KohaSupport has launched MARCReady, a new AI-assisted tool that helps libraries review, clean, and prepare MARC records before importing them into Koha.
Many libraries arrive at a Koha migration with records collected over many years from different systems, vendors, cataloging tools, union catalogs, Z39.50 searches, spreadsheets, and manual edits. The result is often a catalog that works technically, but contains inconsistencies that make migration, searching, and discovery harder than they need to be.
MARCReady was built to help libraries identify those issues earlier.
Instead of waiting until after import to discover problems in the catalog, libraries can upload record files, review detected issues, approve suggested repairs, and export cleaner records for Koha.
Built for Pre-Migration and Pre-Import Cleanup
MARCReady is designed for one of the most common pain points in Koha projects: preparing bibliographic data before it enters the system.
The tool supports common catalog and data formats, including MARC21, MARCXML, MRK, CSV, TSV, JSON, and Excel. This makes it useful not only for traditional MARC exports, but also for libraries working from spreadsheets, vendor files, legacy system exports, or mixed data sources.
Once a file is uploaded, MARCReady reviews the records and highlights issues that may affect import quality, display quality, or long-term catalog consistency.
What MARCReady Checks
MARCReady focuses on the kinds of record problems that often appear during Koha migrations and batch imports.
It can help identify issues such as missing or inconsistent control fields, incomplete publication data, problematic encoding, malformed fields, inconsistent indicators, missing standard numbers, and records that need normalization before import.
It can also assist with common MARC cleanup tasks such as:
- Standardizing field and subfield structure
- Improving consistency in publication and description fields
- Flagging records that may need cataloger review
- Preparing records for cleaner Koha import
- Supporting RDA-related cleanup workflows
- Exporting reviewed records for further use
MARCReady is not intended to replace professional cataloging judgment. Instead, it gives librarians and migration teams a faster way to find likely problems, review suggested changes, and reduce the amount of manual record cleanup needed before import.
Review Before Export
A key part of MARCReady is the review workflow.
Rather than silently changing records in the background, MARCReady shows the detected issues and suggested repairs so the library can decide what to accept. This is especially important for institutions with specialist collections, local cataloging rules, or records that require human judgment.
After review, the cleaned records can be exported and used as part of a Koha migration or import workflow.
Why This Matters for Koha Libraries
Clean MARC records make a visible difference in Koha.
Better-structured records improve search results, facets, record displays, staff workflows, and patron discovery. They also reduce the number of issues that need to be fixed after migration, when the library is already trying to train staff and go live.
For libraries migrating from a legacy ILS, MARCReady can help surface catalog problems before they become migration problems. For libraries already using Koha, it can support cleaner batch imports and better preparation of new record sets.
Who MARCReady Is For
MARCReady is especially useful for libraries that:
- Are preparing for a Koha migration
- Have records exported from an older ILS
- Import records from multiple vendors or cataloging sources
- Use Z39.50 or external record downloads regularly
- Have catalog data in spreadsheets or mixed formats
- Want to review record quality before a new OPAC launch
- Need a faster way to prepare MARC records without doing every check manually
Availability
MARCReady is now available from KohaSupport.
Libraries can upload a file and review a sample of records before committing to a larger cleanup workflow. For migration projects, MARCReady can also be used alongside KohaSupport’s Koha hosting, setup, and migration services.
For libraries planning a Koha migration, cleaning the records before import is one of the most practical ways to reduce surprises later. MARCReady gives libraries a simpler way to start that process.
We built MARCReady to fix that, automatically.
What MARCReady Does
MARCReady connects to your Koha catalog and runs a series of checks across your bibliographic data:
Duplicate detection — MARCReady compares ISBN, ISSN, title, and author data to identify likely duplicates. It presents them for review so you can merge or suppress records without losing holdings.
Authority heading normalization — Personal name, corporate name, and subject headings are checked against the Library of Congress authority file. MARCReady flags headings that don’t match and suggests the correct authorized form.
Field and subfield standardization — Common formatting inconsistencies (inconsistent capitalization, trailing punctuation, misused subfield codes) are caught and corrected in batch.
Encoding and character set issues — Records imported from legacy systems often have encoding artifacts — garbled diacritics, stray control characters. MARCReady identifies and corrects these automatically.
Why This Matters
A clean catalog is a faster catalog. When headings are standardized, facets work correctly. When duplicates are gone, patrons don’t see the same title listed twice with different holdings. When encoding is consistent, search ranking improves.
MARCReady runs against your live catalog without disrupting normal operations. You review a summary report, approve the changes you want applied, and we handle the rest.
Who It’s For
MARCReady is designed for libraries on the KohaSupport platform — particularly those that:
- Migrated to Koha from another ILS and inherited data quality issues
- Import records regularly from multiple sources (OCLC, Z39.50, vendor records)
- Have grown a catalog over many years without a dedicated cataloger
- Are preparing for a new OPAC launch and want the data to look its best
Getting Started
MARCReady is available as an add-on to Standard and Enterprise plans. To get started, book a demo — we’ll run an initial scan of your catalog at no charge and give you a data quality summary before you commit to anything.