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OCLC MEMBERS COUNCIL REPORT
Kevin A. Furniss


Greetings from OCLC Members Council. The May 2004 meeting was called "Expanding Access to Information through Creative Solutions". The following report includes topics discussed at the various meetings that should be of interest to OLAC members.

Update on Batchloading Issues: OCLC continues to address issues related to batchloading. Phyllis Spies stated that batchloading is critical to the extension of WorldCat and made note of issues that OCLC needs to address in the future. These included stepping back and building a new framework that will allow the loading of a variety of metadata beyond MARC21. The Oracle platform will allow this development as OCLC moves forward. Phyllis distributed a one-page handout, called "Strategic Directions", providing graphical representations of possible future paths. The chart shows types of collections for inclusion, functions of the repository, and possible end user views.

OCLC is currently brainstorming potential new platforms. There are questions about data storage, including whether OCLC will store incoming data in their original formats or convert them to other formats, and, whether they will be stored in one place or distributed among many places. There are also questions about display. OCLC currently stores records in an internal common data format that is neither in MARC nor in Dublin Core. This allows different views of the same data to be displayed. The conversion into or out of the common data format occurs as data comes in and out. Data could potentially be displayed to users in multiple ways. Users may be given options in categories of records and types of display. OCLC hopes to build an architectural framework throughout all the data stored. Collection level and item level metadata will be included.

FRBR Update: Deb Bendig gave a PowerPoint presentation entitled "Optimizing FirstSearch WorldCat Results". OCLC is looking for ways to ameliorate the problem of perceived duplicates for patrons in FirstSearch. While unique cataloging for a plethora of editions frequently does not meet patron needs, it can often assist in scholarly research. Different approaches within displays may be the answer. Results within FirstSearch are currently sorted by number of holdings, with those most held displaying first. OCLC plans to use FRBR concepts to further organize displays within FirstSearch to bring versions together and show relationships among them. This may also enhance resource sharing by increasing the potential pool of lenders, as other similar versions may be acceptable to patrons.

Deb recommended that people look at the OCLC Office of Research project, "Fiction Finder" <http://fictionfinder.oclc.org> to see one example of FRBR implementation. Deb showed some mock-ups of potential screen shots of FRBR implementation for FirstSearch. This implementation will use the OCLC Office of Research FRBR algorithm. Results for a search on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire showed 41 results within a single entry. Details for that entry show numbers for various languages and formats (audiobook, paper, large print).

Quality Issues: Concern was expressed about record selection by non-catalogers who are using OCLC, particularly CatExpress. Setting holdings on the correct record has a huge impact on resource sharing (such as the difference between abridged and unabridged audiobooks). Distinguishing among versions is a training issue and may mainly be an OCLC network responsibility. Quality is of primary concern as OCLC tries to balance ease of use with the levels of quality. This issue stems from experiences in which libraries have attached holdings to incorrect records.

Topics for Discussion in the Future and/or for Conference Calls:
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Last updated: September 22, 2004
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