A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 1

OCLC Update

By Rosario Garza

OCLC Adopts CatExpress Cancellation Policy
The increasing number of late CatExpress subscription cancellations that OCLC is receiving has resulted in the development of an OCLC policy to handle them and the associated credit requests. This process is not only time consuming, but also expensive for everyone involved. As a result, effective November 1:

Libraries that cancel after the automatic subscription renewal date and that have performed no CatExpress activity after that date will receive full credit for subscription fees paid for the uncompleted renewal term minus a cancellation handling charge of $35.

If the library has performed CatExpress activity between the date of order or renewal and the cancellation request, the library must request a credit of its unused CatExpress subscription fee. The credit will be prorated based on the amount of activity and reduced by a cancellation handling charge of $35. Credit requests need to be sent in writing to Rosario Garza at BCR.

Renewal notices are sent to CatExpress subscribers 90 days in advance of renewal. Unless we receive your signed cancellation notice, renewal is automatic. If you have any questions about this new policy, please feel free to contact Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org).

Bibliographic Records for Large Print Publications
Bibliographic records for large-print publications in the past have at times merged into records for regular-print counterparts, creating problems. OCLC has now made changes to matching algorithms to prevent these incorrect matches.

According to OCLC staff, as long as bibliographic records are correctly coded, the potential for the incorrect merges has been eliminated. Correct coding in records for large-print publications is essential to the matching process. Librarians that catalog large-print publications should pay particular attention to the following fields:

Fixed-field element "Form:" This element should be coded d for a large-print publication. Note that correct coding of the "Form" element is also an essential part of the matching process for other forms of material, including electronic (code s), microfilm (code a), microfiche (code b) and Braille (code f).

Field 010: If the large-print publication contains the Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) for the regular-print counterpart, enter that LCCN in 010 $z, rather than $a.

Field 300: For the matching algorithms used in Duplicate Detection and Resolution software, the presence of the phrase "large print" in field 300 is also a factor in correct matching. See AACR2 rule 2.5B24.

Contact BCR's Linda Gonzalez (lgonzale@bcr.org) or Mike Wright (mwright@bcr.org) with any questions you may have about MARC coding for large-print publications. They also can help you deal with any cataloging questions you may have.

Union List Guide for Electronic Serials Documents Available
Over the past few months a small group of regional network and library staff with experience in union listing, cataloging and ILL have been discussing electronic serials and union listing on OCLC. The result is a document titled "OCLC Union List Guidelines for Electronic Serials." The document has been posted to the OCLC Web site at: www.oclc.org/oclc/union/eserials.shtm.

Users are encouraged to review this document. Any cataloging questions should be addressed to Linda Gonzalez or Mike Wright.

ILL Direct Request Free Trial Reminder
If you are interested in trying out OCLC's ILL Direct Request service, remember that OCLC offers a 90-day free trial, allowing your library to evaluate the program virtually risk free.

During the 90-day free trial, ILL Direct requests processed as unmediated transactions are free. Requests that end up in your review file and are subsequently produced on the OCLC ILL service will continue to be charged at the established price. You can pick any consecutive three months for the trial.

Libraries that have already participated in the trial are not eligible. Contact Ann Schwab (aschwb@bcr.org) at BCR to arrange your free ILL Direct Request trial.

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