Electronic Gift Plates
Scope: Explains how metadata in catalog records is used to generate an electronic gift plate in the Books & Media Catalog.
Contact: Natalie Sommerville
Unit: Resource Description
Date last reviewed: May 28, 2026
Date of next review: Jul 1, 2026
Electronic gift plates in the Books & Media Catalog are generated from local fields, 796 or 797. These fields are usually generated from information in the order record. For example, certain fund codes generate gift plates for every title ordered from that fund.
The instructions below are for manually additions outside of the automated process and for general information. Adopt-a-Book, Newly Tenured & Promoted Faculty, and Staff Recognition are examples of electronic gift plates are the main types that are always added manually. Departments or units overseeing these workflow provide the wording to be used in $$z public note.
Note: Do not manually enter electronic gift plate metadata in a 797 field. Always use the 796 field.
Manual Addition of Electronic Gift Plate Metadata
Identify the correct record
In the Metadata Editor, add a new field (Editing Actions → Add Field, or F8)
Enter 796 13 for field tag and indicators
Enter last name, first name or corporate name in direct order in $$a
Enter the text, donor. in $$e
Enter Gift of in $$x
Enter gift plate wording in $$z
Examples:
796 13 $$a Gilbert, Kermit C. $$e donor. $$x Gift of $$z From the Kermit C. Gilbert Classical Record Collection
796 13 $$aCurry, Jim $$edonor. $$xGift of $$zThe conservation of Rubenstein Library’s c.2 was funded by Jim Curry in honor of Ann Q. Curry (1965) through the Duke University Libraries Adopt-a-Book Program.
796 13 $$a Glaxo $$e donor. $$x Gift of $$z Gift of The Glaxo Wellcome Endowment Fund for African American
796 13 $$a Wilson, Wylin D. $$e honoree. $$x In honor of $$z In honor of Wylin D. Wilson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theological Ethics, Divinity School, Newly Tenured & Promoted Faculty 2025
Variations in the $$z:
From the
Gift of
Estate of
In memory of
In honor of
Automated Addition of Electronic Gift Plate Metadata
For orders that are encumbered with a budget type GIFT, the program creates a plate when it identifies a ‘Library Note’ on the order record where the ‘Library Note’ starts with:
From the
Gift of
Estate of
In Memory of
In honor of
The program will generate a 796/7 with the $$x Gift of and the content of the order library note in the $$z
Further information on subfield content:
$$a is name on fund
$$c is corporate name
$$e is donor
$$p is personal name
$$x is bookplate to use
$$z is the public note that displays as the text of the gift plate