NEWS FROM OCLC
Submitted to OLAC for ALA Annual, June 2004
By Jay Weitz
Keyword Searching Changes
On June 6, 2004, OCLC instituted changes in keyword searching as part of the system migration to the Oracle platform. Changes that were made that should be apparent to users include:
- The 18-character limit on search terms has been removed, now allowing up to 28 characters
- The limit on matching terms when using character masking has been increased from 30 to 500
- Author (au) and Extended Author (ea) indexes have been combined. Both index labels will work, but the "ea" index label will be removed in the future
- The Citation/Reference index has been removed
- Corporate (co) and Conference (cn) indexes have been combined. Both index labels will work, but the "co" index label will be removed in the future
- Hyphens will now be converted to a space, and the system will automatically initiate a proximity search. (Note: This does not change how ISBNs are searched.)
- Language (la) will now retrieve based on both the Fixed Field Lang and on the 041 $a when the first indicator is 0, and the 041 $b, $d, $e, $f and $g, regardless of the indicator
- Limit by /mix or ft mix will now retrieve Type:p (Mixed material format) Type:t (Manuscript), Type:f (Manuscript map), Type:d (Manuscript score) and all formats with Ctrl:a. (Note: This does not change format limiting for derived searches.)
- Publication location (pl) has been expanded to include the 261 $f and the 533 $b
- Publisher (pb) has been expanded to include the 261 $a, $b, $e and the 533 $c
- Series (se) has been expanded to include the 533 $f and 534 $f
- Standard number (nn) has been expanded to include 027 $a & $z, 028 $a, 037 $a, 088 $a and 262 $c
- Subject/Title/Contents (st) has been expanded to include elements in the Author index, ISBNs, and publication dates
- Title (ti) and Extended Title (et) indexes have been combined. Both index labels will work, but the "et" index label will be removed in the future
Connexion Client 1.10 Now Available
Version 1.10 of the Connexion client is now available for download. Changes are included for set-up options, editing records, a new macro recorder, bibliographic save file and constant data, authority save file and constant data, system help, and other miscellaneous changes. See the "Recent enhancements" link for more information and to download the new software at no charge:
<http://www.oclc.org/connexion/interface/client/enhancements/recent.htm>. OCLC will discontinue support for version 1.00 on July 1, 2004. All 1.00 users must upgrade to 1.10 to be able to log on after July 1.
Connexion Browser Enhancements June 2004
Among the enhancements to the Connexion Browser installed on June 6, 2004 were:
- Authority searching enhancements
- Connexion now supports more authority searching functionality from Passport and CatME. This includes:
- Derived and numeric (ISSN and ISBN) indexes
- Will be added to Connexion client later this year
- PCC and Peer review of bibliographic and authority records
- Ability for libraries to share bibliographic and authority records for review: with peers from other libraries as well as with Program for Cooperative Cataloging trainers/reviewers for NACO, BIBCO, CONSER, and funnel projects
- Any institution using Connexion browser at a limited or higher authorization may allow other institutions to review saved bibliographic or authority records
- Replaces current Submit Record to Natl Review File and Responded File functionality
- Will be added to Connexion client later this year
- Bibliographic Keyword searching
- OCLC is moving all bibliographic searching (cataloging, interlibrary loan and reference searching) to a single shared set of indexes. Keyword searching is the first step in this move for cataloging interfaces, including Connexion
- Users will see a few differences:
- Several indexes combined with other existing indexes
- One index, Citation/Reference, removed
- Bypassing "Active Records" logoff warning is now an option
- Users can now bypass the "Active Records" logoff warning allowing for a faster system exit. If that option is chosen, the user will no longer receive the "Active Records" warning screen at logoff. Important note: this will result in the loss of any editing that has been done on these records
- Connexion larger record size
- Previous system limit of 50 occurrences of the same field is removed. Users can now create records of any size in Connexion browser and client. Large records continue to truncate for Passport and CatME users
- "Display Holdings" enhancement
The "Display Holdings" command now provides a new "Select the type of holdings you wish to view" prompt immediately above the record display, allowing users to view holdings using only the keyboard
- URLs in field 856 created in Passport or CatME and viewed in Connexion
Corrects a problem where a URL created in WorldCat using Passport or CatME was missing when viewed in WorldCat in Connexion on the same day
OCLC Interim Support for ISBN 13
A new international standard is expanding the current 10-digit ISBN to a 13-digit ISBN: the 3-digit prefix that identifies the book industry (currently 978), followed by the core 9-digit number, and the recalculated check digit that validates the internal integrity of the whole number. As such, it will also be identical to the EAN "Bookland" 13-digit code that already appears encoded in the bar code printed on the back of the book. While the official date for moving to this new standard is January 1, 2007, some publishers expect to begin printing both the current 10- and the new 13-digit ISBNs in materials later this year. This will allow them to make the transition more easily to the new ISBN-13. For further details on the ISBN-13 implementation, please see: <http://www.isbn-international.org/en/revision.html> and <http://www.isbn-international.org/en/download/implementation-guidelines-04.pdf>. LC expects to begin recording ISBN-13 numbers in LC records on October 1, 2004. Because OCLC is in the process of moving to a new system/database platform, and because this implementation will not be complete by October, OCLC will adopt the following interim support for ISBN-13 numbers in WorldCat, which will allow OCLC to focus on completing the migration to the new platform without having to retrofit systems that will soon be retired.
- Records loaded into WorldCat from the Library of Congress and OCLC's other trading partners
- OCLC will convert a 13-digit number appearing in field 020 $a to an EAN (field 024, first indicator '3')
- If the record contains a 13-digit ISBN without a corresponding 10-digit ISBN, OCLC will convert a 13-digit ISBN beginning with 978 to a 10-digit ISBN, modifying the check digit along the way, as well as convert to an EAN as indicated above
- Online input
- For original records, OCLC libraries should input ISBN-13 numbers into an EAN field (024, first indicator '3') rather than inputting into the ISBN field (020)
- For copy cataloging that contains an ISBN-13 on the piece but not on the record being edited, users with full-level or higher authorization may add the ISBN-13 numbers into an EAN field (024, first indicator '3') as a database enrichment using system lock and replace capabilities. Users who do not have full-level authorization may report these to OCLC Quality Control Section using one of the many error reporting options: online system, e-mail, FAX, or mail
- OCLC libraries should not input ISBN-13 numbers in the 020 field. If libraries do enter the 13-digit ISBN in the 020 field, validation will move the number to $z indicating that it is an invalid ISBN. Such numbers will not be indexed and retrieved as the user might expect
- Searching
- No indexing/searching changes will be implemented at this time. Libraries can search for ISBN-13 numbers using the Standard Number index, which covers both the 020 $z and the 024 fields
- ISBN-13 numbers will not be retrievable using the ISBN index during this interim period
After OCLC completes the implementation of its new system/database platform, support will added for the ISBN-13 numbers in the 020 field for Batchload, online input and searching.
Sharing Macros for Connexion Client
Users can now share Connexion client macros on the OCLC Website at: <http://www.oclc.org/connexion/support/macros.htm>. Macros can be submitted at that link by clicking the "Upload Connexion macros" on that page, and the macro will be posted to the macro site to share with others. In addition, users can click on the "Download Connexion macros" on that page to view macros that have been submitted by others. The site also includes links to other macro sites. If users have a macro site they would like to share with others, please send an e-mail to: <connexion-macros@oclc.org> and OCLC will add a link to that site.
OCLC to Convert Newberry Library Holdings for Worldwide Sharing
The Newberry Library, an independent research library in Chicago devoted to the humanities, has contracted with OCLC for the retrospective conversion of approximately 725,000 of the library's records. Over the course of the next three years, OCLC will create MARC records for each title, thereby entering the Newberry Library's holdings into WorldCat. According to Charles Cullen, President and Librarian, Newberry Library, "This conversion project not only provides unprecedented access to the Library's catalog, it paves the way for future planning including digitization and collection development … The conversion of our card-form catalog records is fundamental to our strategic plan, and we are extremely pleased that we will be able to address that goal in a timely and efficient manner".
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Last updated: September 22, 2004
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