Create and edit packages

Searching a package

Use the Packages menu item on the left menu bar for the search of packages. You can search or filter curatory groups, names of the packages, provider identifier and status of the package. Select a package from the result list and you will get a detailed view of the package. If the package is assigned to your curatory group, you can edit it.

Screenshot of the GOKB page with search results for the package search.

Create a package

The creation and editing of packages are done via web forms.

  • Create a new package via Create Package.
  • To edit an existing package, search for it via Packages and select the package from the result list.

Both screens have largely identical steps. Only the Summary step appears as step 1 in Edit Package and as the last step 4 in Create Package.

Step 1: General information

Add some general information for the package like name, provider and platform.

Screenshot of the GOKB website where packages can be created. The menu item Create package is framed in red.
  • Name: The official name of the package under which it is offered according to the provider. If you want to add data to an existing package, enter the exact name of the package in Search field. See guidelines for naming packages.
  • URL: Add the URL of the website of the package provider.
  • Provider: Select the provider of the package here. You can find the provider via a suggestion list if you enter the name or part of the provider name in the text field. See instructions for creating the provider.
  • Platform: Select the platform of the package here. You can find the platform via a suggestion list by entering the name or a part of the platform name or the platform URL into the search fields. See instructions for creating a platform.

Finish this step by selecting the Next button.

Step 2: Package properties

Add information about the package, identifiers, name and variants.

Screenshot of the GOKB page on which the properties of a package can be entered.
  • Package type (Scope): specify the package type
    • Front File: a current package
    • Archive package (Back File): An archived package
    • Aggregator package
    • Master File: A complete list of all resources offered by a provider
  • Content type: specify the type of titles in the package
    • Book
    • Database
    • Journal
    • Mixed
  • Restriction: Define if the package is offered worldwide (Global), regionally (Regional) or is specifically tailored to a consortia (Consortial) or a single institution (Local). If there is a restriction like Regional, Consortial or Local, you can specify this restriction in the text field. Please follow the guidelines for package titles.
  • Package characteristics: Here you can specify characteristics of a package.
    • Content is consistent: Does the package have the same content for all licensing libraries? – Yes if the content is the same for every library. No (default) if the content differs from library to library.
    • Content may be split: Can an individual title selection be made from the package, e.g. on the basis of pick and choose? – Yes if single title selection is possible. No (default) if single title selection is not possible.
    • Content is fixed: Can the content of the package change, i.e. can titles be added or removed over time? – Yes if the content remains fixed. No (default) if the content changes.
  • Identifiers: Add unique identifiers for the package. Select a Namespace for the identifier and enter the corresponding identifier.
    • Internal identifier: If the package has an identifier of the provider itself, please select the namespace of the provider in the drop-down and enter the internal package identifier. This is important for later referencing.
    • ISIL/Package Label: Official product label from the German ISIL agency. You may find it at https://sigel.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/en/suche/. Please be sure to include the correct vendor package ISIL. The German ISIL Agency also issues ISIL for packages of alliance, national or consortia licenses. You should only add one ISIL referencing the packages.
  • Name variants: Abbreviations or alternative name variants. This is recommended for common and well-known name variants that are not included in the official name. Name variants can be searched. Please note that the alternative name is a variant of the package name and not a variant of the provider name.
  • Editing and List Status: In editing mode (not in creating mode) you can change the editing and list status of the package.
    • Editing Status: Here you can set the status to Approved as soon as you have entered all necessary metadata of the package. The default value is In progress.
    • List Status: Here you can set the status to Checked as soon as the package title list is correct and checked. The default value is In progress. You can’t change the list status as long as there are open review requests appending to the package. The list status is important for importing into third-party systems such as FOLIO, because packages without the status Checked will not be taken over. Furthermore, after the status is changed to Checked, the respective date is automatically displayed in Last list verification. This allows users of the package to see when it was last intellectually processed.

Finish this step by selecting the Next button.

Package titles

You can import a KBART file (see Uploading a KBART file) here and add individual package titles. This view corresponds to the view of step 4 in Edit package.

Screenshots from the GOKB page where information on package titles can be entered.

If you have already uploaded package titles (so if you are now in step 4 of Edit package), you will see an overview of all titles included in the package with the date of the last update at this point.

Screenshot von der GOKB-Seite, auf der eine Übersicht der Titel eines Pakets gezeigt wird.
  • You can search for titles using the search field in header.
  • You can filter titles using the Status selection drop-down menu, e.g. only current, retired or deleted titles.

Select a title from the list to get detailed information for it.

In the title overview as well as on each step in the Edit package mode, the date of the creation of the package and the date of the last update to the package data are displayed at the bottom of the page. The date of the update is important for third-party systems that retrieve data based on the last update (such as via the OAI-PMH interface).

Uploading a KBART file

Uploading package title via KBART files can be very time consuming. Therefore, you will not see the result in real time. After selecting the KBART file or setting the automatic import, finish editing the package. You will be informed about the titles import status via the Dashboard.

1. Manual loading of a KBART file

You can load a KBART file by selecting the KBART Import button. A pop-up window opens, please enter:

  • Select a KBART file from your hard disk.
  • Namespace for title_id: Please select the namespace of the identifier located in the file under the column title_id.

In addition, you can choose between various import options:

  • Partial Update: If you select this field, the contents of the package will not be completely updated, but only the titles from the KBART file will be added. However, make sure that the structure of the list is the same, including the same namespace under title_id.
  • Delete removed titles: If you check this box package titles that are no longer included in the new KBART file will be marked as deleted in the existing package.
  • Dry Run: If you check this box, the KBART file will only be processed as a test run.

The two options Partial Update and Delete removed titles are related to each other as follows:

  • Partial Update = no, Delete removed titles = no > The status of the currently available package titles that are not contained in the KBART file is set to ‘retired’.
  • Partial Update = no, Delete removed titles = yes > The status of the currently existing package titles that are not contained in the KBART file is set to deleted.

If you select Partial Update, the option Delete removed titles is ignored. It therefore makes no sense to link the two options:

  • Partial Update = yes, Delete removed titles = no > The status of the currently existing package titles is not changed. Only the titles from the KBART file are added.
  • Partial Update = yes, Delete removed titles = yes > The status of the currently existing package titles is not changed. Only the titles from the KBART file are added.

After uploading the file, you will get statistics on validation errors. If necessary the KBART file has to be corrected manually and reloaded.

2. Automatic loading of a KBART file via URL

  • URL: URL of the KBART file. The URL must link directly to the KBART file. If the URL contains dates (e.g., http://example.org/kbart/examplepackage_2020-10-01.txt), you must add the path parameter as variables (https://example.org/kbart/examplepackage_{YYYY-MM-DD}.txt). The variables have to be capitals, lower case letters won’t work:
    • Round brackets {} for the time variable part
    • Y for the digits of the year
    • M for the digits of the month number
    • D for the digits of the day number
  • Update cycle: The timespan package for updates.
  • Namespace for title_id: Please select the namespace of the identifier located in the file under the column title_id.

Namespace for title_id values

KBART allows different identifiers for title_id column. Select the corresponding namespace for the KBART file. For updates of the package this is important, please specify the correct namespace.

Step 4: Summary

Summary of the selected settings. The curatory group you selected will be added automatically.

Screenshot of the GOKB page showing the summary of information for a created package.