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Bibliographic Records vs Item Records in a Koha Migration

Understand the difference between bibliographic records and item records in a Koha migration, and why item data must be reviewed before import.

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Bibliographic Records vs Item Records in a Koha Migration

One of the most important migration concepts is the difference between bibliographic records and item records.

A bibliographic record describes the title. An item record describes a copy owned by the library.

If this distinction is unclear, a migration can produce records that look imported but cannot be circulated correctly.

Bibliographic records

A bibliographic record describes the intellectual or published work.

It may include:

  • title;
  • author;
  • edition;
  • publisher;
  • publication date;
  • ISBN;
  • subjects;
  • notes;
  • physical description;
  • language;
  • material type.

In MARC, this information appears in fields such as 020, 100, 245, 264, 300, 500, 650, and 700.

Item records

An item record describes the copy your library owns or manages.

It may include:

  • barcode;
  • branch;
  • shelving location;
  • item type;
  • call number;
  • copy number;
  • price;
  • circulation status;
  • lost, damaged, or withdrawn status.

A single bibliographic record can have multiple item records.

For example, a library may own five copies of the same book. There should usually be one bibliographic record and five item records.

Why this matters in Koha

Koha uses bibliographic records for catalogue description and item records for circulation.

If bibliographic records import but item records do not, staff may see the title but cannot circulate the copies correctly.

If each copy becomes a separate bibliographic record by mistake, the catalogue may be full of duplicates.

Common migration problems

One copy becomes one title record

This happens when a spreadsheet contains one row per item and the migration treats every row as a new bibliographic record.

Item data is missing

The source file may contain catalogue descriptions but no barcodes, branches, or item types.

Item fields are not mapped

Item data may exist in the export but not in the field Koha expects.

Branch and item type values do not match Koha

The source system may use “Main Library” while Koha expects a code such as MAIN.

Old statuses are unclear

Lost, withdrawn, damaged, or reference-only statuses may need mapping.

How to review your export

Ask:

  • Does the file contain item data?
  • Is there one row per title or one row per item?
  • How are multiple copies represented?
  • Which field or column contains barcodes?
  • Which field or column contains branch?
  • Which field or column contains item type?
  • Which field or column contains call number?
  • Are branch and item type values valid in Koha?

How MARCReady helps

MARCReady can help identify catalogue data and item-related data before import.

For MARC files, it can flag local fields that appear to contain item information.

For CSV, TSV, Excel, and JSON files, Kai can propose mappings for bibliographic and item columns.

You still need to review the mapping and confirm that destination Koha values are correct.

Best practice

Before full import:

  1. Choose a sample with multiple copies.
  2. Review the bibliographic record.
  3. Review the item data.
  4. Stage the sample in Koha.
  5. Confirm item counts.
  6. Check barcodes, branches, item types, and locations.
  7. Test checkout if using a test system.
  8. Correct mapping before full migration.

Next Steps

After Deployment
Post-Installation Setup
Recommended
Security Best Practices
Keep It Running
Monitoring & Maintenance

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