====== Indexing ======

Unless you are using VuFind exclusively as a wrapper around a third-party discovery service, you will need to index data into the system so that your users have something they can search. This page contains information on loading data into VuFind's Solr index.

===== Supported Metadata Formats =====

Metadata is most commonly loaded in one of these formats:

  * [[indexing:marc|MARC]] - MAchine Readable Cataloging, a format used by many library systems.
  * [[indexing:xml|XML]] - A common markup format across disciplines.
  * [[indexing:csv|CSV]] - Comma Separated Values, a delimited spreadsheet format, supported beginning in VuFind 8.0.

Click on the metadata format above for details on how to ingest records of that type. Note that VuFind's MARC importer includes support for the MARCXML encoding, so you do NOT have to use XML-specific tools to load XML-formatted MARC records. If you are interested in supporting something new, see [[development:howtos:supporting_a_new_metadata_format|Supporting a New Metadata Format]].

===== Acquiring Records =====

If you need data to load into your system, you might try loading it with VuFind's [[indexing:oai-pmh|OAI-PMH Harvest Tool]]. If you need to retrieve it from your ILS, check for [[indexing:marc:export_notes|MARC Export Notes]] for your platform.

The [[indexing:open_data_sources|Open Data Sources]] page lists potential sources for additional records to add to your index.


===== Specific Examples =====

These pages offer step-by-step notes on loading records from specific systems.

  * [[indexing:dspace|DSpace]]
  * [[indexing:eprints|Eprints]]
  * [[indexing:gsdl|Greenstone Digital Library (GSDL)]]
  * [[indexing:Koha|Koha]]

===== Related Pages =====

  * [[indexing:adding_facets|Adding Facets]] - How to add new facet fields to VuFind's search interface.
  * [[indexing:alphabetical_heading_browse|Alphabetical Heading Browse]] - How to set up a browse index (similar to a traditional ILS) to complement your Solr search.
  * [[administration:automation|Automation]] - Notes on automating VuFind, including how to regularly load the latest records from your ILS.
  * [[indexing:deduplication|Deduplication]] - How to manage duplicate records when indexing from multiple sources.
  * [[indexing:hierarchies_and_collections|Hierarchies and Collections]] - How to represent hierarchies of records in your index.
  * [[indexing:websites|Indexing a Website]] - How to create a web index with VuFind.
  * [[indexing:re-indexing|Re-indexing]] - How to clear out your index if you want to start over.
  * [[development:architecture:solr_index_schema|Solr Schema]] - The specifics of VuFind's Solr schema.
  * [[indexing:stop_words_and_synonyms|Stop Words and Synonyms]] - How to set up stop words and synonyms within your index.
  * [[indexing:tracking_record_changes|Tracking Record Changes]] - How to keep track of modifications to your index, for RSS feeds, OAI-PMH server support, etc.