The PALINET CAT Blog Moved

The PALINET CAT and PALINET ILL blogs moved to a new blog server on Tuesday October 16th, 2007 to take advantage of a more user-friendly format and convenient blogging tools. All current subscribers to each blog will have to re-subscribe with the new address in order to receive new entries. The new locations are listed below. If you do not currently subscribe to these blogs, please use the subscription links below to sign up.

The new location of the PALINET CAT blog is http://blog.palinet.org/cat
The new location of the PALINET ILL blog is http://blog.palinet.org/ill

To subscribe, to PALINET CAT please use http://blog.palinet.org/cat/?feed=rss2
To subscribe, to PALINET ILL please use http://blog.palinet.org/ill/?feed=rss2

We are excited to bring you these improvements to our blogging service and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. Comments on either of these new blogs are always welcome. Tell us what you think – email palinetsupport@palinet.org.

Update on Level 3 Records in OCLC

Here is more information from OCLC Staff about the level 3 records:

- First, OCLC has changed the way in which they are matching the incoming Baker & Taylor preliminary records. Ordinarily, they never match solely on ISBN since (as is often mentioned on this and other lists) it can be an unreliable match point. After testing, however, they found that the ISBNs in the B&T data were highly reliable and produced correct matches with existing WorldCat records. As a result of the change in matching, many fewer new Encoding Level 3 records are being added.

- Second, staff in OCLC's Quality Control Section have worked through the records that had been previously added. As a result of that activity, about 72,000 records have been merged into existing WorldCat records. Work continues on an additional 13,000 records for which there are multiple matches for ISBNs.

- Third, OCLC has been pleased to see that OCLC member libraries having been upgrading B&T records with between 3,000-4,000 being upgraded through the end of August. OCLC is pleased to see this bibliographic data ‘grows up’ from a level 3 to a full record by the cooperative efforts of the OCLC community.

- Fourth, OCLC continues to work on processes that will allow for the Level 3s to be upgraded automatically by Baker & Taylor after the work is published (since you can’t have a full cataloging record until after the work is published, after all). Libraries can then be alerted to those updates through the Bib Notification process.

Several suggestions in past comments are under discussion by OCLC colleagues. It has been suggested, for example, that some types of records should be segregated in a separate database. OCLC's experience, when they've done this in the past, has been that such databases are not used. There have also been suggestions of a different level of credit for upgrading these preliminary records. This requires a considerable amount of development and testing to do but OCLC is continuing to discuss the possibility.

Now, some comments on the specific example cited by Vicki Breuck (Drastic fantastik, by KT Tunstall, just released in the US today):

- This is a case in which the reliance on ISBN matching did not work. The existing WorldCat record (which was, by the way, added to WorldCat by OCLC's Contract Services staff as part of another of our partnerships with vendors) did not contain an ISBN while the B&T data contains two separate sets of identifiers. This example points out a downside of relying primarily on a single match point.

- This is also an example of a situation of which both OCLC and B&T are aware, cases in which duplicate copies of the same records are sent. They're working together to evaluate the reasons for this so that they can identify a solution.

Please report book duplicate records to bibchange@oclc.org. While they may not be merged instantly due to a healthy backlog of error reports and duplicates that OCLC has received, they will be added to our list and will be evaluated for merging in the order in which they were received.

Both OCLC and Baker & Taylor continue to feel that preliminary records for forthcoming publications do provide a value in WorldCat, including their use as the basis of on-order records which many libraries display to all users of their catalogs. They're continuing to work together in the exploration of how initial data to support the ordering process can evolve into useful bibliographic data.

As a reminder you can update the level 3 records, but please do not create a duplicate. Please see the following for OCLC Member Quality Assurance: http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/quality/#CIAFAHJB

Here is a link that will give you a chart of what receives credit and what does not: http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/quality/#databaseenrichment

Genre Authority Records Available via Connexion

With the loading of this week's authority subjects distribution file from the Library of Congress, you can now search or browse for Genre authority records (x55 tags) via the Connexion client (2.0) or browser. The x55 tagged authority records are also indexed in the LCSH index.

However, even though the Genre index labels are not present in the authority searching or browsing dropdown lists in Client 1.7x, the genre indexes can be accessed via the command line.
The index label for the genre index is 'ge'. An example of a search from the command line is: ge: films ; and an example of a browse is sca ge: films.

Please note: At this time, SACO participants still have to wait to propose new headings.

An example of a newly added Genre authority record is sh2007025004 (ARN 7519072), Fiction films.

Currently, headings tagged as 655, second indicator 0 are *not* candidates for controlling. Changes to enable the controlling of genre headings will be part of a future Connexion enhancement.

Free Web Session on the OCLC eSerials Holdings Service

Looking for ways to automatically set and maintain your library’s eSerials holdings in WorldCat?

Join OCLC on Sept. 19, 1:00 p.m. EDT for a live, free Web session on the OCLC eSerials Holdings service and they’ll show you how your library can:

*Make your electronic content more visible and accessible—without adding to your cataloging workload
*Automate setting and maintaining your library’s location holdings in WorldCat
*Increase the value of your investment in A-Z lists, OpenURL resolver, WorldCat, and WorldCat Collection Analysis
*Increase usage of your electronic serials collection
*Automatically control and/or deflect ILL requests from colleagues in the OCLC cooperative
*Get started using the eSerials Holdings service—available at no charge to OCLC member libraries

To register for the Web session, go to https://www3.oclc.org/app/request/bin/request.asp?specialCode=eSerSep07.

OCLC Level 3 Records

We are wondering how to approach the Level 3 records in OCLC. Should we be upgrading those records, and if so, what credit do we get for doing so? Is it the same amount as is given for creating original records? Or, on the other hand, should we just ignore those records (which I understand are there for acquisition purposes), and create a different original record for that same item?

Yes, you can update the records, but please do not create a duplicate. Please see the following for OCLC Member Quality Assurance: http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/quality/#CIAFAHJB

Here is a link that will give you a chart of what receives credit and what does not: http://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/quality/#databaseenrichment

Here is more information from OCLC:

These Level 3 records now being added to WorldCat from several sources are not intended for cataloging use as they are. They are, in effect, very preliminary records that need to grow up. In an ideal world, these records would have grown up before copies of the items begin arriving in libraries. That "growing up" process has been place for CIP records for more than 10 years with a combination of OCLC staff upgrading CIP records when they first come into a vendor's inventory, of acquiring upgraded CIP records from other sources and of providing system functionality that allows member libraries to make basic upgrades to CIP records. In all three cases, the goal is a record usable for cataloging purposes before (or, at the point when) libraries first begin to acquire copies. In the case of the Level 3 records under discussion, we're still working through the upgrading process with our vendor partners.

We greatly appreciate member libraries' efforts to upgrade these records while we continue to work though the process of getting upgraded records earlier in the process. We also urge that libraries not create duplicates instead of upgrading the Level 3 records.

For many years, OCLC has depended on a shared model of quality control and database maintenance. It involves, in part, contributors to WorldCat being careful when adding new records to WorldCat and taking the time to upgrade existing records to benefit other members of the cooperative. It also involves OCLC staff who work, both in response to specific reports from member libraries and proactively, to maintain bibliographic records.

There has been a lot of discussion on various library-related lists about the potential of getting bibliographic data earlier in the life cycle of that data and about the potential of reducing duplicative effort by repurposing vendors' data. OCLC is very interested in exploring these possibilities and these recent efforts with vendors, as well as our work with vendors to create bibliographic records through the WorldCat Cataloging Partners program (http://www.oclc.org/catalogingpartners/wccp.htm), are part of that exploration. Any such exploration raises the kinds of issues that have been expressed in the AUTOCAT discussions and we appreciate your sharing your comments.

MARC 001 Field Prefix

When downloading OCLC records into our local system, the OCLC number now appears with 'ocn' rather than 'ocm', in the MARC 001 field, when record is filed. Is this the norm from now on?

Yes, the new OCLC numbers created will contain the "ocn" prefix and contain an expanded number.

Here is a little background on the number expansion project:
To accommodate the ongoing growth of the WorldCat database, a project was launched that expanded the OCLC Control Number (e.g., the number assigned by OCLC and stored in the 001 field of the MARC Bibliographic Format in OCLC exported records). The highest number that could have been assigned to incoming bibliographic records previously was 99999999.

For bibliographic records up to and including OCLC number 99999999, the correct format of the OCLC number will remain as a three character prefix (ocm), followed by an eight digit number and a trailing space (e.g., ocm99999999 ). Starting with record number 100000000, the prefix will be ocn, the number will be 9 digits in length and have no trailing space (e.g., ocn100000000).

All OCLC systems that output OCLC MARC21 Bibliographic records were modified to output different OCLC number formats depending on the number itself (e.g., ocm99999999[blank] or ocn100000000)

Tutorials for Metadata Extraction in Connexion

The tutorials for Metadata Extraction for Connexion browser and client were recently updated to reflect changes made over the last few months.

If you have never tried the Metadata Extraction functionality, you may want to review the appropriate tutorial and/or try extracting data from a source file for a specific URL on the web or from a locally stored file to see how this functionality can save you time and effort in transcribing data. Files types supported are Web pages (*.html or *.htm file), Word documents (*.doc file), Adobe PDF documents (*.pdf file), and MP3 files (*.mp3).

Both Connexion browser and client Help have detailed information about Metadata Extraction functionality.

Connexion Client 2.0 Documentation

The Connexion client Help is fully updated for version 2.00 of the Connexion client software, released yesterday. Web documents covering many new features and enhancements are updated and available now, including:

*Getting Started

*Setup Worksheet

*Set Options and Customize

*Use Client Interface

*Use Macros

*Use Non-Latin Scripts for Cataloging

*Use Bibliographic Institution Records

Also available:
*Connexion client tutorial on institution records

*Guide for RLIN21 users making the transition to the Connexion client with version 2.00, written by William Kopycki of the University of Pennsylviania (available from the OCLC website)

Tips: After clicking a link above to open a document, click "Abstract & revision notes" in the left-hand navigation list to see where updates appear. Click "PDF" in the navigation list to get an easy-to-print version or to use table of contents bookmark links to find very specific information.

Connexion Client 2.0 is now available

Connexion Client 2.0 is now available. For more detail and to download the client, click here.

Some enhancements include:

*Display your toolbar on two rows
*Use shorter menus: Edit, Action, View and Tools menus are rearranged
*Use Z39.50 access via the client to retrieve bibliographic records from your local system to create authority records or add bib records to WorldCat
*Use RLIN21 keyboards for Arabic, Cyrillic, Hebrew, and Latin scripts
*Use Unicode control characters for Arabic and Hebrew script cataloging
*Use automatic switch from non-Latin to English mode for delimiter and subfield code
*Use Institution records.
*Use New OCLC macros in the macro book OCLC.mbk

OCLC does not expect to discontinue 1.7X until a future release of the client is available. You are not required to upgrade to 2.00. However, OCLC recommends that you upgrade to 2.00 to have the most current features available.

Attention Connexion Browser users: No update is required.

Baker and Taylor Records

All the records in WorldCat by Baker and Taylor seem to only have the title and publisher, why is there so little information?

Please note the following press release from OCLC about the loading of Baker and Taylor records into WorldCat: http://www.oclc.org/news/announcements/announcement222.htm

Connexion Browser Enhancements

OCLC plans to install enhancements to Connexion browser, OCLC's Web-based interface to Connexion, on Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Below is information about these changes. (See also related messages about 2007-05 Z39.50 Cataloging and WebDewey/Abridged WebDewey Enhancements)

Institution Records, General Information
As part of combining with RLG, OCLC is adding Connexion and Z39.50 Cataloging functionality that supports the RLG concept known as clustering. OCLC is continuing with the master record concept, but is adding the ability to link institution records to the master record. Institution records contain additional cataloging data, such as local call numbers, holdings locations within the institution, or local or copy-specific notes. Unique information in institution records is indexed. When searching WorldCat, you can choose to search IRs as well as master records.
Institution records (IRs) are being loaded for migrating RLG libraries that requested this in their migration survey response. The source of these records is either the RLG Union Catalog or libraries’ local systems. For more information on RLG Union Catalog migration projects, please see: http://www.oclc.org/community/rlg/rlg_master_schedule_external.pdf and Status: RLG Union Catalog Integration into WorldCat http://www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=21014 . IRs are assigned OCLC numbers. The OCLC number of the master record to which the IR is linked is system supplied in the 079 field of the IR.

Connexion browser and Z39.50 Cataloging support for institution records will be installed on May 20, 2007. NOTE: Connexion browser access to institution record indexing will be available mid-June 2007. Connexion client, OCLC's Windows-based interface to Connexion, will add support for IRs in late June 2007, as part of client version 2.00. For more information about client version 2.00, see Connexion Browser Enhancements.

Connexion Browser Institution Records Enhancements

Searching
All OCLC cataloging authorizations are able to display IRs attached to master records. The default is to search WorldCat indexes. For Connexion browser, you may set an option on the search screen to Include indexes , which searches WorldCat master record and IR indexes together. Unique data in IRs is indexed using all existing bibliographic record indexes, as well as four new indexes: Action note, General call number, IR control number, and system control number. (NOTE: although you will be able to select this option to include IR indexes in your searches, these indexes will not be available for searching until mid-June, 2007. Even though you cannot search for the unique data in IRs until mid-June, you can search the master record and view attached IRs.)

Search Results
Search results retrieve the master record. An indication of linked IRs for your institution, and/or for other libraries, is shown on master records. For example ZMY Holdings/IR/LHR – 37 other holdings; 34 other IRs indicates that, if your OCLC symbol is ZMY, you have contributed IR record(s) for this master record and also have local holdings record(s) (LHRs) attached. In addition, 34 more IRs contributed by other libraries are attached and there are 37 additional holdings on the master record.

You can select an option on the search screen to Show Institution Record if Single Record Found. If this option is set, Connexion will display your library’s institution record(s) when a single master record is found.

WorldCat search brief and truncated list results provide an IR link in the left column if your library has IRs attached. Clicking on the IR link takes you directly to your library’s IR(s). In the holdings portion of the brief list results, an Other IR link takes you to the IRs for all libraries.

View IRs linked to the displayed WorldCat record by selecting View > Display Institution Records. Then choose to display all institution records or limit your display by specific symbol.

If more than one IR is attached to a WorldCat record, you will see the institution record list display, which provides information about each IR attached to the master record, including the OCLC symbol for the owning institution. Hovering over the data in several columns of this display provides fuller information from the corresponding fields in the IR.

Creating and Editing IRs
Only authorized* libraries can create and maintain institution records. Libraries not authorized for IRs will see institution records in Display mode. This is also true if you are authorized, but viewing another institution's IRs. Authorized libraries can chose which cataloging authorizations at their institution have IR capabilities. A cataloging authorization with IR capabilities can:
· add new institution records to existing master records
· add IRs at the same time you add a new master record
· edit and replace existing IRs
· delete IRs
· move IRs to a different master record
To check if your authorization is profiled for IR creation and maintenance, go to General > Admin Options >User Information, then check to see if the value for Profiled for Institution Records is Yes or No.

*All migrating RLG libraries that indicated they want institution record support in their migration survey responses are authorized to create and maintain institution records. Other cataloging members (i.e., non-RLG migrating libraries) will be able to order institution record creation and maintenance beginning in July 2007. IR support is provided under a new annual institution record subscription that will be billed either annually or monthly using two new product codes.

Exporting and Deriving
All OCLC cataloging authorizations can export IRs, as well as derive new master or constant data records from institution records.

Validation Options
For Connexion browser, the current Set Holdings Validation Level “None” is renamed “Structure” to more accurately reflect the minimal checking that takes place. Additionally, a new Add or Replace Validation Level option is provided for Institution Records.

Documentation and Training
Connexion browser help and online documentation is being updated to include information about these changes.

Searching WorldCat Indexes is scheduled to be updated in the future to incorporate institution record indexing.

A new tutorial, OCLC Connexion browser: Institution records, will be available on the Connexion training web site: http://www.oclc.org/support/training/connexion/browser/tutorial/

Technical Bulletin 254: OCLC-MARC Format Update 2007 and Institution Records to Accommodate the RLG Union Catalog describes MARC bibliographic format changes to make possible the integration of RLG Union Catalog bibliographic records into WorldCat at both the master record level and at the institution record level: http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/tb/254/

Z39.50 Cataloging Enhancements

OCLC plans to install enhancements to Z39.50 Cataloging on Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Below is information about these changes. (See also related message for 2007-05 Connexion Browser Institution Record Enhancements.)

Institution Records, General Information
As part of the combining with RLG, OCLC is adding Connexion and Z39.50 Cataloging functionality that supports the RLG concept known as clustering. OCLC is continuing with the master record concept, but is adding the ability to link institution records to the master record. Institution records contain additional cataloging data, such as local call numbers, holdings locations within the institution, or local or copy-specific notes. As an option, unique information in institution records is indexed and available for searching along with WorldCat indexes.

Institution records (IRs) are being loaded for RLG migrating libraries that requested this as part of their migration survey response. The source of these records is either from RLG Union Catalog or from libraries’ local systems. For more information on RLG Union Catalog migration projects, please see: http://www.oclc.org/community/rlg/rlg_master_schedule_external.pdf andStatus: RLG Union Catalog Integration into WorldCat http://www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=21014 . IRs are assigned OCLC numbers. The OCLC number of the master record to which the IR is linked is system supplied in the 079 field of the IR.

Connexion browser and Z39.50 Cataloging support for institution records will be installed on May 20, 2007. NOTE: Connexion browser access to institution record indexing will be available mid-June 2007. Connexion client support for IRs is planned for late June 2007, as part of client version 2.00. For more information about client version 2.00, see Client Enhancements.

Z39.50 Cataloging Institution Record Enhancements

Z39.50 Cataloging WorldCat searches will always return master records, and a separate search will be necessary to retrieve IRs linked to this master.

952 Fields
952 fields are being added to Master Records and Institution Records to provide a mechanism to identify the presence of linked Institution Records, as well as record control numbers and other information pertaining to linked Institution Records.

The 952 fields will display to all Z39.50 Cataloging users. If there are no Institution Records attached to the master record, no 952 fields will appear.

The first 952 field contains the information for the Master Record. The subsequent 952 fields contain the information for the Institution Records that are associated with that master record. 952 fields are in order by record control number.

The 952 field contains information specific to each of the records. This will help you determine which Institution Record you need for cataloging. This information is very similar to the Institution Record list display in Connexion.

Detailed documentation about Z39.50 Cataloging and Institution Records will be added to our Web site: http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/z3950/default.htm

Searching the Institution Record Database
Institution Records will be in a separate database. To search the Institution Record database, you will need to configure your client to access database name: OCLCInstitutionRecords

The following indexes are available in the Z39.50 Cataloging Institution Record database:

Institution Record Control Number: Use Attribute 12 with Structure Attribute word or phrase. Indexes the 001 field.
System Control Number: Use Attribute 5028 with Structure Attribute phrase. Indexes the 035 subfield a.
Master Record Control Number: Use Attribute 9911 with Structure Attribute word. This will list all the Institution Records associated with a particular master record.
Holding Institution: Use Attribute 56 with Structure Attribute word. Search by OCLC institution symbol. Indexes the holdings information.

Setting Holdings
If you have implemented the Extended Services Definition you can set holdings on any institution record if you are profiled for institution records. Note: The holdings will be attached to the master record.

To set holdings while you are in the Institution Record database your client must be configured to use database name: OCLCInstitutionRecords
For information on the Extended Service Definition see:
http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/z3950/databaseupdate/

Control Numbers
The master record control number is in the 001 field and the 035 field in the master record.

In an Institution Record, the master record number is in the 079 field. The 001 field and the 035 field in an Institution Record contain the control number for the Institution Record.

See also Technical Bulletin 254: OCLC-MARC Format Update 2007 and Institution Records to Accommodate the RLG Union Catalog http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/tb/254/ for details.

OCLC Dewey Services - Update

Dewey Services content in OCLC Connexion is updated quarterly. This release is scheduled for the May 20, 2007 install. The next quarterly update is scheduled for August, 2007.
This May release consists of updating the DDC 22 and Abridged 14 databases in WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey respectively. These database updates contain the latest changes to the DDC, including new editorially mapped LCSH including up to Weekly List no. 15 (2007), and monthly postings (New and changed entries, http://www.oclc.org/dewey/updates/new/default.htm ) for February 2007, March 2007 and April 2007.

WebDewey is a web-based version of the enhanced DDC 22 database. This May 2007 release includes:

*All updates to Dewey Decimal Classification, Edition 22, through April 2006 (corrections, new developments, new built numbers, and additional electronic index terms)
*Thousands of 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 (through LCSH Weekly List no. 15, 2007)
*Thousands of Relative Index terms and built numbers not available in print
links from mapped LCSH to the LCSH authority records
*Selected mappings from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Abridged WebDewey is a web-based version of the enhanced Abridged 14 database. This May 2007 release includes:

*All content from Abridged Edition 14, through April 2007
*LCSH that have been intellectually mapped to Dewey headings 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 the 2005 update to the 18th edition of H.W. *Wilson's Sears List of Subject Headings

The next Dewey Services quarterly release is scheduled for August, 2007.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Remember, OCLC Connexion already contains a number of keyboard shortcuts. If "Dewey Services" is your *active tab, the following shortcuts activate the following buttons:

<2> Browse (WebDewey or Abridged WebDewey)
<3> Create (user note)
<1> Search (WebDewey or Abridged WebDewey)
<[> Search WebDewey user notes
<]> Search Abridged WebDewey user notes
<=> Search History (varies depending on your active screen)
<4> Show (active user notes)
<[> Show Tables (WebDewey)
<]> Show Tables (Abridged WebDewey)
Work Area toggle on/off
<.> Focus cursor on the Work Area
<.> Work area dialog box
Open Cataloging Session/Dewey-Only Session (details at http://www.oclc.org/dewey/enhancements/enhancement200211.htm)

*You can get to the Dewey Services tab in OCLC Connexion with the shortcut, +.
A WebDewey tutorial is available at: http://www.oclc.org/support/training/dewey/.
Details about WebDewey enhancements are available at www.oclc.org/dewey/updates/enhancements/default.htm