NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Barbara Vaughan, Column Editor
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AUTHORITY RECORDS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
Library of Congress authority records are now available online on the Library's Website at <http://authorities.loc.gov/>. Known as Library of Congress Authorities, the free online service allows users to search, display and download authority records in the MARC21 format for use in local library systems.
An authority record is a tool used by librarians to establish forms of names (for persons, places, meetings and organizations), titles and subjects used on bibliographic records. Authority records enable librarians to provide uniform access to materials in library catalogs and to provide clear identification of authors and subject headings. Authority
records also provide cross references to lead users to the headings used in library catalogs.
The Library of Congress database contains more than 5.5 million authority records. Through the Library of Congress Authorities service, users have access to these authority records, including 3.8 million personal, 900,000 corporate, 120,000 meeting, 90,000 geographic name authority records; 265,000 subject authority records; 350,000 series and uniform title authority records; and 340,000 name/title authority records.
The Library is currently working with Endeavor Information Systems to provide access via Z39.50 (an international standard for information retrieval) and other features such as the full MARC21 character set for display and download of authority data
and access to the approximately 2,300 subject subdivision records in the Library of Congress Subject Headings.
This new service was made available on a trial basis on July 1. During the trial period, the Library sought feedback from users worldwide to assist in evaluating the service. User response was overwhelmingly positive. Based on their input, the Library has made improvements to Library of Congress Authorities and decided to offer his free service on a permanent basis.
The Library welcomes comments from users, which should be sent via e-mail to ils@loc.gov.
A PowerPoint presentation on Library of Congress Authorities is available at <http://www.loc.gov/ils/ala02arv.ppt>.
[Originally posted:]
September 24, 2002
Press contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022, afis@loc.gov
Posted at the request of the LC-ILS Office
CALL FOR INTEGRATING RESOURCES TRAINERS
A new course on Integrating Resources is being developed under the auspices of the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) that will be released in Spring 2003. Steve Miller at the University of Wisconsin is preparing the course materials. The course is based on the revised Chapters 9 and 12 of AACR2 and will cover all integrating resources, with an emphasis on electronic. The Integrating Resources course is designed as a one-day course.
SCCTP is a program of the CONSER (Cooperative Online Serials) Program and the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC). SCCTP provides training materials and trains experienced catalogers to present the materials but does not sponsor the actual workshops. SCCTP trainers work with workshop sponsors to set dates and all expenses are paid by the sponsor. Honoraria are given at the discretion of the sponsor. Complete information on SCCTP is available at:
<http://lcweb.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/home.html>.
Two train-the-trainer sessions are being scheduled for Winter 2003. The first will be held in Philadelphia on Friday January 24 in conjunction with ALA Midwinter. PALINET will be assisting with the logistics of the course. The second session will be held in Seattle in February, dates to be announced. There is no cost for the training or
the materials but trainees are responsible for paying their own expenses.
Requirements:
A minimum of 1-2 years of experience cataloging integrating resources.
Experience in training, such as SCCTP workshops, NACO or BIBCO training, other cataloging-related workshops, or significant in-house training.
Support of your institution in providing your expenses to attend the training session and in providing paid leave of absence for you to give two SCCTP workshops a year. The number actually given may vary, depending on demand and the availability of a trainer.
To apply:
Current SCCTP, BIBCO or NACO trainers--
Send an email to Ana Cristan (acri@loc.gov) indicating your specific experience with integrating resources and the session you would like to attend. No references are needed.
All others--
Send an email to Ana Cristan (acri@loc.gov) with the following information:
- Your name, title, mailing and email addresses and telephone and fax numbers
- Which session you would like to attend (Philadelphia or Seattle)
- A brief description of your cataloging experience involving integrating resources, and your experience with providing cataloging training
- Names of three references who can attest to your cataloging experience and training ability
Please send in applications or expressions of interest by: November 15. Confirmation will be sent out beginning after Nov. 1. A maximum of 30 people in each session may limit acceptance.
[Originally posted by:]
Jean Hirons
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-4160
phone: 202-707-5947
fax: 202-707-1778
OCLC CONNEXION ENHANCEMENTS
On Sunday, Nov. 24, several enhancements to OCLC Connexion were installed. These enhancements include:
- New logon screen with new colors and graphics as well as a new Related Links area that you may find helpful before you log on to Connexion.
- Local Browser Settings can now store up to five authorization and password pairs, with one set as the default.
- Quick Tips are added throughout Connexion to provide brief information or instruction. If you prefer not to view the tips, you have the option to hide all Quick Tips.
- WorldCat Brief List displays are expanded to contain fuller information to match information in Passport and CatME. This includes author, title, imprint, such as OCLC control number and whether your institution holds the record.
- Jump Bars are improved for easier navigation, allowing selection of records and lists from the keyboard. Also buttons are added for Search, Group and Browse results to easily move back through your search hierarchy.
- New Edit List added to record displays and record edit screens, with options reorganized on the Edit/Action/View Lists, eliminating the need to scroll.
- Main entry sort order provided automatically for authority search results of 1,000 or fewer records. For 1,500 record results, an option to sort by main entry is provided.
- Constant data for bibliographic records can be selected and applied on the fly. At the same time you may chose whether to apply the whole constant data record, variable fields only, or fixed field only. More constant data enhancements are planned for the February 2003 quarterly release.
- Dewey-Only inactivity timer extended to 120 minutes.
- Automatic logon from Dewey-Only Session to Cataloging (and vice versa).
For details about these enhancements, as well as information about previous Connexion enhancements, log on to Connexion and search Connexion News. A link to News appears on the Welcome screen. To list enhancements, choose the category "System Updates" on the News search screen.
OCLC CONNEXION TUTORIAL
We are pleased to announce the release of Using OCLC Connexion: An OCLC Tutorial. This tutorial provides both an introduction to Connexion and a workflow-oriented approach to searching and cataloging. Within the tutorial, you can print review pages and use them later for online practice or as job-aids. The tutorial is suitable for existing and new OCLC cataloging users as well as cataloging users migrating from Passport. The tutorial is Web-based and is best viewed with Internet Explorer version 4.01 or higher. The OCLC Connexion Tutorial can be accessed via the OCLC Website at: <http://www.oclc.org/connexion/support/training/>. With the Connexion quarterly enhancement install on November 24, it can also be accessed from the Connexion logon screen. We hope this will be a useful tool for your library staff.
[originally posted by:]
Kathy Kie
Penny Mattern
Lynn Ziegler
User Training Development Section
OCLC Online Computer Library Center
phone: 800-848-5878, x5183
fax: 614-798-5728
e-mail: kathy_kie@oclc.org
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Last updated: January 14, 2003
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