aka the phenomenon of ghostly records in the OPAC
For some time we have thought that these provisional records would appear no matter what in the OPAC as available. This is actually true only when a copy actually exists, that is, there is at least a barcode attached to the item (and the deafult settings are applied for the item). The misunderstanding arose because if we open in a browser tab the public interface (evergreen OPAC), while we are logged in as staff in another tab, let’s say with the expectation of searching the system the way patrons would, we are in fact still getting the search results for the staff account! You can verify if you are still logged-in by checking the top right of the catalogue page: If you don’t see the button “My account” but only the Basket, then you know you are still searching as staff. The top banner with the evergreen ship stuck in the Suez canal should also be missing.
Open a new private window to actually access the catalogue as a public user! The confirmation you are in the right place is the button "My account" at the top right.TLDR Whenever you see weird search results in the public interface do check whether you are in fact still logged in as staff!
To retrieve un-itemed records use Cataloguing -> Retrieve options, or perform a normal search in the staff interface. Alternatively, use Cataloguing -> Record Buckets -> Record query. This last option is necessary whenever we are looking for a partial record that has no title yet: Records without titles are found via staff search but you can’t click on them to edit them! e.g. https://catalogue.rietveldacademie.nl/eg/opac/results?qtype=author;_adv=1;detail_record_view=0;locg=1;query=%20bonannosss
Records without items populate the system as part of the cataloguing process. Sometimes they are instead unintentional, leftovers, tests, or forgotten records.
There is an easy way to list all records without items, by searching
in the Record Query or the Basic Search interface for
statuses(11). It’s a weird trick - as records with no items
also have no statuses in the database.. And in fact it would work with
statuses(anythingexceptrealstatutes). We just say statuses(11) as it is
the “Cataloguing” status for items, that can be added to the items being
worked on ( so they do not show in the public catalogue search )
The result will be a mix of intentional un-itemed records and ghostly records. The best way to see through ghosts is to order results by Overall Record Quality column. Results that have a score lower than 10 are normally random tests or mistakes. Again, random ghostly records are not really an issue, as they do not appear in the public interface, but this trick is anyway helpful to keep track and eventually clean up.