Data Import log displays disconcertingly ambiguous information for successful matches on anything but 999i/instance UUID - DRAFT

Overview: If your match profile matches incoming MARC 020 on instance ISBN, and the incoming MARC record matches an instance, the reported status in the log of the SRS record will be Updated if the MARC record also contains a 999-ff-i matching the instance's UUID, but Created if the incoming MARC record does not contain a 999-ff-i. In both cases the status reported for the instance in the log is Updated.

To a librarian wishing to overlay existing FOLIO records with matching incoming MARC record, it is a source of great confusion that, when there is a match and an underlying SRS record, the status of the SRS record is sometimes reported as Updated and sometimes as Created – even if you are matching on the same field, overlaying the same record. This may cause enough uncertainty about whether Data Import works as expected, overlaying the right records when it should, to make the librarian reluctant about using Data Import.

It seems that either

• there is something wrong in how FOLIO creates/updates existing SRS records when matching on anything but the UUID in 999i
  or
• the information about SRS update/creation displayed in the log is incorrect or designed in a way that is more confusing than useful to end users (librarians)

It would be great, if as a first step, someone with insight into how Data Import works could review the current behaviour to assess whether librarians can "safely" use Data Import with match profiles even though the log shows this ambiguous result.

Steps to Reproduce:

To test, you need:

• a FOLIO instance with an underlying SRS record
• three .mrc files: one with the UUID of the instance in 999i, one without a 999i field but with the ISBN of the instance in 020a, and one with a 999i field that contains a value which is not an instance UUID.

Use the following job profile:
https://bugfest-kiwi.folio.ebsco.com/settings/data-import/job-profiles/view/5d105836-e127-48f4-a942-dec42ef265e6

Try the following three:

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that contains a 999i field with a FOLIO identifier.
2. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that does not contain a 999i field with a FOLIO identifier.
3. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that contains a 999i field with the value "catsarecute"

Expected Results:

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that contains a 999i field with a FOLIO identifier.
   The incoming 020 of the incoming MARC record successfully matches on the ISBN of the instance. In the log, instance and SRS have status Updated.

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that does not contain a 999i field with a FOLIO identifier.
   *The incoming 020 of the incoming MARC record successfully matches on the ISBN of the instance. In the log, instance and SRS have status Updated.

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that contains a 999i field with the value "catsarecute"
   The incoming 020 of the incoming MARC record successfully matches on the ISBN of the instance. In the log, instance and SRS have status Updated.

Actual Results:

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that contains a 999i field with a FOLIO identifier.
   The incoming MARC record successfully matches the instance. In the log, instance and SRS have status Updated.
   

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that does not contain a 999i field with a FOLIO identifier.
   The incoming 020 of the incoming MARC record successfully matches on the ISBN of the instance. In the log, the instance has status Updated and the SRS record has status Created.
   

1. Using a job profile that matches on identifier ISBN, import a MARC record that contains a 999i field with the value "catsarecute"
   The import job hangs.
   

Looking at the three scenarios above, and the different behaviours, it appears that whatever you actually select as your matchpoint – FOLIO will also match on any existing 999i/instance UUID.

• If the matchpoint matches and there is also a 999i that matches the UUID of the same instance, the SRS record is reported Updated.
• If the matchpoint matches and there is also no 999i, the SRS record is reported Created.
• If the matchpoint is a match and but the 999i does not match the UUID of the same instance, the job hangs.

URL: https://bugfest-kiwi.folio.ebsco.com/
Interested parties: Ben Taylor rroose