A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — J a n u a r y 2 0 0 5

OCLC Update

By Regan W. Harper
Two New PromptCat Vendors
OCLC welcomes Actrace and Follett Library Resources as its newest PromptCat vendors. Actrace, a Chinese language material vendor, is also a Vendor Record Contribution Partner. Follett Library Resources supplies books, e-books and curriculum-focused audiovisual materials to K-12 schools.

Actrace is a U.S.-based representative of Shanghai Union Documentation & Information Corporation, Ltd., a cataloging center in China, and provides Chinese language services for libraries in North America. For more information, visit www.actrace.com. OCLC began loading original MARC records for Actrace titles — symbol ACTRA in the 040 field subfield c — in October. Actrace records contain both original Chinese script and transliterated data for Chinese language titles. The language of cataloging is English. Some examples of newly added Actrace records are: #56822299; #56821969; #56822301. When a record from Actrace matches a record already in WorldCat, the ACTRA symbol is added in subfield d of the 040 field (for example, see #53839293). In both cases of original records and matches, a 938 field is added to the MARC record that contains the vendor code ACTR. This code is indexed; vendor records are searchable using the vendor information keyword index.

In addition to contributing records, Actrace is a PromptCat partner and can work with OCLC to deliver OCLC records to libraries that order titles from Actrace.

Follett offers a wide range of products and services to schools and school libraries including collection analysis, collection development, opening day collections, curriculum support and the physical processing of items. To find out more about Follett Library Resources, go to its Web site at www.titlewave.com or www.flr.follett.com. Libraries may now sign up with Follett Library Resources as their PromptCat vendor.

For a complete list of current PromptCat partners, see www.oclc.org/promptcat/about/vendors/.

Dewey 22 Available
The 22nd edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification gives your library or library group fast access to Dewey numbers that reflect changes in the world since the last edition was published in 1996. Full and abridged versions in print and online are now available for purchase by individual libraries and groups:

DDC 22 and Abridged Edition 14 — Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index, Edition 22 (DDC 22) contains several major updates, many new numbers and topics such as Web publications, specific aspects of Celtic religions, Kwanzaa, laser surgery, migraines, low- carbohydrate cooking, extreme sports, digital photography and employment interviewing, plus a few structural changes.

Abridged Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index, Edition 14, incorporates all applicable revisions of DDC 22 in a tool that is appropriate for libraries with collections of up to 20,000 items.
WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey — WebDewey, a Web-based version of DDC 22, includes 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 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.

Visit the Dewey Web site (www.oclc.org/dewey/) to learn more about DDC 22 and associated releases that include Dewey Decimal Classification: Principles and Application, Third Edition, by Lois Mai Chan and Joan S. Mitchell and 200 Religion Class. A link to Ordering provides an option to print an order form or complete an order online. Pricing information for single libraries is available.

Group pricing for access to WebDewey also is available. Please contact Linda Gonzalez (lgonzale@bcr.org) or Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org) at BCR for information on pricing for groups, such as consortia, or school districts with decentralized cataloging.

Holdings Experts Help with MFHD
OCLC is in the process of implementing the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data (MFHD). Holdings experts Frieda Rosenberg and Diane Hillmann are advising OCLC staff on interpretations of the standard and on common usage of the standard to accelerate OCLC's implementation. Rosenberg is head of Serials Cataloging, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and coauthor of the CONSER SCCTP Serial Holdings workshop. Hillmann is director of Library Services and Operations, National Science Digital Library, and coeditor of the recently published Metadata in Practice.

WorldCat currently contains local holdings data for more libraries than any other single repository in the world. Those holdings support resource sharing activities and reduce the cost of resource sharing for participating libraries. When these holdings are converted to the MFHD format, they may allow further reduction in resource sharing costs through automatic routing of requests based on detailed information in the local data records.

As part of the implementation, OCLC will convert the existing repository of WorldCat Local Data Records (LDRs) to the MFHD format and add local holdings maintenance functionality to the Connexion browser. In June 2005, OCLC expects that libraries will be able to use the Connexion browser to maintain local holdings in WorldCat in the MFHD format, and OCLC will retire Passport for Union Listing. Libraries will also be able to use OCLC's Local Data Record Updating batch processing service (LDRUS) to maintain local holdings in WorldCat. Local holdings will continue to display in FirstSearch databases and in OCLC Resource Sharing.

To support libraries moving to local holdings maintenance in the Connexion browser and to the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data, OCLC is working with BCR and other OCLC regional service providers to create an online tutorial and materials for training library staff. OCLC will continue to release more details about implementing MFHD and the Union List service migration as they become available.

International ILLiad Meeting in March
The International OCLC ILLiad meeting is scheduled for March 17-18, 2005, at OCLC Headquarters in Dublin (Ohio). Registration is free for this first international meeting. Attendance is limited to 120 people, with registration open from mid-December 2004 through January 15, 2005, to current OCLC ILLiad licensees only. If space is still available after January 15, registration will be opened to non-ILLiad users until the registration deadline of February 18, 2005.

OCLC and Atlas Systems, Inc., are currently developing the agenda and working on a possible premeeting training schedule based on user feedback. Current ILLiad licensees will receive a packet with the full agenda and information on travel and hotel accommodations. More details will be forthcoming.

If you have questions, please contact BCR's Regan Harper — rharper@bcr.org; (303) 751-6277, ext. 120; (800) 397-1552, ext. 120.

New Connexion Browser Enhancements
On November 21, OCLC installed a number of enhancements to the Connexion browser.

Connexion browser searching reimplementation: with this installation OCLC is moving all Connexion browser searching to the Oracle platform.

Users now can use a single set of indexes with all OCLC interfaces — Cataloging, Resource Sharing and Reference.
New browsable indexes allow full Boolean operators.
The reimplementation of the truncated display means all searching functionality has migrated to Connexion.

WebDewey/Abridged WebDewey Quarterly Update:

Both databases were updated with the latest content and mapped terminology.
Both services contain the latest version of the schedules, tables, Manual and Relative Index entries from their respective enhanced DDC databases. The hierarchical displays in WebDewey and Abridged WebDewey feature updated main class and division captions (e.g., 700 Arts & recreation; 790 Sports, games & entertainment).

Search Results button from Save File: Users now can easily access the Search Results button after completing a final action on a record from the save file.

Additionally, because of the enhancements to the interface this month, OCLC recommends you clear your browser cache prior to logging on for the first time after the November install to ensure that your browser will be using only the most recent Connexion updates.

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