CSV-Import 2.5 Authority Records - No digital object field

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Chris Mills

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May 29, 2020, 8:52:59 PM5/29/20
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Is there a way to batch upload digital objects (e.g. profile photos) to new Authority Records as they are created? I don't see a column in the Authority record template and the Digital Object Load Task only applies to information objects.

Thanks!

Dan Gillean

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Jun 1, 2020, 10:29:27 AM6/1/20
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Hi Chris, 

It's coming, but unfortunately not supported in 2.5.x! 

Sometimes with larger features, we develop them incrementally, to allow institutions to sponsor what they can afford while meeting their primary needs - and then collaborating with other sponsors to help fill out and enhance the overall functionality in later releases. 

This is the case with digital object support for authority records, although it's the same sponsor in both cases - the initial sponsoring institution covered the big part of the work in the first pass, and then, once their funding cycle was renewed, is now adding CSV import and export support in the upcoming 2.6 release. 

The related development ticket for 2.6 is here: 
The authority record CSV template is also getting an overhaul that will improve import and export functionality. Previously, alternative forms of name (such as parallel names, standardized forms of name based on other rules, and other forums of name) had to be imported via a separate CSV that could only be uploaded via the command-line. The same was true for relationships with other authority records - and you could only create relationships between new authority records in a separate CSV uploaded via the command-line at the same time. 

In 2.6, the aliases CSV fields have been folded into the primary authority record CSV template, allowing alternative forms of name to be added via an import through the user interface. Additionally, the relationships CSV has been improved and support for it via the user inteface has been added - as well as the ability to add relationships to existing authority records. 

We're currently hoping for a 2.6 release in early July, so stay tuned! In the meantime however, you'll need to add your authority record digital objects manually via the user interface. 

Regards, 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory
he / him


On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 8:53 PM Chris Mills <cmi...@artpace.org> wrote:
Is there a way to batch upload digital objects (e.g. profile photos) to new Authority Records as they are created? I don't see a column in the Authority record template and the Digital Object Load Task only applies to information objects.

Thanks!

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Chris Mills

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Jun 1, 2020, 11:08:23 AM6/1/20
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Thanks Dan,

Okay, exciting! I understand how the sponsoring works better now, and it explains the patchwork process. This is exciting, and July isn't too far thank you for the heads up!

I'll build my authority records up externally and then import them when its finished.

Secondary questions, Will this CSV import/export accept the roundtripping info update process? And do the CSV imports fail if unfilled columns are missing?


Cheers,
Chris



On Monday, June 1, 2020 at 9:29:27 AM UTC-5, Dan Gillean wrote:
Hi Chris, 
It's coming, but unfortunately not supported in 2.5.x! 
Sometimes with larger features, we develop them incrementally, to allow institutions to sponsor what they can afford while meeting their primary needs - and then collaborating with other sponsors to help fill out and enhance the overall functionality in later releases. 
This is the case with digital object support for authority records, although it's the same sponsor in both cases - the initial sponsoring institution covered the big part of the work in the first pass, and then, once their funding cycle was renewed, is now adding CSV import and export support in the upcoming 2.6 release. 
The related development ticket for 2.6 is here: The authority record CSV template is also getting an overhaul that will improve import and export functionality. Previously, alternative forms of name (such as parallel names, standardized forms of name based on other rules, and other forums of name) had to be imported via a separate CSV that could only be uploaded via the command-line. The same was true for relationships with other authority records - and you could only create relationships between new authority records in a separate CSV uploaded via the command-line at the same time. 
In 2.6, the aliases CSV fields have been folded into the primary authority record CSV template, allowing alternative forms of name to be added via an import through the user interface. Additionally, the relationships CSV has been improved and support for it via the user inteface has been added - as well as the ability to add relationships to existing authority records. 
We're currently hoping for a 2.6 release in early July, so stay tuned! In the meantime however, you'll need to add your authority record digital objects manually via the user interface. 
Regards, 
Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory
he / him
On Fri, May 29, 2020 at 8:53 PM Chris Mills <cmi...@artpace.org> wrote:
Is there a way to batch upload digital objects (e.g. profile photos) to new Authority Records as they are created? I don't see a column in the Authority record template and the Digital Object Load Task only applies to information objects.
Thanks!
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Dan Gillean

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Jun 1, 2020, 11:44:22 AM6/1/20
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Hi Chris, 

I'll build my authority records up externally and then import them when its finished.

If you intend to wait for 2.6 before importing, I've already added the new CSV templates for 2.6 to our wiki, here: 
There may be a few minor changes before release - for example, the legacyId column in the relationships CSV is not really useful (though the import currently requires it), so we might remove it entirely and avoid confusion for end users. Otherwise, these should be stable since we're getting close to the next release and will enter code freeze soon.

Keep in mind that these new templates won't work as expected if you try to import them into 2.5! 


Secondary questions, Will this CSV import/export accept the roundtripping info update process?

Yes - though there are some gotchas and limitations. 

I'm hoping to overhaul the CSV import documentation with the 2.6 release, to better clarify what's possible and what isn't with rountripping updates. I've already started doing so for archival descriptions - it's not on the website, but you can see the work so far via GitHub (GitHub's formatting is a bit different from what we use on our docs, so it's readable, but some links and images won't render properly): 
 As you can see, I've tried to list exactly which fields are fully supported for updates via import, which will allow for additional data but will not overwrite existing data, and so on. I hope to do the same with the authority records as well. 

I'm going to have to do some testing and database inspection to determine what's what, but the short version is: only fields that are maintained in our database on the primary authority record tables (actor and actor_i18n) can be fully updated. Those that live elsewhere can accept new data, but it will be appended - it won't overwrite existing data. 

There's a lot more to say about the challenges of roundtripping updates in a single system - this has to do with how the update import feature was originally designed and what its intended goal was, but is something we hope to improve in the future. I've written more about this  (focused primarily on descriptions, but the logic is the same) in the forum previously here: 
I also hope to make this clearer in the 2.6 documentation - so stay tuned! 



And do the CSV imports fail if unfilled columns are missing?  

No, you could create a template that only has a subset of columns and it should work fine. 

Hope this helps! 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056
@accesstomemory
he / him

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Chris Mills

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Jun 2, 2020, 5:30:51 PM6/2/20
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Hi Dan, 

This is all fantastic to hear, and yes it seems 2.6 will benefit from your diligent documentation improvements in this workflow. As I am coming from a layman's perspective (to AtoM, not scripting/data cleaning/data preservation) I appreciate this assistance.

Chris
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