MULS Blog

Over the summer, OCLC changed their approach to providing support and training to try to make it easier for all their users to work with OCLC products and services. On the training side, this means that all the regional networks (like Minitex) have opened up their training sessions to libraries that want it, including libraries outside their own region. On the OCLC side, they have given trainers a set of objectives that training should meet, so that wherever one gets their training, the same knowledge and skills are taught to all OCLC users.

This has been an interesting experience. On the one hand, It's comforting to know that most of OCLC's objectives were already being addressed by our MULS webinars. On the other hand, it's interesting to see how different networks and trainers have approached the same materials and the process of teaching. Suffice to say, MULS training is getting an upgrade as a result of considering what I've seen.

At the same time, reconsidering our training raises some broader questions for me about what we have been providing to our users in the way of training. I find myself wondering,

• Are we really meeting the needs of staff who work with Local Holdings Records?
• Are there ways we could make our current training more effective?
• Are there alternative ways of delivering the training that would be better suited to the needs of our users?

If you have taken Minitex training on working with LHRs, I'd be happy to hear from you about how well the training helped you do your job. If you worked through the OCLC on-line tutorials to learn about LHR maintenance, tell me what you thought of that experience.

I'd like to incorporate your experience - as the person who gets to work with LHRs - into the changes we make to our training. Comment on this post, or contact me directly at the Minitex MULS office. Your ideas will make a difference!

Posted by linto001 at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many libraries in our region have expressed interest in the possibility of batch updating their Local Holdings Records (LHRs) in OCLC. Ideally, library staff would simply create a file of holdings data from their local ILS and OCLC would use that file to update all of the library's LHRs in WorldCat.

While the process may never be exactly that simple, batch updating does offer the possibility of much greater efficiency with the result that Local Holdings in OCLC would be more accurate and ILL requests could be better directed to appropriate libraries, without requiring the staff time needed for manual updating.

If your library is interested in batch updating Local Holdings in OCLC, the following steps will help guide you through the process.

1. Complete the Local Holdings Record Updating Service Order form with OCLC.

Contact Dave Linton or Cecelia Boone at the Minitex office to let them know you are beginning this process and if you need any help with the OCLC forms.

Note: the Order form includes a section for setting up an EDX account. Each library must have an EDX account to send their file of local holdings data to OCLC for batch processing. If your library already has an EDX account with OCLC, you do can use that account.

Also, if your holdings have not been maintained in OCLC, or if you want the batch process to "start fresh" and remove old LHR records, you may request a scan/delete of your existing Local Holdings Records (LHRs). See the OCLC Overview of LHRUS document or contact Dave Linton or Cecelia Boone at the Minitex office if you think this may be a good option for you. You should not need to process a scan/delete with every update of your LHRs.

When you have submitted the Local Holdings Record Updating Service Order form, you will receive a project ID# from OCLC. This number is important and will be used to identify the input files you send and the reports that OCLC produces at each phase of the project.

2. Create or extract a file of Local Holdings information from your local catalog or ILS system. For most libraries, this is the most difficult step. OCLC needs certain information in this file, and the processing can even require that certain fields or subfields be properly ordered within an entry in order to creat accurate LHRs.

See the guidelines and project specifications on the OCLC website before you send your file of holdings data from your local system.

LHRUS Guidelines

LHRUS specifications

NOTE: Libraries in MnPALS can use a set of programs and fixes created by MnPALS to extract holdings data for serials records from Aleph and to arrange the data into a file that OCLC can work with. They have successfully completed a pilot project with Inver Hills Community College and are now working with other libraries. Contact the MnPALS office for documentation and support of this process.

3. When you send your file of holdings data to OCLC, they will work with you to make sure the file meets their requirements and is ready for processing. For example, some values in the LHR may need to be set to default values, collection or location codes may be translated to OCLC Hld Lib codes, etc. If there are problems with records in the file, OCLC will send you a report identifying them by OCLC number.

OCLC does charge a processing fee (approximately $300) for this step, but this is a one-time fee, unless you make changes to the format of the holdings data in your file.

4. Before your data is processed, you will receive a LHRUS Batchload Project Definition and Holdings Translation Table, which describes your specific project and notes any defaults that have been assigned, etc. When you approve this Project Definition, the batch update will proceed, so make sure you are satisfied with the process and results it describes.

NOTE: If you want to see how your holdings stand in OCLC at any time, you can order a Local Holdings Offline Product (LHOP). The LHOP file is free and gives you a snapshot of all your Local Holdings Records in OCLC on the date it was run.

See the MULS web site, or contact Dave Linton or Cecelia Boone in the MULS units at Minitex for more information and a link to the LHOP order form. Minitex also has a utility for using with the LHOP file, which might make it more convenient to read and use.

(Learn more about LHOP in our blog post dated 2/15/2008 and about the LHOP utility in our post from 8/1/2008.)

Posted by linto001 at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MULS training sessions have been scheduled for Fall 2009, and a number of changes are going into effect during this training cycle.

1) All OCLC regional networks, including Minitex, are now offering training sessions through the OCLC Training Portal. This means our classes may have attendees from outside the Minitex region. We don't know how this may effect class sizes or what the demand may be for our training, but it may be a good idea to sign up early. On the flip side, if you work for an OCLC member library and want to try taking training from another network, you will have the option of selecting another offering in the Portal.

To see all the offerings in the OCLC Training Portal [http://training.oclc.org].

If you are taking a Minitex training session, you may still register through the Minitex website, as usual.

2) As part of the new collaboration with OCLC, Minitex is implementing differential pricing. Libraries in our region (MN, ND, SD and WI) will pay a lower fee for training than libraries from other parts of the country. When you register, be sure to click on the appropriate link so that you can be billed the correct rate.

3) In order to better align our training offerings with OCLC's standard curriculum objectives, we will be developing new training on searching for serial records in WorldCat and on the use of constant data in Local Holdings Records. We'll have more on these new offerings a little further down the road, as we develop the training and schedule sessions.

If there are other topics related to local holdings around which you think training should be developed, please contact Dave Linton and let us know.

4) All Local Holdings Maintenance webinars will now include the option to use internet (VOIP) audio. For some users, this may be more convenient than using the telephone conference call, and having it helps us when creating archived webinars. Look for the section on the registration form which indicates whether you will be connecting via VOIP or telephone, and be sure to test your connections prior to the webinar.

We hope this change will help make training more user-friendly for some library staff.

To see the full calendar of Local Holdings Maintenance training, visit the Minitex training page.

Posted by linto001 at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Whether you attended one of our recent webinars or not, now is a great time to work on getting your Local Holdings Records in OCLC updated. It could be as simple as making sure that the subscriptions you've canceled in the past year have been closed in OCLC as well. Or it could be a more ambitious project to get your LHRs all updated. We know that libraries who update their holdings receive fewer misdirected ILL requests, so their fill rates are better and staff time is not wasted.

If you want to update your library's holdings in OCLC, the staff in the Minitex MULS office is ready to help you with any updating questions you may have. Whether you have general questions about your holdings in OCLC, or specific questions about how to handle a single record, we're happy to help you find the best way to represent your holdings.

You can contact Dave Linton by phone (612-624-3360/ 800-462-5348) or e-mail (linto001@umn.edu) whenever you'd like help working with your Local Holdings Records.

Posted by linto001 at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amigos Library Services and the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) are pleased to make available the inaugural facilitated online version of a full SCCTP workshop. The Serial Holdings Workshop is scheduled for May 18 to 29, 2009. In the fifteen-hour course, students will learn to create standards-compliant holdings records, a critical skill in controlling serials in libraries. The instructions and exercises are system-neutral, and the course includes time for discussion of local system implementation.

The course is designed for those who are new to the MARC 21 Holdings Format, including those who have created holdings records using other mechanisms (e.g., OCLC's Local Holdings Record). It is designed primarily for those who will create holdings records but is also useful for managers and system designers wishing to know more about the format and its uses.

Continue reading "Amigos and SCCTP Local holdings workshop" »

Posted by linto001 at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In addition to the regularly scheduled MULS training webinars, staff at participating libraries have other options for learning about Local Holdings Records and how to update them in OCLC. 

OCLC online tutorials and reference materials
OCLC provides access to Local Holdings reference materials and online training materials via their website.  The quick reference guide on Local Holdings and a primer on MARC21 Format for Holdings Data (MFHD) can be used online or printed out from PDF files.  OCLC tutorials on searching for and working with Local Holdings Records are also available.  Links for all these resources can be found under the heading “OCLC Resources” on the MULS section of the MINITEX web site.

Archived MINITEX webinars
Archived versions of the MULS Local Holdings Maintenance webinar series are available online.  While not as useful as taking the sessions live, they still can help staff that wants a refresher of training they took in the past, or who are not able to attend a live webinar session.  Look under the “Local Holdings Maintenance Webinars” section of the MULS Training page for a link to the archived webinar sessions.

Custom training options
The MINITEX MULS unit staff is also available to set up and conduct custom training sessions for our participating libraries.  Custom training could be conducted at the MINITEX office in Minneapolis, at your library, or at another location.  The options range from customized webinar sessions to in-person hands-on training.  To find out more about how MINITEX can meet your training needs, contact Dave Linton in the MULS unit.

Posted by linto001 at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The schedule for Spring 2009 MULS webinars was announced in the recent MINITEX / OCLC mailing.  However, the MULS unit has revised the schedule our first Local Holdings Maintenance webinar series, to allow more time for staff that want training to sign up. 

We apologize for the short lead time between the sessions and our initial announcement, and hope this new schedule will allow more library staff to participate in MULS training.

The revised Spring 2009 schedule of MULS webinars is now:

              Tuesdays, 10:30 AM - noon:        Part 1        2/17/09
                                                                       Part 2        2/24/09
                                                                       Part 3        3/ 3/09

              Thursdays, 1:30 -- 3:00 PM:         Part 1        2/26/09
                                                                       Part 2        3/5/09
                                                                       Part 3        3/12/09

              Mondays, 1:00 -- 2:30 PM:            Part 1        5/4/09
                                                                       Part 2        5/11/09
                                                                       Part 3        5/18/09

As the numbering suggests, these sessions are sequential and are designed to help staff members learn all about maintaining LHRs, from basic editing of existing holdings to creating new holdings and dealing with indexes, numbering changes and other quirks of serial holdings.  Naturally, it is helpful to take the full series together.  However, if your schedule requires you to sign up for different parts at different times, that is possible.  You can get more details about each session and register online at the MINITEX training web page.

Libraries in the MINITEX region with access to OCLC are expected to maintain accurate Local Holdings Records (LHRs) in OCLC as part of their efforts to share resources.  The MINITEX MULS unit provides training to library staff so they can efficiently and effectively access LHRs and add, update or delete Local Holdings information as needed.

If you have questions about MULS training, please contact Dave Linton in the MULS office.

Posted by linto001 at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since February, over 60 institutions in the MINITEX region have ordered a free OCLC Local Holdings Offline Product (LHOP) file. [end test]

Since February, over 60 institutions in the MINITEX region have ordered a free OCLC Local Holdings Offline Product (LHOP) file. Each file provides a complete list of the library’s Local Holdings Records (LHRs) in OCLC, which the library can download and use for a number of purposes. The file could be formatted and arranged to provide a printed list of serials, or to use as an online database of holdings information, supplementing the library catalog.

Of course, one of the most likely uses for the file is to make sure that holdings records in OCLC are accurate and ‘in sync’ with your current holdings. Not only can you check to see that each item in your catalog has the proper holdings in OCLC, you can discover if any items you’ve withdrawn are still lurking in the OCLC system, or if items you’ve added locally are included in your OCLC LHRs. Thirteen of the libraries that ordered an LHOP file have already ordered another, suggesting that they used the file to update holdings and then ordered another version to see (and perhaps to double-check) the updated LHRs.

If your library has ordered a Local Holdings Offline Product, we’d like to hear about how you are using it. Are you using it to update LHRs in OCLC? What else might you do with this information? Did you find any surprises in the file?

Write a comment to this post and let us know what you've done - or plan to do - with your LHOP file.

Posted by linto001 at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Q:  Our library has holdings in multiple formats for a single publication.  How should we represent these holdings in our LHRs in OCLC?

 A.  It is possible (though not strictly according to standards) to represent your holdings in OCLC with a set of Local Holdings Records attached to a single bibliographic record.  Even though all the holdings end up together on the one bib record, it is still important to use separate LHRs for each collection and format.  This will naturally lead to more complexity in creating the Summary field for your library, though not necessarily to a more complex Summary holdings statement.

 For an example of this kind of holdings, see the TQI Local Holdings Records of  Nature.  (ISSN 0028-0836 / OCLC #1586310). 

When you look at this institution, you see a summary screen indicating multiple Local Holdings Records, each of which specifies a holding in a single format.  This allows us to code the physical description code (007) and collection and shelving information (both of which are in the 852) to be specified for each part of the holding without making any one of the LHRs overly complex.  Note that in the example, we have added a public note (863 $z) to the holdings, so that the different formats can be distinguished even in the summary display.

Among the most important codes to pay attention to are the lending and reproduction policy codes (elements 20 and 21 of the 008 field).  This is because OCLC's ILL deflection system looks at these codes and can override the general policy for an item based on the codes in the LHR.  When deflection looks at the OCLC Policies Directory to see whether an item may be loaned or reproduced, it checks the format of the bibliographic record to see which policies apply.  If you attach electronic holdings to a print record, the ILL deflection system will treat them as print holdings.  So, if you need to restrict borrowing based on format, you'll need to make sure the Lending and Reproduction policy codes are correctly coded in each LHR.

Note that while the collection of all the individual holdings could be complex, in this case, the net result is a fairly simple, open holding that starts in 1896 and continues into the present.  The note in the LHR Summary field indicates there are multiple formats, but doesn't specify which format corresponds to which years.  In another situation, you might want to be more specific.  The most important thing is to be specific in each LHR and to be consistent throughout your records.

Posted by linto001 at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Q:  Our library has holdings in multiple formats for a single publication.  How should we represent these holdings in our LHRs in OCLC?

A:  According to the current cataloging standards, each holding should be attached to a bibliographic record that describes its physical format as well as its publication information and history.  This means that, to adhere to the standards, we should have each Local Holding Record attached to the bibliographic record that corresponds to the physical format of the holdings: print holdings on a print bib record, microfilm holdings on a microfilm record, etc. 

This standard is something that we at MINITEX have tried to encourage staff of MULS participating libraries to follow, so many MULS libraries already have holdings that fit this standard.  For an example of this kind of holdings, see the TQI Local Holdings Records on the print and electronic versions of  The Christian Science Monitor.  (ISSN 0882-7729 / OCLC #10969332 and OCLC #35351012)

The advantage of this method of reporting, of course, is that the bibliographic record carries all of the descriptive elements so searchers know about the format of the issues your library holds, or that describe differences between the original publication and a reproduction or alternate format.  Each holding can be updated independently, and OCLC ILL deflection system recognizes the holding format from the format code in the bib record, so it can apply the correct policies to any ILL request.

The major problem with this separate record reporting method is that we need to let folks know that your library has holdings attached to more than one record.  We supplement this information by including a cross reference note in the LHR that directs users to the other records and  holdings in other formats.  To make these notes as useful as possible in as many environments as possible, we've decided to identify these additional records by both ISSN and OCLC number.  So, for example, the holdings on the microfilm record would refer the reader to the print record and read something like:

"For hardcopy see ISSN 0041-2136 / OCLC #23154681."

We'd want to include the cross reference notes in both the LHR summary field and in the public note field ($z) of the 863.  And, if we had holdings only in a non-print format that reproduced a print publication (e.g. we hold only microfilm of a print publication), we'd put a LHR on the print record that referred searchers to our microfilm holdings.

Posted by linto001 at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)