Importing MARC Records into AR Bookguide – Accelerated Reader

You can import MARC record files from your library system so that Accelerated Reader Bookguide can mark them as books that you own. Note that the MARC record files that you import must be full US MARC record files.

How to Import Files

Follow these steps to import your files into Accelerated Reader Bookguide.

When you import MARC record files, you can create a list from the results. You can then use the list to print book labels. You must create the list as part of the import process in order to get a list of the imported MARC records.

From the Accelerated Reader Bookguide Home page, click Imports.
On the Imports page, under Select an Import Type, click MARC Records.
On the next page, click Browse or Choose File to find and select the file that you want to import. Then, click Open.
Imports can take some time when the files are large. MARC records are usually imported overnight because of the file size. If you want to receive an email when the import has finished, check Send email notification when complete. Then, enter the email address below that check box.
Select a book location from the Choose Book Location drop-down list. This is the location that will be assigned to the book records that you are importing.
If the location that you want to select is not in the drop-down list, click Add new location and enter the name of the new location; then, click Save.
Next, choose whether to create a list of the book information you are importing. This list can be very helpful since you can use it to print book labels and a book list for the imported books. Check Create New List from Results of import to create the list as part of the import. (The box is checked by default.) If you check the box, do the following:
1. Enter a name for the list in the List Name field. Use a list name that you will recognize later. The default list name is: your email address_date of the import_time of the import.
2. Enter any comments or notes about the list in the Comments field.
3. Check Only include books that are not marked as Owned already to exclude any books from the list that you have already marked owned in Accelerated Reader Bookguide. This box is checked by default.
  When Accelerated Reader Bookguide matches books in the import file to books that you have already marked as Owned, it uses the following three criteria in the order listed:
  1. ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
  2. LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number)
  3. Title and author's last name
  To include every book being imported in the list, do not check Only include books that are not marked as Owned already.
Use the Call Number Field Tag drop-down list to select a value.

A call number is a series of letters and numbers used to identify a particular book, journal, or item and to determine the order in which the item is placed on the bookshelves of a library. The call number information is included in the Call Number Field Tag of a MARC record.

Usually, you select Default to allow Accelerated Reader Bookguide to automatically find the call number information. However, if your MARC records use a unique field for the call number, use the Call Number Field Tag drop-down list to select the Field Tag. The Call Number Field Tag used during the import is shown on the MARC records Import Results page.

If you experience problems with call numbers during a MARC records import, try importing your file again, but use a different value for the Call Number Field Tag. If that does not work, contact Renaissance technical support at https://www.renaissance.com/request-support/.
To import the file, click Request Import. (If you want to return to the Imports tab without importing a file, click Cancel instead.)
You may see a scroll bar, indicating the import is taking place. You will not see a scroll bar if the import occurs overnight.
You will see an Import page, which indicates whether the import was uploaded successfully or not. You may also receive an email indicating that the import succeeded (or failed).

If you want to print a report of the import, select Print Results; then, see Checking Import History and Printing Results.

To import more files, click Done to go back to the Imports tab.

To view your Import status/history, go to the Accelerated Reader Bookguide Home page; then, click Imports. In the Import History table, click the import you want to view.

Since imports can take some time to upload, you may want to wait a while before checking your Import History. You can be notified via email when the import process is complete as described above.

Error Messages

If you import a file of the wrong type, you will get a message telling you that your file type was invalid. Try importing again with a correct file type.

If while trying to import you receive a message saying "System Error Occurred," click Try Again to have the program try importing the same file over again.

If you do not want to try again and want to return to the Imports tab, click Cancel. If you still have problems, contact Renaissance technical support at support@renaissance.com for more help.