OCLC CORC Service: How It All Works
(June 2000 Action for Libraries newsletter)

By Regan W. Harper

As the July 1 release date for the OCLC CORC service approaches, librarians may be wondering how it all works. Here is the new service in a nutshell.

The CORC service is made up of four databases:

  • Resource Catalog

    • This is the database for records of electronic resources. It was seeded in January 1999 with approximately 100,000 records from NetFirst, 73,000-plus records from the InterCat project and records in WorldCat that have an 856 field.

  • Authority Catalog

    • The Authority Catalog contains new and changed authority records and member input records. CORC allows library staff to create their own authority records if they do not exist. These records are then forwarded to NACO institutions for verification and possible upgrading. The authority catalog is integrated with the Resource Catalog allowing for on-request authority control.

  • DDC Database

    • The CORC service has a direct link to Web Dewey. Libraries must have a subscription to Web Dewey to use this feature fully, but even without a subscription, the CORC service attempts to suggest a possible Dewey number for use at the time of harvesting. (The CORC service's harvester feature scans the resource and pulls out the necessary information to complete the record.)

  • Pathfinder Database

    • This database is full of organized URL links created and maintained by member libraries and users. (A more complete description of Pathfinders will be given in the July Action For Libraries.)

A direct link exists between the CORC Resource Catalog and WorldCat. Records created in CORC are added to WorldCat immediately. Records created in WorldCat that contain an 856 field are selected and batch loaded to the CORC database overnight.

A link is provided between CORC's Authority Catalog and the OCLC Authority File. New and changed national authority records are automatically added or replaced in both. Member input records appear only in CORC, but if upgraded by a NACO institution, become national authority records in both systems.

Electronic resource records can be created in the resource catalog using two methods: creating from scratch or harvesting from the electronic resource itself.

To create a new record, you need to call up a work- form and input the required information about the electronic resource. Harvesting allows much of this procedure to be automated. To harvest a record, a staff member locates an electronic resource, (e.g. a Web site) and then chooses create. The harvester scans the resource, pulling out the information needed to complete the record. You then can add other information, if needed, or leave the record as is.

Pricing for the CORC service will mirror pricing for cataloging in the standard OCLC Cataloging service and will be transaction based. The only additional costs will be for the use of CORC Pathfinders.

For more information about the OCLC CORC service, come to BCR's half-day overview of the OCLC CORC service scheduled immediately after the OCLC Updates throughout the BCR region. For more immediate information, contact Regan Harper rharper@bcr.org) or Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org) at the BCR Aurora office, or Mike Wright (mwright@bcr.org) in the BCR Eastern Services office.

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