Shared Cataloging Program - Reports to HOTS
April 14, 2006
News/Updates since the November 2005 report
(1) Serial record clean-up project
After more than a year of work, SCP staff completed a comprehensive review of all Shared Cataloging serial records, updating them as necessary to bring them up to current cataloging practices and standards. The file, posted for the campuses on March 20th, contained slightly fewer than16,000 records. Requests to allow entry of additional data to support system wide needs delayed file distribution on two separate occasions. The first request, which originated from the campuses, was for data to track the subscription status for each title from each provider. Coded as a single letter code in the subfield g of the 793 field, this information allows the campuses to track and run reports on their CDL subscriptions.
The second request came from CDL staff who requested SCP to add the SFX Object IDs to each record. This will provide title linking support for when the Verde ERM is in place. Margery Tibbetts, at CDL, provided SCP an SFX title list with corresponding Object IDs. SCP staff batch added the IDs to the SCP records. At the end of the processing, just over 3,900 titles remained without Object IDs. SCP staff are now manually reviewing these records and adding Object IDs when found. We have already discovered many SFX complications such as:
• unrecognized title changes resulting in a single Object ID for multiple titles
• multiple Object IDs assigned to a single title
• incorrectly associated ISSNs.
We are not sure of the ramifications of these inconsistencies, but are working with Margery to resolve them. We are also assuming that, even for the successful batch overlays performed, some records will suffer from the problems noted above. We have no means of identifying them at this time in an efficient manner, but we are hoping that identification and resolution can occur with Verde implementation.
(2) UC CONSER Funnel
UCSD's membership in CONSER, as well as UCLA's, has allowed the SCP to update OCLC master records. This provides the larger cataloging community an important service by keeping a number of records updated. The other campuses, however, lacking CONSER membership, have developed local editing practices. This has resulted in valuable enhancements to bibliographic records being limited to their local catalogs. As the campuses moved toward automatic overlay of their records with the SCP records, the campuses raised the concerns that they would lose this important data unless it could be incorporated in the bibliographic record before SCP catalogers imported them into the catalog. Efforts to protect this data proved overly complicated and inefficient both for the campuses and for SCP. Pat French (UCD) asked SCP whether we would be willing to receive requests from the campuses and use our CONSER status to edit OCLC master records. SCP could then funnel the resulting enhanced records through the program, with all campuses benefiting. As we were unsure of the potential workload, SCP agreed to a six month pilot of taking requests from the campuses and tracking the workload involved. The SCP Advisory Committee will review the results of this pilot at a future SCP Advisory Committee meeting.
In developing this idea, however, Pat French suggested that perhaps a better strategy for addressing this problem would be to set up a system wide CONSER Funnel. The SCP supported this initiative as more efficient, and in line with many of the ideas found in the then recently released Bibliographical Services Task Force Report. Discussions within UC, CONSER, and PCC (Program for Cooperative Cataloging) were fruitful and the UC CONSER Funnel was established. Requests to SCP staff to provide support in various areas such as training and mentoring for the other campuses will be honored as commitments allow.
(3) Odds and Ends
Staffing : Hanley Cocks, our CalDocs cataloger, accepted a new post taking her out of the SCP Unit. We are in the process of recruiting to fill in behind her.
Ivy Anderson : SCP staff had an in-person meeting with Ivy and provided her with an orientation to the program.
Road Show : Face to face discussions between campus library personnel and SCP resulted in procedural changes on both sides. UCSF and UCSB continue to work on programming to allow for automatic overlay; UCR suggested a follow-up UC-wide meeting of select system and cataloging staff to review and analyze local practices for SCP file processing.
Readex/Congressional Serial Set : During ALA midwinter, Becky Culbertson, Adolfo Tarango, and SCP AC chair John Riemer met with August A. Imholtz, Readex VP Documents Division, to explore the possibility of converting Readex's proprietary records for the Congressional Serial Set into MARC21 records.
BSTF : SCP staff provided feedback via the SCP Advisory Committee and UCSD's Metadata Services Department discussions.
Verde Implementation Task Group : Linda Barnhart will represent SCP on this group.
PID server transition : CDL and SCP staff are working on a specifications document to define software needs.
(4) Horizon Issues
East Asian materials : By directive of Beverly French, the SCP has only cataloged a few East Asian journals at the title level. Titles within the China Academic Journals and Siku databases, especially have received no individual title records. At this time, CDL is unable to support the hiring of staff with the language expertise required and current SCP staff lack the language expertise. This past January, Shirley W. Leung, a consultant hired by CDL to review a variety of issues related to East Asian digital resources, recommended title level cataloging of East Asian materials be made on par with that provided to English language materials. If adopted, SCP would face an immediate workload of just under 3500 monographic titles and just over 2300 serials titles, and, of course, the prospect of hiring additional staff.
Documents without Shelves : CDC is considering a system wide subscription to this Marcive service with SCP receiving, processing, and distributing the records.
Open Content Alliance : As UC moves forward as a participant, questions arise regarding whether SCP should play a role in providing metadata for the project. Should they create original records, enhancing existing records in OCLC, create and distribute SCP records for all the above? The OCA is only one of several digitalization projects, e.g. Google and the E-Repository, which will result in the creation of open access resources and for which cataloging may be called for.
Music audio files : The UC music bibliographers are working with CDL on licensing as a Tier 1 or 2, three products from Alexander Street Press: Classical Music Library, Smithsonian Global Sound, and African American Song. SCP staff lack the cataloging expertise to process music audio files. Also, system wide cataloging practices would need to be established.