A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — J u n e 2 0 0 1

OCLC Update

By Rosario Garza

New Cataloging Micro Enhancer Available
Version 1.21 of the OCLC Cataloging Micro Enhancer for Windows (CatME) software is now available for electronic download. This new version includes fixes to reported problems. To download the software, and for more information about the changes in this version and upcoming changes with Cataloging Micro Enhancer 2.0, please visit the CatME Web site at www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/catme.htm.

Users are strongly encouraged to download the new version as soon as possible. Version 2.0 will be released later this calendar year. If you do not currently use the Cataloging Micro Enhancer and want to incorporate its use into your current acquisitions/cataloging workflow, contact one of the member services librarians at BCR to discuss your needs.

CORC Pathfinder Tools to Be Improved OCLC has recommitted itself to supporting and improving the OCLC CORC service Pathfinder tool set. OCLC staff is taking a look at improvements that can be made in the near term and prioritizing enhancements for the coming year based on a list of recommendations created with input from the Pathfinder Advisory Board and other CORC Pathfinder users.

As a part of this renewed effort, Sandy Colby has been named the main contact/product manager for Pathfinders. Colby will review requests and work with OCLC's development staff to resolve reported problems and prioritize enhancements. Users should continue to report problems via the CORC Support feature. This allows OCLC to retain session-specific information, thus making it easier to troubleshoot reported problems.

In addition, Jay Jordan, OCLC president and CEO, directed that as of May 1, OCLC suspend all related charges for the following product codes:

CRC3728 CORC Pathfinder search
CRC3729 CORC Export Pathfinder
CRC3730 CORC Pathfinder link use
CRC3731 CORC Pathfinder storage

The suspension of charges will allow OCLC to take a careful look at the current Pathfinder model and determine the best pricing model for the future.

Institution Symbol Expansion Project
On August 12, OCLC will implement expanded OCLC institution symbols. Up to now, all newly assigned OCLC symbols have been three characters in length. But OCLC is about to run out of three-character combinations. New institutions' symbols will now be at least five characters long. Once all five-character symbols are exhausted, OCLC will move to six-, then seven- and finally eight-character symbols. Existing OCLC members will continue to be identified by their current three-character symbols (and related four-character holding library codes). One exception: if a Reference services only institution with a three-character symbol that begins with a number signs up for any other OCLC product or service, the institution will be assigned a new five-character symbol.

EDX Service Changes
Beginning July 1, a library subscribing to any OCLC product using the Electronic Data Exchange (EDX) service to deliver files to/from OCLC will need only complete the EDX Assessment form once. Libraries will no longer have to complete the EDX Assessment form for each service they add to their EDX account.

Fixed Fee Pricing Quotes Mailed
All eligible OCLC Cataloging service libraries should have received their Fiscal Year 2001/2002 Fixed Fee Pricing for Cataloging quote in April. Libraries that were subscribed to this pricing option during FY 2000/2001 automatically will be renewed unless a signed cancellation form is returned to BCR by June 8. Libraries that want to subscribe for FY 2001/2002 must return their sign-up form by June 8. If you have questions, contact Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org) or Regan Harper (rharper@bcr.org) at BCR.

Quality Control an Ongoing Project
The quality control aspect of OCLC's WorldCat is an ongoing project involving OCLC Cataloging libraries and OCLC staff. In April, OCLC's Metadata Standards and Quality Division staff received more than 48,349 change requests. They manually merged more than 8,705 duplicate records and made changes and/or corrections to over 3,479,015 records in the WorldCat database manually or via macros. An additional 378,495 records were corrected via automated scans. OCLC staff also updated a portion of the 30,000 WorldCat records for netLibrary titles to correct missing subject headings and added entries reported by member libraries. Every time a master record is corrected, the benefits accrue to all future users of that bibliographic record.

Electronic Resources Collection Sets Pricing Trial Extended
In October 2000, OCLC put in place a pricing trial for WorldCat Collection Sets of electronic resources, such as netLibrary. The trial period has been extended a year, until June 30, 2002.

OCLC continues to seek volunteers to catalog electronic or microform sets. If you are interested in cataloging a set, contact Linda Gonzalez (lgonzale@bcr.org) at BCR or Susan Walker at OCLC. If you are interested in ordering a WorldCat Collection Set, a complete list of sets and a link to the interactive order form is available at www.stats.oclc.org/wcs_list.html.

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