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Action for Libraries

OCLC Update

By Regan W. Harper
Subscription Pricing Information Sent Out
Fiscal Year 2006-2007 subscription pricing information for OCLC Cataloging and OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing services was distributed via e-mail during March and April to directors and service contacts at each BCR/OCLC member institution. If you did not receive your quotes for these services, contact BCR's Regan Harper via e-mail at rharper@bcr.org. Please indicate which quote you did not receive (Cataloging or Resource Sharing) and include your institution symbol in the message to speed up the renotification process.

Libraries already on subscription pricing for either service will automatically renew at the new price quote beginning July 1. Libraries not already on subscription pricing for Cataloging will need to complete the online order form to enroll.

April Enhancements to WorldCat Collection Analysis
OCLC installed the following enhancements to WorldCat Collection Analysis:

  • In the interface, graphing was changed to show the actual number of titles instead of averages when graphing by Publication Date.
  • OCLC symbols were added to library names on the Limits screen.
  • New separators were added in the Data to Analyze dropdown menu for Peer Comparisons and Predefined Groups to make navigation easier.
  • The maximum number of titles exported was reduced from 5,000 to 500 in response to reports of exports failing or timing out. This is a temporary measure while staff investigate ways to speed up the export process.
  • A bug was fixed that caused some users to get a System Failure when trying to view their WorldCat Comparisons.
  • The Totals line was removed from the Analysis Results table when users set limits on two or more libraries.

Permissions for One-to-One Comparisons
OCLC has started a list of libraries that have given blanket permission for their collections to be used in one-to-one comparisons. Institutions on this list no longer have to be contacted directly to be used in a one-to-one comparison. The list will be updated periodically. Here is the direct URL to the spreadsheet: www.oclc.org/collectionanalysis/about/faq/blanket_permissions.xls. If you would like to add your own institution to this list, please complete the BCR WCA Permission form at: www.bcr.org/reference/WCA-permissions.html.

The screen where users create comparisons with OCLC-defined Peer Groups has been modified in anticipation of the release of more of the predefined Peer Groups. OCLC will start adding them later this month. A Category menu and a Subcategory menu were created for users to navigate through to the desired Peer Group. A Peer Group may be listed in multiple Categories. For instance, OCLC is creating a Peer Group of Top 10 Law Schools, which will be listed under the Category menu in By Subject and Academic Institutions and in the Subcategory menu, Law and Graduate: Master's/Doctoral Programs.

Connexion Client Video Demos Available
Connexion client video demos have been added to the client documentation page. They show the step-by-step actions necessary to complete tasks commonly performed in the client. The demos are in the Basics and Cataloging sections:
www.oclc.org/support/documentation/connexion/client/cataloging/
www.oclc.org/support/documentation/connexion/client/basics/

New Tutorial Created for OCLC Authorities
A new tutorial, "How to Search the Authority Files," covers all types of searching (keyword, derived and numeric) as well as browsing for OCLC Authorities. A link to the 55-page tutorial is on the OCLC Client Tutorials page: www.oclc.org/support/training/connexion/client/tutorial/default.htm.

New Guide Posted for Searching WorldCat Indexes
A new user guide, Searching WorldCat Indexes, is now available. This guide provides comprehensive information about the indexes used to retrieve records from WorldCat. (OCLC services, including cataloging, reference and resource sharing, now use the same search indexes.) The guide describes MARC fields and subfields indexed for each WorldCat index and provides information about how each index works to help construct searches that retrieve the records you need.

Who should use this guide? The guide is for library staff who use the following OCLC interfaces to search WorldCat:

  • OCLC Connexion client and browser (cataloging)
  • CatExpress in Connexion browser (copy cataloging)
  • FirstSearch (reference)
  • WorldCat Resource Sharing (interlibrary loan)

Searching WorldCat Indexes is available in PDF and HTML formats on:

OCLC Connexion and PICA GGC
OCLC removed access to the separate PICA GGC database in OCLC Connexion on April 9. The records of the PICA Dutch Catalog are now being loaded directly into WorldCat, thus removing the necessity of having a separate function to provide this access. Only a few users access the PICA GGC database via Connexion, and minimal searching is done. Users can now search directly for the records in WorldCat.

OCLC Statistics Outage
OCLC regrets to inform users of WorldCat Resource Sharing that on March 24, between midnight and 11 a.m., Eastern Time, statistics were not counted. While transactions continued to be processed normally, IFM dollars were not exchanged when a request was received. OCLC has no way to recreate these IFM debits and credits, either automatically or manually. Therefore, it is possible a library received an item, and its IFM debit did not get triggered and the lender did not receive the IFM credit. Additionally, libraries that loaned materials were not given lending credits. Based on historical information, we believe that approximately 14 percent of IFM transactions were lost during this outage. Libraries that wish to recover funds not exchanged through IFM during this time period will need to invoice each other.