Adventures in Data Processing

“Yes,” said the cataloger.

A perilous time for any cataloger is when its software is changed. Why? Every catalog software package has unique “ideas” about how and where to store basic catalog data. In addition, most in-house DP departments know the software they’ve installed, not how to transfer data between incompatible systems. Because of these two factors, the data are frequently lost or left behind during a system switchover. This causes moderate to substantial impairments to the circulation plan, which reduces sales.