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Sam, Thanks for bringing this issue to the table. We experienced the same surprise and frustration here at the Winterthur Library a couple years back when we realized that our records were no longer visible in WorldCat. What was especially confusing was that they had been visible in the years following the RLIN/OCLC merger, and we did not recall receiving a notice announcing the change. Upon making an inquiry to OCLC, we received a number of non-straightforward replies intended to $teer us to not only FirstSearch (for visibility of our records), but also to Discovery, and especially Discovery Premium! We have bitten the bullet, paid the fee, and had our records turned back on again. Once we paid, the visibility was instantaneous, like the flip of a switch. The good news is that many community patrons have come in having since discovered our holdings in WorldCat. As I’m sure your library does, we contribute a lot of original records to WorldCat. I am not a cataloger, but considering that we’re providing a ton of data for WorldCat, visibility of our records (or a discount!) would provide a fair tradeoff. [Picture1] Emily Guthrie | Library Director | NEH Librarian for the Printed Book & Periodical Collection Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (302) 888-4630 From: ARLIS/NA List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Sam Duncan Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2019 12:50 PM 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 [cid:[log in to unmask]] 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]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | 817.989.5042 cartermuseum.org<http://www.cartermuseum.org/> This message came from outside of Winterthur, and has been scanned for viruses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[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]<mailto:[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]<mailto:[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] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~