Summary: A breakdown of FOLIO apps and record structures as they pertain to TS work, and a mapping of Sierra record fields to FOLIO record fields, created for TS staff learning to navigate FOLIO.
FOLIO apps
FOLIO breaks out traditional TS functions into very specific "applications" within the FOLIO software suite. This is similar to Sierra's drop-down menu of functions, but the FOLIO apps are even more specific.
| Function | FOLIO app |
|---|---|
| Ordering | Orders |
| Receiving | Receiving |
| Paying | Invoices |
| Viewing and editing Instance, Holdings, and Item records | Inventory |
| Bringing in record data | Data Import |
| Extracting record data | Data Export |
| Managing authority records | MARC Authorities (still in development) |
| Batch editing records | Bulk Edit (still in development) |
| Create Lists | Possibly a third-party module called "Library Data Platform" that can query FOLIO data ... TBD! |
A comparison of Sierra modules vs. Folio apps:
FOLIO record structures
We are accustomed to the Sierra way of storing records (bib records with attached orders and items, free-standing authority records, and check-in records all accessible from various Sierra modules). FOLIO significantly departs from this structure.
Orders
The Orders app stores order information in a nested way.
- Order (Purchase order or PO) = an entry for one or more items included in a single purchase
- Order line (Purchase order line or POL) = an entry for one individual title included in a larger order
Instances, holdings, and items
The Inventory app stores bibliographic information about our resources. There are three interrelated types of records in the Inventory app.
- Instance = the high-level description of any single title, including typical data points like titles, subtitles, creators and contributors, subject headings, classification, etc. In most cases, for MSU, every FOLIO Instance will have an underlying MARC Bibliographic record as its source data. This MARC data resides in a layer called Source Record Storage (SRS). This will be the data that catalogers interact with.
- Holdings
- More localized data like call number, location, copies, notes, and more
- Must be attached to an Instance record
- Item
- The most specific level of local data, including barcode, volume enumeration, etc.
- Must be attached to a Holdings record
- Holdings
Each of these record types permits some flexibility in terms of what is stored where. For instance, we could choose to enter URLs for electronic resources either in the Instance or the Holdings records, and location could go in either Holdings or Item. The Cataloging and Metadata Task Force at MSUL is working to map Sierra check-in and item record data to fields in Folio holdings and item records. More info will be forthcoming!
A comparison of record structures and relationships in Sierra and in the Folio inventory app:
