Patron load

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Learn how to assemble a patron load file and load patron records for customers using the Hosted Service in Relais ILL.

Patron records can be added through the Patron Load for Hosted Customers. To use this option, you must create a file of patron records by extracting them from your local library system. This XML file must conform to a pre-defined format.

When records are loaded from the XML file:

If a patron record does not already exist, it is added following the pre-defined format.
If a patron record already exists, then
- the values for any XML tags provided are used to replace any existing values in the record, including null.
- for any XML tags not provided in the file, the values in the patron record do not change.

When a patron exists in Relais, but there is no corresponding record in the XML file, then no changes are made to the patron record.

Patron load file layout

View a sample XML file of records for Patron Load.

Save the file with encoding set to UTF-8 and not ANSI.

Root	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Data Type	Notes
UserInformation
	Version				String(3)	Must be "1.0"
	PatronRecord
		PatronID			String(20)	Convert to Uppercase
		PatronName
			Surname		String(26)	Convert to Uppercase
			GivenName		String(25)	Convert to Uppercase
		LibrarySymbol			String(25)	Lookup Library ID in ID_Library
		PatronActive			String(1)	"Y" or "N" - Default = "Y"
		PatronType			String	Requires mapping to Relais codes
		ContactPhone1			String(25)
		ContactPhone2			String(25)
		Department				Add if not registered
			DepartmentCode		String	Requires mapping to Relais codes
			DepartmentDesc		String(50)
		Branch				Add if not registered
			BranchCode		String	Requires mapping to Relais codes
			BranchDesc		String(50)
		PrimaryAddress
			Address1		String(70)
			Address2		String(70)
			City		String(40)
			Province		String(20)	Province or State
			State		String(20)	Province or State
			Country		String(35)
			PostalCode		String(15)	Postal Code or Zip Code
			ZipCode		String(15)	Postal Code or Zip Code
		BillingInformation
			BillingType		String(1)	Requires mapping to Relais codes
			BillingRate		String(1)	Requires mapping to Relais codes
			BillingAddress
				BillAddress1	String(70)
				BillAddress2	String(70)
				BillCity	String(40)
				BillProvince	String(20)	Province or State
				BillState	String(20)	Province or State
				BillCountry	String(35)
				BillPostalCode	String(15)	Postal Code or Zip Code
				BillZipCode	String(15)	Postal Code or Zip Code
			BillingContact
				ContactName	String(50)
				ContactPhone	String(25)
				ContactFax	String(25)
			AccountNumber		String(20)
		ElectronicDelivery
			FileFormat		String(1)	(P)DF or (T)iff Default = "P"
			DeliveryMethod		String(1)	Default = "M"
			DeliverySpecific
				DeliveryFax	String(25)
				DeliveryEmail	String(80)
			MessagingMethod		String(1)	Default = "M"
			MessagingSpecific
				MessagingFax	String(25)
				MessagingEmail	String(80)
			PickupLocation		String(50)	Requires mapping to Relais codes
			DeliveryService		String(9)
			ArielAddress		String(80)
			DocviewAddress		String(80)
		UserLogin
			LoginID		String(20)
			LoginPassword		String(20)
		LoanCode			String(1)	Requires mapping to Relais codes
		StatsCategory			String(1)	Requires mapping to Relais codes
		Quota			Integer
		LastModified			DateTime	yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

Notes

Fields in bold are required. PatronID and LibrarySymbol are mandatory. Surname, LoginID and LoginPassword are only required if you are sending the PatronName and/or a UserLogin information to be loaded.

The following characters should be escaped, when present in the VALUE of an XML element or attribute.

Original Character	Escaped Version
'	'
"	"
&	&
<	<
>	>

For Branch and Department, you may supply the code and description pair with a mapping to the corresponding Relais code or the description by itself and Relais will lookup the code. If the description is supplied without the code and the lookup fails, Relais will generate a code and register the description.

The Relais Update Patron Record program sets values as follows. If you require any of these fields to be set to other values, then review the options with the person who is creating your extract.

Patron Type	If a patron type code is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a patron type code is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL.
Patron Active	If a flag is not provided then the active flag in the patron record is set to Y. If the flag provided is not Y or N, then the active flag in the patron record is set to Y.
Library Symbol	If a library symbol is not provided, Update Patron Record will terminate. If a library symbol is provided but it does not exist in Relais, Update Patron Record terminates.
Department	If a code and description are not provided the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a code or a description is provided, a look up is done and the result used to populate the patron record accordingly. If no record is found then a code is created (and description added if one has been provided).
Branch	If a code and description are not provided as part of the extract the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a code or a description is provided, a look up is done and the result used to populate the patron record accordingly. If no record is found then a code is created (and description added if one has been provided).
Billing Type	If a billing type code is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a billing type code is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL.
Billing Rate	If a billing rate code is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a billing rate code is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL.
Delivery Method	If a delivery method is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to M(ail). If a delivery method is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to M(ail).
Messaging Method	If a messaging method is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to M(ail). If a messaging method is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to M(ail).
Pickup Location	If a pickup location is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a pickup location is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL.
Loan Code	If a loan code is not provided, then the first value from the loan code table is assigned. If the loan code table is empty, the Update Patron Record terminates.
Stats Category	If a code is not provided, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL. If a code is provided but does not exist in Relais, then the value in the patron record is set to NULL.

Load patron records for customers using the Hosted Service

Files of patron records are moved from the customer site to the Hosted Service using the Relais File Transfer Service (RFTS).

Create the file of patron records in the format described in Patron load file layout.
Copy the file into the Source Folder defined in the Relais File Transfer Service Manager configuration.
- The source folder, e.g., K:\RelaisILL\Scanner\, is the folder the Relais File Transfer Service checks for files (for example images, XML files) to transfer for further processing.
The Hosted Service has a scheduled batch file that moves the file of patron records from the customer's workstation into the appropriate folder.
Update Patron Records picks up the new file and processes it to add or modify patron records as specified in the file.