MARS Authority Control

Bibliographic Record Update Service

Due to popular demand, Backstage Library Works is now offering a third ongoing service product that we call Bibliographic Record Update Service.  This service updates your bibliographic records during our Notification Service.

Over the years Backstage has offered two ongoing products for automated authority control.  For all of your new bibliographic records we provide a product called Current Cataloging.  Current Cataloging is designed to pick up where you left off with the original automated authority process.  We take all of your new bibliographic records and process them exactly like we processed your original bibliographic database.  With this process we return to you newly validated bibliographic records with updated authority headings that match the new and updated authority records we return to you.  We retain in your master authority file all new and updated authority records.

To complement our Current Catalog product Backstage offers Notification Services.  Notification Services matches your library’s master authority file against the National Databases on pre determined intervals to give you updated and new authority records that replace the old authority records on your database.

Both of these products together are a very efficient and cost beneficial way to maintain your authority database.  For most libraries this is sufficient.  However, with the Notification product it is left to the Library’s ILS system to reconcile new authorities delivered by Backstage with existing authority headings in their bibliographic records.  The process of importing and updating the Library’s authority records is straightforward.  Control numbers are matched up and the newly imported record overlay the old authority record.  However, for some ILS systems the updating of the authority heading is done by a string match on the 1XX or the 4XX of the authority record.  If neither are the same as the old bibliographic authority heading the record will not automatically reconcile.  Typically, this is done through reports but the effort to reconcile or to populate the authorized heading in the bibliographic record can be partially manual and can be time consuming depending on the ILS and the library.

How big of a job is this?  It really depends.  Up until the advent of the closed death date Backstage did not receive a call involving the amount of time you spent on reconciling new authority records to existing authority headings but that has changed.  Recently, we have noticed an interest in having this part of the ongoing authority process further automated.  As a result we have developed a complimentary service we call Bibliographic Record Update Service.

What we will do during our Bibliographic Record Update Service is maintain your bibliographic records along with your authority records.  With this service, Backstage will have a master bibliographic file as well as a master authority file for your library which we will maintain for you.  When Notification Services run on your database, our Bibliographic Record Update Service will also run.  Backstage will update or reconcile your bibliographic database as well as your authority file before we send records back to you.  We will deliver to you updated bibliographic records along with your updated and new authority files.

How does this help you?  The time spent reconciling your new and updated authority records to their associated bibliographic records will disappear.  Your library will simply need to upload updated bibliographic records along with new and updated authority records.  The process will be identical to what you do for Current Cataloging.

To maintain your bib file we will need any changed bibliographic records sent to Backstage prior to your Bibliographic Update service.

If you are interested in this new service please contact your sales representative or the MARS authority control team for more information.

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