Difference between revisions of "Step 1.0"

Revision as of 09:11, 30 November 2011

Planning Guide

Please contact your Sales representatives to request additional no-charge copies of this Guide: 800.288.1265. The information contained within this guide should be shared with cataloging managers and system managers. You may also want to share it with your local system representatives.

Overview

Our Authority Control service provides a variety of options to enhance your patron access by improving heading consistency within your catalog as well as with national-level systems like Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Your Authority Control team can assist you in completing each step of your profile.

An ongoing dialogue between you and our staff helps us better understand your needs and expectations as well as your specific system-related issues. Throughout your project, our staff is available to answer any questions, providing you with the highest quality and most cost-effective support possible.

If your particular custom needs are not outlined in this guide, please contact your project manager.

Online Profile Support

As you look through the planning guide and read over the profile steps, you may have questions. Our online interface enables you to enter your library information, set up your profile and edit current jobs scheduled for processing. Filling out the profile steps with our assistance helps bring to light any remaining questions about your data.

In addition to the profile guide being freely available on our site, your dedicated Authority Control project manager is available by phone or email to answer any of your questions. Part of our process is to work with you as you enter your choices so you can choose what you need with the greatest confidence.

ILS Handling

Typically, an integrated library system (ILS) has very specific criteria when it comes to exporting and importing the bibliographic records or authorities from your library. Knowing which ILS a library uses helps us understand the needs and expectations of your library. The most common source of bibliographic records is a library’s own ILS.

Your ILS may have a different methodology when it comes to importing versus exporting records. Contacting your ILS vendor will help clear these steps up.

Since our Authority Control service can process bibliographic records in MARC21 or MARCXML format from almost any source, it may be necessary to contact the ILS vendor regarding the best way to export the records in the proper format.

Bibliographic records in a library’s local ILS are often the only copies that contain all the updates, modifications, and enhancements made over the years. Most systems have an export feature that can create files of bibliographic or authority records in MARC format.

Some ILS allow export by date or record number ranges, enabling a library to periodically send files of new and updated records for Authority Control processing.