ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program -------------------------------------------------------------------- May 15, 1999 GP 3.16/3-2:20/09 (Vol. 20, no. 09) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Library Programs Service Proposals Spring 1999 Depository Library Council Meeting April 12 - 15, 1999 [Council recommended that both proposals be implemented.] Proposal 1 - Cease Production of Most Availability Records Eliminate the production of availability records for all serial and multipart monograph tangible and electronic products for the Monthly Catalog. This proposal covers only issues related to availability record production for serial and multipart items. A separate investigation is needed to address the issue of availability record production for map products. The proposed solutions suggested here should be considered as interim solutions. Potential Benefits * Would free up cataloging resources to be allocated to other work. Staff time now required to gather and input local bibliographic data for availability records could be used for other cataloging and processing activities. * Would eliminate unique local practices that may cause confusion to some end users. Definitions * Availability record A bibliographic record that contains information about a specific issue of a serial title or a part of a multipart set in local data fields. * Contin A publication issued 3 or more times a year * Master serial record A serial record that includes information that relates to all issues of a serial title. * Multipart set A bibliographic record representing a multipart set includes information that relates to all issues of the multipart set. This open entry record is modified each time a new volume or part of the set is received. * Produce An online transaction on the OCLC database that creates a record containing unique bibliographic and issue specific information for Monthly Catalog production. Specific field information created during a produce transaction does not remain in the OCLC database. * Serial A publication issued 2 or fewer times a year. * Update An online transaction on the OCLC database that adds or changes information on an existing OCLC record. Background Historically, the printed Monthly Catalog was the primary tool GPO provided to the depository community for the identification of items. Availability records were created to provide current awareness for materials processed by the Cataloging Branch in the preceding month and are actually a procedural holdover from the pre-automated Monthly Catalog production era. The sheer volume of serials issued 3 or more times a year (contins) made it a practical impossibility to provide availability records for all of them. Two separate cataloging processes were therefore created for serials: producing collective records for contins in the Serials Supplement (later the Periodicals Supplement) and producing availability records for annual and semiannual serials in the regular issues of the Monthly Catalog. Availability records for multipart monographic works were created to identify a newly published title, volume or part of a series or group of publications. Until a change was made to the cataloging tape product in the early 1990's, the Monthly Catalog tape product paralleled exactly the contents of the paper Monthly Catalog. With the introduction of the GPO Cataloging Tapes, the production of cataloging records now followed two separate paths: producing records for the printed Monthly Catalog and producing records for the cataloging tapes. The GPO cataloging tapes include the last change or update made on OCLC to a cataloging record during the publishing month as well as the last "produce" transaction made to a record by GPO during the publishing month. These "produce" transactions are stripped out of the GPO cataloging tapes and used to create the printed Monthly Catalog. Essentially, the printed Monthly Catalog and the GPO cataloging tapes are two different products. However, the availability record policy did not change. As libraries began using the bibliographic records provided by the GPO cataloging tapes in their online public access catalogs (OPACs), the need for availability records was questioned. Commercial vendors requested that availability records be uniquely identified so that these records could be stripped out if users preferred not to receive these issue-specific records as part of their tape loads. Given this background, the changes in depository library practices, and the need for LPS to modernize legacy systems, the availability record policy needs to be re-examined. Impact of Availability Records on Cataloging Online Resources The need for availability records has again been questioned in the context of cataloging records for electronic resources. The Electronic Collection Team has encountered problems when a cataloger is required to create an availability record for a tangible product that has a related online version. Two separate URLs are needed: one for the master record, with the emphasis on citing a Web location where all online issues of a serial or multipart product can be reviewed; and another URL for the availability record that points users only to an individual issue of the serial or volume of a multipart set. This is especially problematic given the haphazard organization of government Web sites. By eliminating the practice of producing availability records for serials and multiparts, LPS products would direct users only to the Web locations where the majority of issues reside. Because agencies do not organize their Web sites as would best fit our processing and cataloging needs, we may need to provide several URLs to cover all issues of the serial or multipart. The question also arises as to the use and need for availability records by our library customers. Discussions with the vendors of GPO cataloging data and depository libraries that choose to receive availability records would give us a better understanding of how these records are used in library OPACs. It is generally thought that libraries do not use availability records for tangible products provided in the Monthly Catalog. It is our assumption that the majority of libraries identify a specific issue of a serial or periodical from the shipping list or a shipping list product and add their own holdings information to their library's OPAC records. However, LPS may need to provide availability type information for individual issues of electronic serials and multiparts for the FDLP Electronic Collection. The proper location and structure of this availability information and other metadata is being investigated in the context of the Electronic Collection. Current Practice Availability records contain issue-specific information about a particular document. Currently, these are produced for serials that are issued 2 or fewer times a year, for individual issues of a multipart set and for certain categories of maps. In most cases, the availability records contain the shipping list number, date and issue information, stock number, price information, and a unique Superintendent of Documents classification number. The designation "AVR" identifies these records in the 949 field of the MARC records. This identification allows vendors to offer these records to their customers or purge them if they are not deemed useful by the institution. Impacted Products and Services If LPS ceases production of availability records, the following products and services would be affected: Monthly Catalog, Periodicals Supplement (paper and CD-ROM version), Web MOCAT, GPO cataloging tapes, vendor products sold to depository customers, and OPAC record loads. Action Required * If Council concurs with this proposal: o Develop new procedural guidelines o Prepare requirements for systems modification o Implement Monthly Catalog product enhancements o Develop strategy and timetable for migration to new processes o Issue a Cataloging Guideline that reflects policy and changes in procedure o Prepare information for Administrative Notes and FDLP community --------------------------------------------------------- Proposal 2 - Replace Periodicals Supplement Replace the Periodicals Supplement with a more comprehensive tool, listing all serials in the FDLP or all serials cataloged in the preceding year Potential Benefits * All cataloging records for serials would appear in the regular issues of the Monthly Catalog regardless of frequency. * Would eliminate duplicate records that are a result of the production of the Periodicals Supplement from the Monthly Catalog. * Would eliminate local practices that may confuse some end users. Background The Periodicals Supplement, previously known as the Serials Supplement, is a separate volume of the Monthly Catalog that is issued once a year. The creation of this volume is a result of the Cataloging Branch processing policy for cataloging serial titles. Serial titles issued three or more times a year are processed for inclusion in the Periodicals Supplement. Serials that are issued once or twice a year receive availability records and appear in the regular monthly issues of the Monthly Catalog. The printed Periodicals Supplement was discontinued in 1996 with the introduction of the new format of the paper Monthly Catalog and the CD-ROM version. In 1998, at the request of the depository community, the publication of the Periodicals Supplement was resumed. If the serial cataloging processing policy is changed, replacing the Periodicals Supplement with an enhanced product would be a logical outcome. Action Required * If Council concurs with this proposal: o Evaluate product options and select most appropriate product o Develop new procedural guidelines for product creation o Prepare requirements for systems modification o Develop strategy and timetable for migration to new processes o Produce the product o Amend Cataloging Guidelines to reflect changes in policy o Prepare information for Administrative Notes and FDLP community