NEWS FROM OCLC
Compiled for OLAC by Jay Weitz
For the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts
January 2005
OCLC Cataloging and Resource Sharing Migration Dates
OCLC will retire Passport for Cataloging on May 1, 2005. Please note the following important dates:
Cataloging
- 1st Quarter 2005: Connexion Client version 1.30 released, including truncated lists and CJK.
- 2nd Quarter 2005: Connexion Client version 1.40 released, including Arabic.
- May 1, 2005: OCLC will retire Passport for Cataloging and all users of OCLC Passport for Cataloging must migrate either to the Connexion Browser or the Connexion Client.
- July 1, 2005: OCLC will retire CatME, CJK, and Arabic, and all users must migrate to Connexion.
Union Listing
- August/September 2005: OCLC will retire Passport for Union Listing and Connexion will support detailed holding (LDR) maintenance. OCLC will release more details over the next few months.
Information to help migrate to Connexion is available on the Connexion migration page at <http://www.oclc.org/connexion/migrating/default.htm>.
Connexion Browser Enhancements - November 2004
Among the enhancements to the Connexion Browser installed in November 2004 were:
- Search WorldCat using "true" keyword searching where multiple terms can be entered with a single index label, including enhanced and new indexes.
- Browse WorldCat using several new browse indexes.
- View search results with the truncated list similar to Passport and CatME.
- View a pop-up list of all indexed fields for the displayed match in the truncated view.
See Technical Bulletin 251 at
<http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/tb/251/default.htm> for more information.
Connexion Client 1.20 Now Available
A new version of the Connexion Client, the Windows-based interface to OCLC’s flagship cataloging service, is ready for download from the OCLC Website. Among the enhancements version 1.20 includes:
- NACO functionality: Create and add new authority records, lock and replace existing records, and submit records for review by Library of Congress staff or peer reviewers.
- Batch processing: Enter search keys offline and process in batch mode to efficiently save records from WorldCat. Mark actions on multiple records and process all at once, including actions such as Update Holdings, Export, and Label Print.
- Local files: Set up individual or shared local save and constant data files that are stored on your workstation or a local network drive. Use local files when logged on or working offline.
For additional details on the Connexion Client 1.20 enhancements, see <http://www.oclc.org/connexion/interface/Client/enhancements/recent.htm>.
Holdings Experts Help OCLC Implement MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data
OCLC is in the process of implementing the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data (MFHD), and invited holdings experts Frieda Rosenberg and Diane Hillmann to OCLC to advise OCLC staff on interpretations of the standard and on common usage of the standard to accelerate OCLC’s implementation. WorldCat currently contains local holdings data for more libraries than any other single repository in the world. Those holdings support resource-sharing activities, measurably reducing the cost of resource sharing for participating libraries. When these holdings are converted to the MFHD format, they will allow further reduction in resource-sharing costs through automatic routing of requests based on detailed information in the local data records.
Ms. Rosenberg is Head of Serials Cataloging, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has worked with serials since 1979 and with the MFHD format since 1993. She is a co-author of the CONSER SCCTP "Serial Holdings Workshop" and is currently completing a "NASIG Guide to Holdings" for the NASIG Website. Ms. Hillmann is the Director of Library Services and Operations, National Science Digital Library. She is the co-editor of the recently published, Metadata in Practice and was a member of MARBI for 10 years, specializing in the Holdings and Authorities formats. She is also a current member of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Advisory and Usage Boards, and is co-chair of the DCMI Education Working Group.
As part of the implementation, OCLC will convert the existing repository of WorldCat Local Data Records (LDRs) to the MFHD format, and will add local holdings maintenance functionality to the Connexion Browser. In June 2005, 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 library migration to local holdings maintenance in the Connexion Browser and to the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data, OCLC is working with the OCLC regional service providers to create an online tutorial plus training materials for the regional service providers to use in training library staff. OCLC will continue to release more details about OCLC’s implementation of MFHD and the Union List service migration as they become available.
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Last updated: March 29, 2005
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