loaded using the MARC-8 encoding.
• Conversion of MARC21 records to a text format suitable for importing into a mainframe application.
• Lossless round-tripping of MARC21 records from UTF-8 to MARC-8 and back again. The conversions handle the entire MARC repertoire of almost 17,000 characters, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, and Cyrillic. Both pre-composed and decomposed UTF-8 characters are converted.
• Conversion of MARC21 records to UNIMARC.
• Conversion of MARC-8 records to UTF-8, and UTF-8 records to MARC-8, with customized error reporting. In both directions, the entire MARC-8 repertoire of almost 17,000 characters is handled, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, and Cyrillic. Both pre-composed and decomposed UTF-8 characters are converted.
• Conversion of Medline OVID records into MARC21 bibliographic records.
• Conversion of BASIS TechLib records into MARC21 bibliographic and holdings records.
• Conversion of MARC21 records from the UTF-8 character set to MARC-8.
• Conversion of MARC21 records to three tab-delimited files, suitable for loading into a relational database. Some data modifications based on values in the MARC records.
• Conversion of MARC21 records to blocked files of segmented records.
• Conversion of Amico records to MARC21.
• Conversion of MARC21 records from MARC-8 to UTF-8 character set.
• Export of MARC21 records to a unique format used by the Canadian Heritage Information Network. In addition to the format conversion, numerous fields have data transformations, such as date reformating, adding new fields based on certain values, and rearranging data from ISBD form to a different order. Extensive data validation is performed to check for mandatory fields, to check for correct values, and to check for correct relationships between values in different fields.

Clients

MARConvert has been used to convert 100 million records since its origins in 1993. Here are some of the recent clients:

• Art & Architecture Thesaurus
• ARTstor
• Auto-Graphics Canada
• Backstage Library Works
• Caterpillar Inc.
• Dawson Books
• FDI Solutions
• The Galway Library (Ireland)
• The Getty Conservation Institute Library
• The Getty Research Institute
• The H.W. Wilson Company
• King County [Washington] Library System
• LexisNexis
• The National Library of Medicine
• PastPerfect Software, Inc.
• Seattle Children's Hospital
• Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
• Thesaurus of Geographic Names

Support

Pricing includes free email support for five years after delivery. We strive to correct problems within 24 hours, often the same day. We retain the download file on our server for five years so you can reinstall it as needed.

License

View or print MARConvert license in PDF format

Payments

We are happy to accept purchase orders, checks, or credit cards. Please mail purchase orders and checks to the address shown below. Or request our fax number for purchase orders. For credit cards, please go to our fulfillment service at http://store.esellerate.net/s.aspx?s=STR8107076605 and purchase "MARConvert Payment". Each copy is worth ten U.S. dollars; for example, order 50 copies to pay $500.00.