The "LOUIS" File and EBSCO Holdings Management MARC Data Loads for Symphony Sites

LOUIS manages MARC record loads from EBSCO Holdings Management for all Symphony sites.

How these loads are managed for your site depends on whether or not your site subscribes to your own EBSCO MARC Record Service, which determines if you receive the "LOUIS" file or your own MARC record file. 

Below is a list of who does, and does not, have their own EBSCO MARC Record Service: 

What does it mean if my site gets the LOUIS file?

For Symphony sites that do not have their own EBSCO MARC Data Service, LOUIS manages the weekly loading of a MARC record file into their Symphony catalog that is generated from the titles and packages that are selected and maintained in LOUIS's own EBSCOadmin Holdings Management account. This account is not visible to sites. Only titles and packages that are part of LOUIS Core subscriptions are selected in this account.

What is included/excluded:

Sites that receive the LOUIS file only get records for LOUIS Core electronic resources, and NOT for any resources to which they subscribe outside of the LOUIS Core. Additionally, MARC records for LOUIS Opt-in resources are NOT included in the LOUIS file either.

A complete list of titles and packages included in the LOUIS file is attached to the bottom of this article. 

What must my site do to add excluded records:

If sites want records in their Symphony catalog for any resources to which they subscribe outside of LOUIS, they must obtain those MARC records on their own from another source, such as the vendor or OCLC.

If sites want records in their Symphony catalog for any LOUIS Opt-in resources, LOUIS will manage those loads for you upon request.

What is different about sites that have their own MARC file delivered from their own EBSCO MARC Record Service?

For Symphony sites that have their own EBSCO MARC Data Service, LOUIS manages the weekly loading of their own MARC record file into their Symphony catalog which is generated from the titles and packages that are selected and maintained by the site in the site's own EBSCOadmin Holdings Management account.

What is included/excluded:

While all LOUIS core electronic resource titles and packages should already be selected by default in the site's Holdings Management, the site can control what titles and packages are included in the MARC file by deselecting (not usually recommended) or hiding the item. Hiding allows the item to remain in the site's holdings and be included in reports, while halting the delivery of the MARC record, producing delete records that will remove matching records from your catalog, and preventing titles from displaying in Publication Finder and EDS. The site can also include LOUIS Opt-in resources and resources to which they subscribe on their own in their weekly MARC file by simply selecting those items in Holdings Management. 

For ALL Symphony Sites LOUIS manages the following weekly process regardless of whether they receive the LOUIS file or their own MARC record file:

1. EBSCO extracts holdings (from Holdings Management) from the LOUIS account and the accounts of any sites with their own MARC Record Service.
2. A separate MARC Record file is generated for the LOUIS account and each of the others. Each file will include records for new items that have been selected in Holdings Management since the previous week, delete records for any items that have been deselected or hidden, and update records for any items with new URLs or updated bibliographic information. 
3. We ftp these MARC files from EBSCO and they are loaded into your Symphony catalog using scripts that we maintain. One script (known as lz3018) edits and loads the LOUIS file for all sites that do NOT have their own EBSCO MARC record service and have chosen to receive the LOUIS file. The other script (known as lz3015) handles the individual MARC files for those sites that DO have their own EBSCO MARC record service.