Duplicate bibliographic records and similar bibliographic records can be merged. Where you discover bibliographic records have been duplicated or are similar you can merge some or all of the duplicate or similar records into a single record. The automatic merge process will merge all copies or holdings into the preferred bibliographic record and remove all unwanted bibliographic records, whilst manual merging will leave the choice in your hands. Merging records will result in better management of your collection and more accurate and informative OPAC displays for your patrons.


Note: The recommended minimum monitor size for merging bibliographic records is 24 inch.


Duplicate Record Detection



Infiniti automatically detects and alerts about possible duplicate or similar records on the Cataloguing work bench by comparing specific record attributes. Records are considered to be duplicate if they have matching ISBNs, or near duplicate if an appropriate degree of similarity exists between their title/added title and author/added author combinations.


Note: Only media types considered to have genuine bibliographic records, e.g., books, ebooks, and similar will be candidates for merging. Disparate records should not be merged, e.g., ebooks should not be merged with books; digital records cannot be merged with physical records and maintain usability; assets Bib records cannot be merged.

To merge books with different ISBN numbers you may have to first align their ISBN numbers if the title, Author, edition are not sufficiently identical to indicate candidacy for merging.

To merge non-book records with each other (eg. asset Media type), you will have to temporarily change Media type to 'Book', run the Merge, change both Media types back to the original and save.


Preferred Detection


Determine the level of matching you prefer before you undertake a merge process. Note: The matching level determines which records will be considered similar and therefore potential candidates for merging.


Go to: Configure > Cataloguing

  1. Set Display Similarity of to choose the record matching level you prefer:
    1. Unremoved Records; Same Media Type - records still active in the catalogue with matching media type, e.g., Book to Book.
    2. Unremoved Records; Any Media Type - records still active in the catalogue of any media type, e.g., Paperback to Book.
    3. Any Record; Any Media Type - both active and inactive records (removed records) in the catalogue of any media type. Note: You cannot merge into or from removed records, they will be displayed on the similarity panel for informative purposes only.


Go to: Cataloguing


To retrieve and inspect a set of possible duplicate bibliographic records:

  1. Search for the resource suspected of having a duplicate using the options available.
  2. Clickto retrieve the resource onto the cataloguing work bench.
  3. Click(where the number represents the count of possible duplicates) displayed in the top right section of the work bench to display the similar records. Note: If no similar records are detected this message will not display.
  4. The record that was displaying on the work bench is initially considered the merge target record. It is the first record displayed in the list and is highlighted.
  5. The possible duplicate record/s are considered merge source record/s, are displayed below the merge target record, and are highlightedas source targets.
  6. Clickto see which data elements are matching across the record set. Note: Some data elements highlighted are informative only and did not influence the similarity matching process.


Merge Panels


The merge panels display:

  1. One Catalogue Target record on the left panel.
  2. One or more queued candidate Catalogue Source records on the right panel.


Duplicate Record Discrepancies


When merging bibliographic records, one record will be the target record and the other record/s will be the source record/s. The target record is the record that will be updated with the merged content; for convenience it is recommended you choose the one you consider to be the most accurate or complete record of the set of possible duplicate records.


From the list of possible duplicate records:

  1. Source records are in descending order based on similarity attributes with the target record.
  2. Selectto indicate which record will be the merge target. Note: The remaining records will be possible merge sources to be merged into the target.
  3. Uncheckto exclude a record from the merge source candidate list. Note: The remaining records will be omitted from the final merge candidates.
  4. Clickwhen you are ready to continue.
  5. The target record is listed on the left hand panel. The source record/s are listed in a queue on the right hand panel.
  6. Pagethrough the queued records as required.



Catalogue Target


The top half of the Catalogue Target panel displays all data fields for the bibliographic record of the catalogue target, and bottom half of the Catalogue Target panel lists the resources attached to this record.


  1. Switchbetween standard display and full display. Note: Full display uses shading to clearly highlight discrepancies between the target record and each source record, and aligns the fields for easier comparison.
  2. Reverseall field changes.
  3. Editthis data element independently.
  4. Cancelor acceptthe change. Note: These buttons only show if you edit the data element.
  5. Reversethis field change.
  6. This resourcewas originally attached to the target and cannot be removed during the merge process.


Catalogue Source


The top half of the Catalogue Source panel displays all the data fields for the bibliographic record of the catalogue source record currently displaying, and bottom half of the Catalogue Source panel lists the resources attached to this record.

  1. Copyall catalogue source data to the catalogue target - this will overwrite all fields the target already has.
  2. Copyall data missing in the target from the current source to the target.
  3. Copythis data missing in the target from the current source to the target.
  4. Copythis individual element of data from the current source to the target as an added author, title, or series.
  5. Copythis individual element of data from the current source to the target as a main author, title, or series.
  6. before leaving the merge page. You will have an opportunity to confirm final processing before the changes are committed. (Also see Auto Merge below)


Note: To avoid losing any changes made, you must save the record before navigating away from this page.


Delete Source Record

  1. Deleteunwanted source records from the queue after merging. Note: If you choose to delete a catalogue source record a red line will be drawn through its title and the icon will change to red. Source records marked for deletion will automatically move all of their resources to the target as part of the save process.



Auto Merge



Auto merge provides a quick way to merge records without reviewing them in detail.

  1. Clickto automatically merge all data from all catalogue source records into the catalogue target.
  2. Review the process that will occur.
  3. Clickto process your request if the outcome will be acceptable.


Note: Auto merge is fast and efficient but may produce unexpected results if source records are not checked prior to initiating.


Merge Confirmation


After clickingora confirmation message will display. You can read the summary and:

  1. Confirm andto complete the merge, or
  2. Undertaketo correct any issues and merge. Note: Manual merging is required when combining the target and source records requires operator inspection of the data because of possible clashes.