OCLC2004

News From OCLC
Compiled by Jay Weitz
For the Music OCLC Users Group/Music Library Association
Annual Conferences
Arlington, Virginia
2004 February 10-15

General News

2003 OCLC Environmental Scan: Pattern Recognition

OCLC recently completed The 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan: Pattern Recognition, a comprehensive review of global issues surrounding research, learning and community as it relates to the future of libraries and other knowledge organizations. Interviews were conducted with more than 100 knowledge experts around the world, representing a wide variety of organizations. The collective input from these interviews, in addition to literature review and extensive research, yielded a wealth of insights on the real, day-to-day issues facing information professionals. The report looks at funding, collaboration, digital archiving, e-learning, digital rights management, open source movements, the rise of Web services in libraries and education, scholarly publishing and other associated topics. For further information see the OCLC Web site at http://www.oclc.org/membership/escan/default.htm.

OCLC and The Library Hotel Settle Trademark Complaint

OCLC and The Library Hotel (New York, New York) have reached a settlement agreement regarding the use of the Dewey Decimal Classification® system trademarks by The Library Hotel. On September 10, 2003, OCLC filed a trademark infringement complaint against The Library Hotel in federal court in Columbus, Ohio. Under the settlement terms, The Library Hotel will receive permission from OCLC to use the Dewey Decimal Classification® trademarks in its hotel and in its marketing materials, with an acknowledgment that OCLC is the owner of the Dewey® trademarks. The Library Hotel will make a financial donation to a non-profit organization that promotes reading by children.

Collections and Technical Services

Connexion Client for Power Cataloging

For those who prefer the familiarity and power of a desktop application over Web-based tools, a Windows-based interface is now available as a free download at http://www.oclc.org/download/. The Connexion client, released in October 2003, provides much of the same cataloging functionality as exists in the browser interface, while adding productivity-boosting enhancements including macros, additional keyboard customization—you can perform all navigation and cataloging actions using assignable key combinations—and integrated label printing. Additional features such as offline local files and batch processing are planned as enhancements to the client in later releases. Note that certain Connexion functionality, such as express cataloging, pathfinders, and Dewey and Digital Archive services, is available only in the Web-based Connexion browser. A detailed comparison chart ( http://www.oclc.org/connexion/interface/chart/) is available to help you compare available and planned functionality in the Connexion client and Connexion browser, point by point. Among recent enhancements to the Connexion client are these authority file searching improvements:

• Authority File search results now sorted by main entry regardless of the number of records retrieved.
• Character masking (wildcard characters, # and ?, respectively) allowed in the second character position, no longer requiring a minimum of 3 characters (e.g., b#nd and b?nd).

Connexion Browser Recent Enhancements

On 2003 November 23, the following enhancements were completed in the Connexion browser:

• Import Reimplementation: import revised and enhanced to make importing authority and bibliographic records easier, including addition of OCLC-derived records; ability to import from a hard disk or network drive, as well as from a URL; ability to import non-OCLC records in order to create new OCLC records; ability to import and process records from OCLC offline products (Bibliographic Record Notification, PromptCat, etc.); lets you add constant data and My Status to records as they are imported to your save file, allowing easy retrieval with save file search options; to prevent timeout problems when importing large files, the system imports 100 records, and prompts you to continue until file is completed.
• New Ready Status: save records to the bibliographic save file with new “Ready” status for export and label printing; then retrieve from save file by searching for the action statuses “Export-Ready” and “Label-Ready”.
• Flagged Record and Export Enhancements: to prevent timeout problems, flagged record actions for export, delete, and label file creation now processes a maximum of 100 per action; flagged record actions now available for Pathfinders; new option to export bibliographic records without validation.
• Constant Data Enhancements: new “Apply CD by Name” command provides a window that lets you type the name of the constant data record to apply and to select whether to apply fixed field, variable fields, or both; “Select Constant Data” command renamed “Apply CD from List;” you can now flag constant data records and delete multiple records in a single action to save your time.
• Workflow Enhancements: new Command Shortcuts box displays all commands in Edit, Action and View lists in one alphabetic list, and allows you to execute all commands with new keystroke shortcuts; more search and browse keystrokes implemented, and new record navigation and Active Records shortcuts added; default setting for number of records displaying in a WorldCat brief list changed from 10 to 99 records; in MARC Template view, you can hide the Functions List for a larger editing area; disable OK/Cancel messages for final actions and editing actions to avoid responding to pop-up prompts.
• Report Record Errors: report errors on both bibliographic records and authority records using the new Report Error command; sends your error reports via email to OCLC's Quality Control Section.
• Dewey Services Work Area Enhancement: now allows easy access to a work area dialog box from the bottom of long records so you don't need to scroll up the page to update the work area.
• Authority File to Oracle: Authority File search results now sorted by main entry regardless of the number of records retrieved; character masking (wildcard characters, # and ?, respectively) allowed in the second character position, no longer requiring a minimum of 3 characters (e.g., b#nd and b?nd); moving the Authority File to Oracle is the next step in OCLC's continuing progress toward a single platform for all cataloging functionality and provides a basis for future enhancements.
• More: Contact Support enhancement allows you to copy yourself when requesting information or sending suggestions via the Contact Support feature; hot linking of OCLC control numbers expanded to include 936 field, to allow quick retrieval of parallel records.

Passport End-of-Life for Cataloging

OCLC continues to add functionality to Connexion, which will eventually replace all current cataloging interfaces. Initially, OCLC is focusing on adding Passport functionality to Connexion, since Passport for cataloging use will be discontinued in the future. Previously, the end-of-life for Passport for cataloging was announced as December 31, 2003. This has now been extended, and OCLC will provide six months advance notice of the new date.

Parallel Records: Technical Bulletin 250

Effective immediately, OCLC policy has changed to allow for parallel records within WorldCat by language of cataloging. This policy applies only to online cataloging and not to records contributed via batchload. OCLC will address batchload in the future with the Oracle implementation. As part of OCLC becoming the leading global library cooperative, it has long been envisioned that WorldCat would need a parallel record structure to display records by language of cataloging. This change in policy allowing parallel records anticipates the implementation of the relational database capabilities that will be possible once Oracle has been fully implemented. That implementation, however, is still a few years away. Therefore, the policy change announced in Technical Bulletin 250 ( http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/tb/250/) is being introduced as an interim policy. OCLC Members Council’s Cataloging and Metadata Interest Group approved this interim policy at their May 2003 meeting. Previously, records for the same title, but cataloged in different languages, such as English, Spanish, and French, were considered duplicate records. OCLC will no longer consider these records duplicates, but will consider them parallel records. Only one record per language of descriptive cataloging will be allowed for each title.

WorldCat Quality Control

For the first half of the fiscal year ending December 31, 2003, the OCLC Quality Control Section received a total of 29,254 requests to change bibliographic records. This total also includes duplicate reports. QC staff have manually merged 8,301 sets of duplicate records and have made changes and/or corrections to 4,216,073 bibliographic records in the WorldCat database, manually, or, via macros, as well as corrected a total of 14,297 records via automated scans. Thus far this fiscal year, we have added 309 new authority records to the national authority file and updated 273 existing authority records. For the previous fiscal year ending June 30, 2003, the Quality Control Section received a total of 59,483 requests to change bibliographic records. This total also includes duplicate error reports. QC staff have manually merged 17,110 sets of duplicate records and have made changes and/or corrections to 7,426,576 bibliographic records in the WorldCat database, manually or via macros, as well as corrected a total of 2,678,131 records via automated scans. During that time period, we added 711 new authority records and updated 858 existing ones. Staff have continued to focus on updating changed and obsolete subject headings and name headings based on reports of changed authority records received from the OCLC Lacey Product Center. Many other changes result from incorrect coding that affects retrieval of records in WorldCat for FirstSearch users. The regular change requests may result in one record changed; for example, if there is a typo in a date on the record, we may only correct the date on that one record. A change request, however, may trigger changes to other records depending on the request. A typo in “histroy” to “history” in a subject heading may result in 500 changes. Some of the pro-active changes include the continuation of correcting the fiction coding in the fixed field element, corrections to invalid tagging, subfield coding, and corrections to the coding for the Japanese language code. Many records were incorrectly coded in the 041 field, instead of the correct code 'jpn' they were incorrectly coded. as 'jap'.

MARC Updates

OCLC is beginning to make plans for the implementation of the October 2003 update to the MARC 21 Authorities and Bibliographic formats. That implementation is tentatively scheduled for the second quarter of calendar 2004.

Sharing Macros for Connexion Client

You can now share Connexion client macros on the OCLC Web site. Go to: http://www.oclc.org/connexion/support/macros.htm. You can submit macros that you have created by clicking “Upload Connexion macros” on that page, and your submitted macro will be posted to the macro site to share with others. You can also click on “Download Connexion macros” on that page to view macros that have been submitted by others. The site also includes links to other macro sites. If you have a macro site that you would like to share with others, please send an e-mail to: connexion-macros@oclc.org and we will add a link to your site.

Field 987 in Bibliographic Records

During recent discussions among the Library of Congress, OCLC, and RLG, there has been the suggestion that, after three years of use, it may now be time to discontinue the requirement for including 987 fields in newly-created bibliographic records added to OCLC WorldCat and the RLG Union Catalog. October 1, 2003, marked the third anniversary of the switch from Wade-Giles to Pinyin. RLG has already announced to its member libraries that, effective March 1, 2004, they will no longer require 987 fields to be added to new records and that some of the other support for the Pinyin conversion (such as the local index that facilitated review of records) will be discontinued. Similarly, effective March 1, 2004, OCLC will also no longer require that 987 fields be added to newly created records that are added to WorldCat. Please keep in mind the following:

• OCLC has no plans to remove existing 987 fields. The 987 fields that currently exist in bibliographic records (both in machine-converted records and in new records created since October 2000) will continue to be there to assist users and OCLC staff in evaluating records, in understanding the results of conversion, in quality control projects, etc.
• While it will no longer be required to add a 987 to a new record that is being added to WorldCat, the field will remain valid so that users could add it to a master record if they want to or could add it to their local copy of a record. After March 1, 2004, OCLC will continue to expect that all new records will reflect Pinyin romanization whether or not 987 fields are added. Since the 987 will no longer be required, however, newly created records will no longer necessarily contain an explicit indication that they reflect Pinyin romanization practices.
• If a user chooses to add a 987 field, the content of that field would be entered as instructed in Bibliographic Formats and Standards, 3rd edition. BFAS will be revised to make clear that the field is no longer required after March 1, 2004.
• OCLC will continue to offer the Pinyin Conversion service to assist libraries that have not yet had their local databases converted.

Dewey Decimal Classification 22 and Abridged Edition 14

Abridged Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index, Edition 14, will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2004. The Web version of the new abridged edition is already available in Abridged WebDewey. Abridged Edition 14 incorporates all applicable revisions of DDC 22, the edition it abridges. Edition 14 includes major updates throughout the Classification, many new numbers and topics, and some structural changes. Like DDC 22, Abridged Edition 14 does not contain any complete or extensive revisions.

WebDewey/Abridged WebDewey

The latest release of WebDewey includes all the content in DDC 22, additional content only available in the electronic version, and interface improvements. WebDewey is a web-based version of the enhanced DDC 22 database and features: thousands of Relative Index terms and built numbers not available in the DDC print version; Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) that have been statistically mapped to Dewey numbers from records in WorldCat (the OCLC Online Union Catalog) and intellectually mapped by DDC editors; selected mappings from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH); links from mapped LCSH to the LCSH authority records; and quarterly database updates incorporating the latest changes to the DDC, plus new LCSH mappings, index terms, and built numbers. Abridged WebDewey is a web-based version of the new enhanced Abridged 14 database. Abridged WebDewey features LCSH headings that have been intellectually mapped to Dewey numbers by DDC editors, including mappings to Abridged Edition 13 numbers from the OCLC publication Subject Headings for Children; links from mapped LCSH to the LCSH authority records; mappings between abridged Dewey numbers and subject headings from the new 18th edition of H.W. Wilson’s Sears List of Subject Headings; and quarterly database updates incorporating the latest changes to the abridged DDC, plus new LCSH mappings, index terms, and built numbers. New Features, a summary of the changes in Abridged 14 is available in Help and on the Dewey web site in PDF format at www.oclc.org/dewey/versions/abridgededition14/newfeatures.pdf.

Reference Services

RIPM Database Available on OCLC FirstSearch

OCLC has added the Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals, 1800-1950 (Repertoire International de la Presse Musicale) database to the FirstSearch service following a successful install on Sunday, 2003 November 2. The Retrospective Index to Music Periodicals, 1800-1950 (RIPM) database provides international coverage of the music periodical literature published from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian, Spain, Sweden and the United States. The online index complements the printed volumes of the ongoing Repertoire International de la Presse Musicale project, which has completed detailed tables of contents to 70 periodicals and publishes about ten new volumes per year. The RIPM database is an excellent complement to the RILM Abstracts of Music Literature database, currently one of the most popular databases available through FirstSearch. While the RILM database covers writings on music from 1967 to the present, RIPM covers music periodical literature published from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. Both RILM and RIPM are also beginning a new initiative to expand the coverage of music literature chronologically with the goal that they would soon cover over 200 years of music scholarship.

PAIS Archive Database Advance-Purchase Offer Extended

OCLC PAIS has announced the upcoming availability of the PAIS Archive, a retrospective database providing subject and bibliographic access to resources on global public policy and social i ssues. Forthcoming in 2004, the PAIS Archive will contain the full content of the PAIS Bulletin, 1915-1976, previously available only in print format. The PAIS Archive will complement the PAIS International database, also available via FirstSearch, which covers the years 1972 to present. Both are international, interdisciplinary, and selective, and provide bibliographic and subject access to periodicals, books, gray literature, government publications, and other materials covering significant political, economic, social, and cultural issues affecting international and local communities, countries, governments, and society. Contact your OCLC Library Services representative or regional service provider for details on a special offer for orders placed before March 1, 2004. For additional information, visit http://www.pais.org/products/ArchiveInfo.stm.

Re-Engineering the ERIC Database

The United States Department of Education will soon begin to implement a re-engineering plan for the ERIC database. According to information published by the Educational Resources Information Center: “Beginning in January and until the new ERIC model for acquiring education literature is developed later in 2004, no new materials will be received and accepted for the database. However, the ERIC database will continue to grow, as thousands of documents selected by the ERIC clearinghouses throughout 2003 will be added. When the new model is ready later in 2004, the new ERIC contractor will communicate with publishers, education organizations, and other database contributors to add publications and materials released from January 2004 forward.” While we do not anticipate that there will be any changes in the ERIC database on FirstSearch, there are likely to be some initial delays (probably lasting several months in 2004) in the updating of the ERIC database as it makes the transition to the new contractor(s). These delays will affect all providers of the ERIC database. We will keep you posted on additional developments. For more information, please see http://www.eric.ed.gov/.

Most H.W. Wilson Databases Available as Subscription-Only

The majority of H.W. Wilson Company’s databases will henceforth be available on a subscription-only basis for users of OCLC’s FirstSearch service. This change was made on 2003 December 17 and affects all the Wilson databases currently on FirstSearch, except for Wilson Select Plus, which continues to be available via per-search, with its full text. Per-search libraries that switch to subscriptions to the affected Wilson databases will receive a 20% discount from the list price through January 31, 2004. Libraries that take advantage of the 20% discount will have a price increase of only 10% for their next renewal.

Resource Sharing, Shelf-Ready, and Contract Services

OCLC-SHARING-L: New OCLC Resource Sharing Listserver

Keep abreast of what's happening with OCLC's resource sharing system. OCLC is launching a new, broadcast-only listserver to keep users of OCLC ILL informed of upcoming enhancements to OCLC resource sharing. The list will help you take advantage of new capabilities coming in the next 18 months that can streamline your workflow and help you serve your users better. To subscribe to the new listserver, you can send the following command to LISTSERV@OCLC.ORG:
SUBSCRIBE OCLC-SHARING-L
Or go to the OCLC Web page: https://www3.oclc.org/app/listserv/ and subscribe to OCLC-SHARING-L.

ILL Policies Directory Enhanced

The OCLC Policies Directory has been enhanced. The enhancements are currently available at https://illpolicies.oclc.org/ipd/NewSearch.do?start=true. The enhancements allow you to: Save time when logging on to the Directory by setting a browser “cookie” to remember your authorization and password for faster direct logon; save time and effort by make a request to change your ILL supplier status (aka “go lower case”) from within the Policies Directory. The link is available on the Unit Summary, Quick View, and Information screens. The next set of enhancements to the OCLC ILL Policies Directory will include expanding the privacy policy allowing libraries to choose whether or not to share their information outside the OCLC membership.

OCLC Authority Control Processing Offers Getty’s AAT

Authority control processing within OCLC Custom Cataloging services has been enhanced to include the option of automated authority control using Getty’s Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT). Using OCLC and AAT, libraries, museums, and archives can leverage the investment they have made in their existing collections by providing better access to materials and increasing circulation. The Getty AAT is a structured vocabulary containing approximately 125,000 terms and concepts used to improve access to information about art, architecture, material culture, and archival material. Primary users of the Getty Vocabularies include museums, art libraries, archives, researchers, students, and the general public. The terms and concepts covered by the AAT range from Antiquity to the present; the scope is global.

OCLC PICA Acquires V3.Web

OCLC PICA has acquired V3.Web, the interlibrary loan (ILL) requesting and management system previously provided by LIBPAC. OCLC PICA will involve V3.Web to enhance their services in public libraries in the United Kingdom. LIBPAC will manage the V3.Web service on behalf of OCLC PICA. LIBPAC, formed in 1976 and based in the United Kingdom, develops bibliographic software and provides other services to libraries worldwide. V3.Web is a seamless interlibrary loan requesting and management system enabling requests to be made nationally (with compliant systems), in Europe and internationally. The V3 database comprises more than 5 million bibliographic records and has location information leading to over 40 million volumes of public and special libraries in the United Kingdom -- in London, the South East, the West Midlands and South Wales. The addition of V3.Web will enhance OCLC's global network for resource sharing.

WebJunction Plays Key Role in E-Learning

WebJunction, the online community of libraries and other agencies dedicated to sharing technical knowledge and experience, is expanding its role in e-learning. Beginning early January 2004, WebJunction began offering a new online course from the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences titled, “Library Privacy and Confidentiality: Law and Policy.” WebJunction has also partnered with Drexel University, one of the nation's top schools in Information Science and Systems, to offer Drexel's online degree and certificate programs in Library & Information Science and Information Systems at a special tuition rate of 20% off for WebJunction members. Learn more about WebJunction at http://webjunction.org/do/Home.

OCLC Now Offering Services for Groups

OCLC now offers services that allow consortia to build group online union catalogs and provide resource sharing and reference services under one locally customized interface. OCLC group catalogs are based on library holdings set in WorldCat. OCLC creates a catalog from WorldCat holdings contributed by group members so that library users can find what they need close to home. If users are unable to find what they need in their local area, they can expand their search to a larger region within the group, or to the entire WorldCat database for what they need. Gathering holdings information within a group helps facilitate item discovery and resource sharing through OCLC services that many libraries in the group are currently using. Libraries that do not use WorldCat for cataloging can batchload records into the database to make their holdings information available for a group catalog. And libraries can customize and brand their group catalog—for example, they can add logos for both the group and for a library within the group. The Military Education and Research Library Network (MERLN) was the first to implement the OCLC group catalog model. The MERLN group catalog provides access to over 1.5 million items in the collections of 13 MERLN libraries through a single database for easy identification of the materials group members need from any of the participating MERLN libraries. The MERLN group catalog provides easy access to the holdings of a variety of military libraries, based nationally and internationally, on a variety of military topics. A group catalog for Missouri libraries became available in December 2003. It is an extension of Missouri’s “Show-Me The World” project, a virtual library program that uses WorldCat to connect users with information in the state’s libraries, and beyond. Libraries participating in OCLC group services do not have to invest in new hardware, software, or staff training because the services are hosted by OCLC, and staff members in participating libraries are already quite familiar with OCLC services.

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Last updated February 29, 2004