Error - unable to initiate communication with LISTSERV (errno=10061, phase=CONNECT, target=127.0.0.1:2306). The server is probably not started.

Sam, thanks for initiating discussion – I just want to emphasize something you mentioned in an earlier post, hopefully helpful to the Board in their deliberations as well. The “losers” in the current fee structure are not only the small specialized research libraries, but the independent researchers who lack a university affiliation and for whom WorldCat is therefore a patchwork (the person at Starbucks on their laptop, as you described it). Our library’s largest public user category is independent curators and authors. Sure, they can come in and use our public workstation to search, but that’s becoming increasingly anachronistic. So this is another dimension of the failure to connect collections with users.

Amy

Amy Marshall Furness

Rosamond Ivey Special Collections Archivist and Head, Library & Archives

416 979 6660 x356

[log in to unmask]

AGO.ca | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

From: ARLIS/NA List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Sam Duncan
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2019 10:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] [ARLIS-L] Feedback on WorldCat Holdings Policy

Just driving home the point that under no circumstances should an organization like OCLC, which is in the business of helping libraries connect our collections with users, penalize a library by not showing its holdings in Worldcat.org. It’s simply antithetical to their mission. This policy is particularly harmful to smaller libraries who may not have the funds to pay for a subscription and, ironically, bring many unique holdings to Worldcat.org. I believe OCLC needs to figure out a different way to bring in funds.

The overall message I have gotten from two high-ranking OCLC officials is, "too bad" [my quotes].

Sam

Samuel Duncan | Head of the Research Library

Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107
[log in to unmask] | 817.989.5042
cartermuseum.org

On Oct 18, 2019, at 8:53 AM, Schwartz, Laura <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Sam and all:

Thanks for sharing your concerns regarding the Worldcat Holdings Policy.

The ARLIS/NA Executive Board is discussing the most effective strategy for approaching OCLC on this issue, working with the relevant groups within the Society.

More soon. –Laura

Laura Schwartz

Arts & Humanities Collection Strategist

Visual Arts Librarian

Subject Librarian for Film Studies

UC San Diego

858-534-1267

President

Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA)

From: ARLIS/NA List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Sam Duncan
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 1:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] Feedback on WorldCat Holdings Policy

Another clarification: this thread is about holdings displaying in the Worldcat.org public web interface, not about our ability to add holdings through a cataloging subscription. That we do and have been doing for years.

I think it would be easier to justify the expense if I felt that Worldcat.org were being actively developed. As it is, the interface is mostly a mess and has not been significantly updated in a long time. For instance, Worldcat.org does not label RDA fields such as 264 for production, distribution, manufacturing/printing info. It just lumps it all into one pile labeled “Publisher.” In the example below, “Our Studio” provided graphic design, ie production, services.

Publisher: Our Studio [Zeeland, Michigan] : [Herman Miller?], [2019]

But what really irks me is the Worldcat.org help page:

https://www.worldcat.org/whatis/default.jsp

What am I searching?

WorldCat.org lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. Worldcat grows every day thanks to the efforts of librarians and other information professionals.

I suggest a caveat here: *WorldCat contains selective holdings of member libraries.

I suggest OCLC consider a monthly charge based on total number of holdings added to Worldcat. We do a good deal of enriching Worldcat with original cataloging records for the specialized material that we collect. I believe these contributions should be considered in a more equitable pricing plan.

Thanks for letting me grind my axe here!!

Sam

Samuel Duncan | Head of the Research Library
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107
[log in to unmask] | 817.989.5042
cartermuseum.org

From: Cheryl Miller [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 2:40 PM
To: Sam Duncan <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: [ARLIS-L] Feedback on WorldCat Holdings Policy

Hi Sam,

We had the same problem – a couple of years ago, we broke down and started paying the fee (this year is higher than $2,500, can’t quite remember how much over.) Every year I verify with OCLC that I must have this mostly useless subscription in order to get what I want, and every year they say yes.

Before we paid, it appeared that if we created the Master Record, sometimes our holdings would show but without the hyperlink our own catalog. If we simply added our holdings to the record and made some kind of update to the record, it sometimes showed we had a copy of the item. If we only added our holdings to the record, its seems that those were most likely to not show up in any fashion. Just a guess.

I wish OCLC would have a way to address this, especially with master records we create. Or, perhaps a targeted fee for just this feature – again, we just don’t use FirstSearch.

Cheryl Miller

Head, Library Metadata and Discovery Services.

Autry Museum of the American West.

From: ARLIS/NA List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sam Duncan
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 11:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] Feedback on WorldCat Holdings Policy

I should clarify my earlier posting by saying that if a library does *not* have a subscription, some its holdings show, yet I’m not sure what criteria is used to decide what appears. Worldcat.org, in other words, provides *selective* holdings to its users, and I believe that OCLC should make those limitations clear to its users.

Sam

Samuel Duncan | Head of the Research Library

Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107
[log in to unmask] | 817.989.5042
cartermuseum.org

On Oct 17, 2019, at 1:24 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

Dear Sam:

This is outrageous and the reply from OCLC is downright rude. This is obviously not the OCLC that most of us contributed to back in the day—when all sizes of libraries were welcomed—and they were more intent on building their database. My former library, the Craft and Folk Art Museum Research Library (given to the L.A. County Museum of Art in 1997), which was much smaller than the Amon Carter Research Library, paid a small annual fee (sorry, I can’t remember now how much it was) that was definitely affordable and I was able to attend many free workshops as well. Has this issue ever been addressed by ARLIS/NA’s Museum Libraries Division?

Best wishes,

Joan M. Benedetti (Ret.)

Former Head, Craft and Folk Art Museum Library

From: ARLIS/NA List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Sam Duncan
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 10:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARLIS-L] Feedback on WorldCat Holdings Policy

Hi all,

Just sharing a concern of mine that goes way back having to do with holdings listed on worlcat.org. Current OCLC policy does not allow a library to have all its holdings listed on worldcat.org unless you are a subscriber to WorldCat Discovery of Firstsearch (I believe that’s right). For small-ish libraries like ours, a subscription is expensive, around $2,500. I believe it’s a great disservice to our patrons and libraries. Many specialized libraries like ours offer many unique holdings, and, ironically, current OCLC policy allows a record to display with no holding libraries listed (see attached screenshot).

One OCLC representative wrote back when I addressed this concern, “I understand you do not agree with the policy, but the Cataloging and FirstSearch subscriptions are how we fund those services (along with WorldCat.org). We try to keep them affordable for the majority, while covering our costs, but it still does not work for everyone.”

Here’s a great example. Keep in mind that if you’re associated with a university library, you’ll probably see holdings. The problem is with cases where a patron is searching at the local Starbucks down the street, for example, or at home.

https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1123217295

I totally understand that there is a price tag associated with making worldcat.org available, but it’s an egregious levy for a library to pay to have its holdings masked and totally antithetical to what OCLC is supposed to be doing for libraries (IMHO). When I have suggested a more equitable pricing structure, there has been no interest in investigating it.

Thanks for your feedback. More than anything, I need a reality check from my colleagues.

Sam

<image001.png>

Samuel Duncan | Head of the Research Library

Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107
[log in to unmask] | 817.989.5042
cartermuseum.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This message is a private communication. It may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not read, copy or use it, and do not disclose it to others. Please notify the sender of the delivery error by replying to this message, and then delete it and any attachments from your system. Thank you.

Error during command authentication.