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OLAC Newsletter
Vol. 29 | No. 1| March 2009

The OLAC Newsletter (ISSN: 0739-1153) is a quarterly publication of the Online Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc. appearing in March, June, September and December. Permission is granted to copy and disseminate information contained herein, provided the source is acknowledged.

In this issue

From the President

From the Editor

Treasurer's Report

OLAC Meeting Minutes:

Conference Reports:

LC Update

MOUG/OLAC Liaison Report

Reports from the 2008 OLAC/MOUG
Conference, Part II:

Workshops:

News and Announcements

Announcement of New Officers

Book Reviews:

OLAC Cataloger's Judgment:

News from OCLC

 

News From OCLC
Compiled by Jay Weitz

Cataloging and Metadata

OCLC Announces Expert Community Experiment
In response to requests from the cataloging community, OCLC is introducing the Expert Community Experiment which enables cataloging members to make more changes to WorldCat records. During the Experiment, members with full level cataloging authorizations have the ability to improve and upgrade WorldCat master records. The Experiment begins in February 2009, and lasts six months. Introductory web information sessions will be held throughout February for those interested in participating in the Experiment. We welcome all member libraries with full level cataloging authorizations to participate in the Experiment. During the Experiment, participants will be able to correct, improve, and upgrade all WorldCat master records, with the exception of PCC records (BIBCO and CONSER records). Library of Congress records that are not PCC records are included in the Experiment. Participants will receive credits for those activities for which they currently receive credits. During the Experiment, OCLC will not give credits for the new activity. Instead, we plan to review new activity for possible credit adjustment later in the Experiment.


OCLC Loads MARC Records for Playaway Titles into WorldCat
Findaway World, the maker of Playaway audio devices, is now sending their MARC records to OCLC for addition to WorldCat. Playaway is the only format of audiobook that does not require a separate player, so it comes ready-to-listen, without the need for a certain type of player or advanced technical know-how. Additionally, Playaway allows the listener to control the speed of the narrator's voice and automatically remembers where you left off when you power down. Findaway World is located in Solon, Ohio. The OCLC symbol for these records is PLAYA; the vendor identifier in field 938 is PLAY. For information about Findaway World, see their web site at: http://www.playawaydigital.com. See a list of all partners contributing records through the Vendor Record Contribution Program at http://www.oclc.org/us/en/partnerships/material/contribution/technical/default.htm.


National Library of Israel Adds 788,000 Records to WorldCat
The National Library of Israel and OCLC have completed a pilot project that has resulted in the addition of more than 788,000 new bibliographic records and 1.1 million holdings from the national library to WorldCat. These records from the National Library of Israel are now visible to Web searchers through WorldCat.org. The National Library of Israel, formerly known as the Jewish National and University Library, worked with OCLC in the pilot project to explore and resolve issues in adding records containing only non-Latin script data to WorldCat. Most of the new records added to WorldCat represent materials in Hebrew script, but significant numbers of records represent Arabic-script and Cyrillic-script publications. The National Library of Israel will continue to add records to WorldCat as new materials are cataloged. Israeli libraries started participating in the OCLC cooperative in 1989. Today there are 71 institutions in Israel actively participating in OCLC. By adding these records to WorldCat, the National Library of Israel becomes a governing member of OCLC and will participate in governance of the worldwide cooperative. The WorldCat database continues to grow at an extraordinary rate, with many of the records entered into the world's largest bibliographic resource coming from outside the United States. Between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008, records from the National Library of Sweden, Swiss National Library, National Library of Australia, and National Library of New Zealand were added to WorldCat. More information, a complete list and world map illustrating OCLC's work with national libraries can be found at www.oclc.org/us/en/worldcat/catalog/national.



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