Resolving multi-matches from daily OCLC load
In the CSU Network Zone instance of Alma, there is a daily OCLC load that imports Worldcat master records to the Network Zone. The daily OCLC load imports new and updated Worldcat records. "New" records are any Worldcat records that were recently held by any CSU library. "Updated" records are any Worldcat records held by any CSU where the master record was updated recently.
When these imports run, there may be multi-matches when an incoming OCLC record matches two or more existing records in the NZ.
The import profile matches on OCLC number. Multi-matches can occur when two or more NZ records have the same oclc number or when OCLC merges and dedupes records in Worldcat and we have records in the NZ with invalid/cancelled OCLC numbers.
OCLC merges the records into one master record and the OCLC numbers of the eliminated records will be recorded in the 035 $z as invalid/cancelled OCLC numbers. If we have two or more NZ records with OCLC numbers (in 035 $a) that match the invalid/cancelled OCLC numbers (in 035 $z) in the master record being imported, this will cause a multi-match that requires manual handling. For more details on multi-matches, please see these google slides.
These multi-matches cannot be automatically resolved by Alma and require manual handling (i.e. user intervention). In import profiles there is an option to “Merge Records and Combine Inventory for Multi-Match” which can be “used to handle (by merging and combining) the multiple matching duplicate records that exist in the Alma database”. This tool merges records and consolidates inventory, PO lines and local fields onto the merged record.
The following document outlines the steps to perform the merge records and combine inventory.