I'm forwarding the following on behalf of Peter Gammie (Pierpont Morgan
Library):
Daniel Fermon
Assistant Librarian
Museum of Modern Art Library
11 W. 53rd Street
New York, N.Y.
(212) 708-9434
> CDG Minutes, 6/11/01
>
> The ARLIS/NY Cataloger's Discussion Group convened on June 11 at the
> Pierpont Morgan Library. The first hour of the meeting was devoted to
> a discussion of the bibliographic utilities RLIN and OCLC. Those in
> attendance sought to compare them as cataloging environments, and to
> share their experiences as users.
>
> NYU provided a model for the procedures of a large university library.
> NYU uses both utilities for source copy, seaching OCLC first, then
> RLIN. (They feel that OCLC gets CONSER records first, since it is the
> parent database for CONSER). Instead of searching RLIN directly, they
> use
> MARCADIA, RLIN's batch searching software.
>
> One participant asked whether other libraries were making use of the
> "third, invisible bibliographic utility," i.e. individual library
> OPAC's accessible through the Internet. One cataloger working on
> specialized material regularly searches 4 OPACS which contain records
> for similar material. But RLIN and OCLC are still the main source for
> copy.
> It was generally observed that RLIN's cluster display results do not
> offer the clarity of the single "master record" approach used by OCLC.
> But the master record display results in the disapearance of local
> information, and there can be transcription problems here as
> well--these may be particularly telling where rare books are concerned.
>
> Many participants have noticed a general decline in the quality of
> records in both utilities. Several factors appear to be at work here.
> One is the records from European libraries that do not conform to
> required standards. These records are good for acquisition purposes,
> but require extensive revision. This may take longer than creating an
> original record, but catalogers are required to use existing copy.
> Some libraries entirely rewrite the records; some merely English the
> notes and accept the rest, including foreign-language subject headings.
>
> Inaccurate coding is another problem. Increasingly, non-standard
> records from many sources are being coded as standard. It was agreed
> that
> there are so many ways to code records now that code-based evaluation
> becomes muddled. But the library which is the first to change the coding
> from non-standard to standard should make an effort to ensure that the
> record really is up to par, or leave it coded as non-standard.
>
> It was also observed that as more people use shared copy the overall
> quality of copy will decline over time. The source pool is diluted as
> catalogers retire and there are fewer new catalogers to replace them.
> More para-professionals are used in the cataloging process, and
> sometimes it is hard for them to recognize the best available source
> copy.
>
> The difficulties of using EUREKA were observed from the perspective of
> reference librarians and those concerned with inter-library loan.
> "Open" records for multi-volume sets and serial records pose
> challenges, as its often difficult to tell which libraries have a
> particular volume when using EUREKA. Often it is necessary to combine
> several records in order to ascertain the true extent of a multi-volume
> title.
>
> It was observed that over time the concept of RLIN as a union catalog
> has altered with the addition of RLG's extra databases, such as the
> German national library catalog, ESTC, and SCIPIO. One-stop
> searching is affected by the fact that one must pay RLG for these
> databases, thus eroding RLIN's utility as a union catalog.
>
> The second half of the meeting was devoted to an in-depth
> demonstration of Cataloger's Desktop, which was performed for the
> benefit of the group by V. Heidi Hass, Head of the Morgan Library's
> Reference Collection. A modifed version of her presentation will be
> posted on Sherman Clarke's Geocities home page
> (http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/9783/) in
> the near future.
>
> The next meeting of the CDG will be held at the Cloisters on a date to
> be announced.
> --
> Peter Gammie
> Cataloger, Reference Collection
> The Pierpont Morgan Library
> 29 East 36th Street
> New York, NY 10016-3403
>
> TEL: 212 685-0008, Ext. 536
> FAX: 212 685-4740
> NET: [log in to unmask]
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