OCLC Diversity Fellowship

Happy New Year! While I’m working on some new posts for the new year, here’s some news from OCLC…..

OCLC is currently seeking candidates for a Diversity Fellowship Program (Metadata/Quality Control) position at our Corporate Headquarters in Dublin (Columbus), Ohio.

 

The Fellow will work for 6 months with the contract cataloging-related services and then 6 months with quality control.  This joint cooperative opportunity will provide well-rounded exposure to cataloging rules, practices, standards, processes, and challenges from both libraries’ and OCLC’s perspectives.  The Fellow will be provided with overviews of OCLC services and processes, learning opportunities to develop technical skills, and will be asked to meet objectives contributing to the success of each unit.

 

Responsibilities:

 

Metadata Contract Services:  The Fellow will gain experience in cataloging and collection development of diverse sets of materials that can be used in future professional growth by learning about the varying needs of libraries and material-supplier partners.  The Fellow will be working along with the production cataloging staff as well as individually performing tasks such as:

 

• Understanding the cataloging process from beginning to end
  • Performing order entry of inbound library and vendor materials
  • Cataloging multiple material types for client libraries including some non-English materials; this experience will include creating and contributing new records to WorldCat and enhancing existing records per client specifications and within specified timeframes
  • Performing local edits to records prepared for delivery to libraries per libraries’ specifications and requirements for their automated systems and local cataloging conventions
  • Perform shelf-ready physical processing tasks in accordance with library collection specifications
• Receive training on OCLC services to complete assigned tasks and become familiar with related tools including Cataloger’s Desktop, Library of Congress ClassWeb, OCLC WebDewey, Connexion Client, and other OCLC services as applicable
• Learn about RDA (Resource Description and Access) from staff who have completed training and participated in the test phase of this new code

 

Quality Control: The Fellow will learn to process and correct identified sets of problem/error master records in the WorldCat database including reporting problems with Library of Congress (LC) records directly to LC.  A wide variety of problems incorporating all aspects of the cataloging record will be included in this work.  The Fellow will also learn the basics of NACO processing of name and series authority records and gain familiarity with the PCC (Program for Cooperative Cataloging).  The Fellow will have training in processing and merging duplicate records in various formats including books, serials, scores, sound recordings, maps, and computer files.  The Fellow will have the opportunity to gain a broad overview of database maintenance for the largest bibliographic database in the world.  The Quality Control Section is part of OCLC’s WorldCat Quality Management Division.

 

Qualifications

 

• ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS degree (granted by July 2012)
• Have less than three years post graduate work experience

·       Some familiarity with MARC, AACR2 and/or RDA, Dewey Decimal Classification or Library of Congress Classification, Library of Congress subject headings (course work would be acceptable)

·       Desire to specialize in cataloging/technical services

·       Fluent reading skills in a language other than English (preferred)

·       Demonstrated awareness and sensitivity in issues of diversity and inclusion:  strong awareness of other cultures and viewpoints, appreciation for the benefits of diversity in the workplace and library community, behavior which demonstrates the ability to work with people at all levels and from different backgrounds

·       Strong organizational skills which include the ability to organize work plans and processes toward a targeted outcome

·       Exceptional communication skills – written, oral, small group presentation

·       Selected individual must represent historically underrepresented groups (i.e., defined in a manner consistent with the 2007 EEO-1 race/ethnicity reporting classifications)

·       Note:  The Fellow will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement as some of the vendor processes to which he/she will be exposed are proprietary

 

Salary and Benefits

 

·       Salary will be very competitive and commensurate with experience and applicable market compensation

·       The Fellow will be eligible for health & welfare benefits such as is provided to other similarly situated term-limited employees

·       Relocation Assistance will be offered in the form of a lump sum distributed in two installments (50% at signing of offer and 50% after 90 days of start date).  The amount of the lump sum will be determined by the distance required for relocation during the term of the fellowship

 

Application Procedures

 

The OCLC Diversity Fellowship Program 2012 Program Guidelines document can be found at:

http://www.oclc.org/us/en/community/careerdevelopment/minorityfellows/default.htm

 

For complete application procedures look for the “program guidelines” document found on a link on the right side of the web page noted above and also look at the link for the specific position.  The application initiation and all required submissions (original essay and two letters of recommendation) MUST be completed and received by Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 5:00pm ET.  Materials received after Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 5:00pm ET will not be considered.

 

Timeline and Key Dates

 

2012 Program Applications Accepted : until February 28, 2012

2012 Application Deadline: February 28, 2012

2012 Fellow Selection Process: April 2012

2012 Notification of Decision: April/May 2012

2012 Fellowship Program Starts: July 2012

2012 Fellowship Program Ends: 12 months after start date

 

OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.  OCLC maintains an ongoing commitment to equal opportunity and seeks to sustain a diverse workplace.

 

 

Cynthia M. Whitacre

Manager, WorldCat Quality & Partner Content Dept.

OCLC

800-848-5878, ext. 6183

whitacrc@oclc.org

Statement on RDA from OCLC

*Originally posted on the OLCL-Cat list*

From: the US RDA Test Coordinating Committee

Subj:  US RDA Test and OCLC

The US RDA Test Coordinating Committee wishes to clarify the role of OCLC in the US RDA test, and to provide information and communication pathways to those who are not test participants.

OCLC is playing a critical role in the US RDA test. They have enabled the testers to create non-distributed institutional records for the common sets of test records and have worked closely with the US RDA Test Coordinating Committee and the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) to develop interim procedures and policies to minimize the impact of this test on OCLC users.  http://www.oclc.org/us/en/rda/policy.htm

OCLC has tens of thousands of members around the world, some of whom may have implemented RDA immediately when it was released.  Duplicate records are a concern for many OCLC members, and creating parallel AACR2 and RDA records for the same title would only exacerbate the problem of duplicate records and would be likely to be merged by OCLC’s Duplicate Detection and Resolution (DDR) software.  Therefore, OCLC’s interim policy during the testing period is that neither test participants nor other OCLC members should convert OCLC master records from AACR2 to RDA or vice versa.

Likewise, in the authority file, OCLC and PCC policy is that no duplicate authority records will be created.  See http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/RDAtest/admindoc1.doc for more information.  Existing authority records (based on AACR2 or earlier rules) may be temporarily augmented with a 7XX for the corresponding RDA form of the authorized access point, and new RDA authority records may be created.  After the implementation decision, authority records with 7XX field will be updated as needed.  Institutions may need to adjust local procedures to account for RDA bibliographic and authority records your staff may encounter during the testing period.

An online survey to provide information to the US RDA Test Coordinating Committee from informal testers and others is available at:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q5968DB

RDA records created may be submitted to the Library of Congress.  Contact Dave Reser (dres@loc.gov)

Questions or comments about the US RDA test may be sent to the US RDA Test Coordinating Committee via Susan Morris at the Library of Congress (smor@lc.gov)

Questions or comments about the content of RDA may be emailed to LChelp4rda@loc.gov

Questions about the RDA Toolkit may be directed to ALA Editions at http://access.rdatoolkit.org/

Additional information about the US RDA test is available at the US RDA Test Coordinating Committee’s website: http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/rda/

A FAQ and further explanation of the test process is available here: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/RDAtest/admindoc9.doc

New OCLC Record Use Policy Approved

Just posted from OCLC:

The new WorldCat record use policy has been approved by the OCLC Board of Trustees. WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative will be effective August 1, 2010.

Our 12-member Record Use Policy Council undertook a detailed investigation of the issues and drafted a new policy that we introduced for community review In April 2010. More than 275 comments were gathered via e-mail, phone, meetings and letters, in an online forum, and by monitoring blogs, listservs and Twitter. Your comments resulted in additions and changes to the draft. At the end of May 2010, we submitted our revised policy statement to the OCLC Board, which approved the document during its June meeting.

To view the new policy, including a Frequently Asked Questions document and a comparison between the draft submitted for community review and the final document, visit:  http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/recorduse/

–OCLC Record Use Policy Council

OCLC: WorldCat use policy

The WorldCat use policy draft has been posted and is open for review. Here’s the information:

Next-generation policy for WorldCat records—open for community review The OCLC Record Use Policy Council members have been working for the past few months to develop the next generation of a WorldCat use policy, and we are pleased to announce that the draft document, WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative, is open for community review. This Council, convened by the OCLC Board of Trustees last September, has produced a new draft document that incorporates many suggestions raised by the community over the past year. For example, rather than using legal language, we have drafted the new policy as a code of good practices, intended to outline the rights and responsibilities of OCLC members with regard to the use of WorldCat records. We intend for this document to help inform the decision-making process for member library leaders as they seek to innovate around the shared resource that is WorldCat. We have sought to encourage the widespread use of WorldCat data while also supporting the viability and utility of WorldCat and the OCLC network of services. The draft policy is not final. Between now and the end of May, we very much want your feedback. We hope you will take the time to review the draft policy carefully, and let us know your thoughts. You can post comments to the community forum, send an e-mail with your thoughts to recorduse@oclc.org, or register to attend a webinar where you can ask questions and submit feedback to members of the Record Use Policy Council. We will continue to add content to the accompanying FAQ as we get more questions from the community review process. We plan to send a revised version of the draft policy to the OCLC Board of Trustees at the end of May for final review and approval. We anticipate that a final document will be published mid-calendar year 2010. Many thanks are due to all the members and librarians who commented over the past year and whose feedback helped us formulate this new document. We would especially like to thank the members of the Record Use Policy Council: ChewLeng Beh, Global Council Delegate and Chair, OCLC Asia Pacific Regional Council; and Senior Director, Singapore National Library Board, Singapore Raymond Bérard, Global Council Delegate and Director, ABES, France Karen Calhoun, Vice President, OCLC WorldCat and Metadata Services, OCLC, USA Klaus Ceynowa, Global Council Delegate and Deputy Director General, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Germany Christopher Cole, Global Council Delegate and Associate Director for Technical Services, National Agriculture Library, USA Lorcan Dempsey, Vice President, OCLC Research and Chief Strategist, OCLC, USA Nancy Eaton, Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, Penn State University, USA Clifford A. Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), USA Brian E. C. Schottlaender, Global Council Delegate and The Audrey Geisel University Librarian, UC San Diego Libraries, USA Lamar Veatch, Global Council Delegate and State Librarian, Georgia Public Library Service–University System of Georgia, USA

OCLC : New Digital Programs and Webinars

For those interested in OCLC happenings, this was posted on the OCLC-cat listserv:

New! Digital Programs Web pages now live! OCLC Digital Programs offer a variety of services to help you develop and manage your digital program, including consulting services, training and professional development through our presentation and sponsorship of special events and programs. Our goal is to enable you to demonstrate success quickly with a high-quality digital program that fulfills the vision of your library, archives or other cultural heritage organization. View the new Digital Programs Web pages now >> Upcoming events Register for the new Digital Preservation for Digital Collaboratives workshop BCR, LYRASIS and OCLC are proud to present a new workshop, Digital Preservation for Digital Collaboratives. The workshop will begin with three webinars on April 13, 14 and 16, and will continue in-person on April 28–29, in Philadelphia. Designed for multiple representatives from a collaborative, the workshop will provide the information and tools the collaborative needs to develop a long-term preservation plan that will work for its unique collections and organizations. The cost to participate is $150 per individual registration and $125 per member of a registered collaborative team. Partial funding for this workshop is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Register today for this workshop >> Midwest CONTENTdm Users Group Meeting at the University of Iowa in Iowa City (April 7–9, 2010) The conference’s keynote speaker will be Kenning Arlitsch, Associate Director for IT Services at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library. He will discuss results of a survey designed to discern the perceptions and preferences of future library leaders related to organizational cultures in these times of precipitous change. Two preconference sessions will be presented on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, at the University of Iowa. The CONTENTdm Users Group meeting will follow on Thursday and Friday, April 8 and 9. Preconference registration is $35.00 per session with lunch on your own, and the meeting registration is $75.00 per person, which includes lunch and breaks. The preconference sessions will focus on: The Care and Feeding of Compound Objects! Presented by Geri Ingram, OCLC Digital Collection Services Scaling Down to Scale Up: Streamlining Production for Mass Digitization Efforts Presented by the University of Iowa’s Digital Library Services department staff Register for preconference sessions >> Register for the Midwest CONTENTdm Users Group Meeting >> Upcoming Courses on Digital Collections OCLC and our Training Partners have many exciting courses currently scheduled. Outlined below are just some of the professional development opportunities you can find on OCLC’s Training Portal. For additional information, including how to create your account on the Training Portal, please review our Frequently Asked Questions or send an e-mail to training@oclc.org. CONTENTdm 2010 Midwest CONTENTdm User Group Meeting (OCLC) 4/7 through 4/9/10 Essential Disaster Planning for Technology Webinar (OCLC) 6/18/10 CONTENTdm Basic Use (OCLC) 4/13/10 CONTENTdm Basic Skills 1 – Getting Started with CONTENTdm (OCLC) 4/15/10; 5/5/10; and 6/15/10 CONTENTdm Basic Skills 2 – Working with Text in CONTENTdm (OCLC) 4/22/10; 5/12/10; and 6/22/10 CONTENTdm Basic Skills 3 – Maintaining Collections in CONTENTdm (OCLC) 4/29/10 and 5/19/10 2010 Western CONTENTdm User Group Meeting (OCLC) 6/2 through 6/4/10 Introduction to Funding for Digital Programs Webinar (OCLC) 6/10/10 View all CONTENTdm courses >> Related Training: 2010 Midwest CONTENTdm User Group Meeting (OCLC) 4/7 through 4/9/10 Essential Disaster Planning for Technology Webinar (OCLC) 6/18/10 Developing a Copyright Policy (OCLC) 4/12/10 Creating Digital Newspapers for the Web Webinar (OCLC) 4/15/10 Digital Image Quality Webinar (OCLC) 5/6/10 Introduction to Developing and Managing Digital Programs (OCLC) 5/20/10 2010 Western CONTENTdm User Group Meeting (OCLC) 6/2 through 6/4/10 Introduction to Funding for Digital Programs Webinar (OCLC) 6/10/10 View all related training for Digital Collection Management >>

EBSCO Takes NetLibrary

From OCLC:

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 17 March 2010—OCLC and EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO) have signed an agreement whereby EBSCO will purchase the assets of the OCLC NetLibrary Division and the rights to license a select number of vendor-owned databases currently available through the OCLC FirstSearch service. The purchase includes the NetLibrary eBook and eAudiobook platform as well as operations and infrastructure in Boulder, Colorado.

NetLibrary eBook content and eAudiobook subscriptions will continue to be available on the NetLibrary platform. EBSCO plans to provide access to the NetLibrary eBook content on the EBSCOhost® platform, one of the most used eContent platforms, creating a comprehensive integrated eBook and database service. NetLibrary eBooks will also continue to be discoverable through WorldCat.org.

“As eBooks become a mainstream part of libraries’ electronic collections, the time is right to provide new opportunities for libraries to integrate the acquisition and delivery of their eBooks, databases and eJournals,” said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. “This agreement with EBSCO will provide eBook users worldwide with increased avenues to discover their library’s growing eBook collection.”

“Our customers have been encouraging us to enter the eBook business as their users want to search eBooks on the same platform they are using to search leading full-text databases such as Academic Search™ and Business Source®,” said Tim Collins, president of EBSCO Publishing, the producers of EBSCOhost. “While we will begin work immediately to integrate NetLibrary eBooks into the EBSCOhost platform, we will also continue to maintain and enhance the NetLibrary platform to ensure a quality user experience while EBSCOhost functionality is being expanded.”

Mr. Collins continued, “We are also pleased to work with OCLC to transition a portion of their FirstSearch business to EBSCOhost. Given our history and experience providing access to leading secondary databases on EBSCOhost, we are well-positioned to provide FirstSearch subscribers a smooth transition to EBSCOhost.”

OCLC purchased the assets of NetLibrary in 2002 from bankruptcy in order to protect libraries’ investments in eBook content purchases, and to explore the potential of eBooks for libraries during the early days of eContent and the Web. OCLC members and publisher partners pioneered new eBook platforms, new purchase and licensing models and built a global shared eBook service for tens of thousands of libraries worldwide. OCLC has partnered with EBSCO to ensure even greater access to the important eBook resources of libraries.

OCLC’s commitment to protecting libraries’ investment in NetLibrary eBooks continues. All NetLibrary eBooks purchased by libraries will be placed in a dark archive—the OCLC eBook Archive—at least through March 2013. Just as OCLC protected member libraries’ investments with the acquisition of NetLibrary in 2002, the agreement with EBSCO ensures that all NetLibrary eBooks purchased by libraries continue to be secure.

EBSCO will provide OCLC MARC records for applicable eBooks to libraries free of charge and will ensure continued visibility of these important collections in WorldCat.org. EBSCO plans to maintain the popular eBook content purchase model and will explore eBook subscription options.  Thousands of libraries also subscribe to Recorded Books eAudiobooks on the NetLibrary platform. This service will continue as EBSCO and Recorded Books will partner to provide access and new eAudiobook content on the NetLibrary platform.

EBSCO has also purchased the rights to license certain vendor-owned databases that are currently available via FirstSearch. Existing FirstSearch subscribers will continue to receive access to these databases on the FirstSearch service through the end of their current subscriptions. In order that customers experience an ideal transition to EBSCOhost following the current subscription period, pending approval of database owners, EBSCOhost access to these databases will be activated to run in parallel with FirstSearch access for the remainder of the current subscription.

OCLC will continue to deliver important library content via the FirstSearch platform. The WorldCat database, the WorldCat base package of databases and databases of primarily library owned content will continue to be offered through both FirstSearch and WorldCat.org. In 2008, OCLC expanded the visibility of FirstSearch databases by providing coverage of all FirstSearch content on both the FirstSearch platform and WorldCat.org.

OCLC and EBSCO have put in place processes to ensure continuity of service and support.  FAQs for customer and member support, ordering, billing and service transition is available at http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/questions/ and http://support.epnet.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?id=4789.

“Proceeds from the sale of the NetLibrary Division will be re-invested in the cooperative, both in financing current operations to keep our shared costs down for members and in resourcing important new product development,” said Mr. Jordan. “I am pleased to say that OCLC will therefore be able to hold service prices flat on all OCLC services in the United States for a second consecutive year, through June 30, 2011.”

Moving forward, OCLC will concentrate new development resources on enhancing and expanding WorldCat services and developing new services to streamline and lower costs of library management workflows. OCLC will continue to increase investment levels in support of valued library cataloging and resource sharing services. OCLC will also continue to build partnerships with publishers, library content developers and other content aggregators to provide maximum discoverability of a library’s complete collection through WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local.
“We are focusing our resources and investments on WorldCat services and on building a range of new Web-scale services for libraries,” said Mr. Jordan.  “We are transitioning out of the role as reseller of vendor content.  We will leverage cloud computing technologies to build cooperative services with our members and partners.”

“OCLC members have a strong track record of investing in research and development which yields new methods and new technologies for the broad library community,” Mr. Jordan said. “This began with the creation of WorldCat nearly 40 years ago and continued with pioneering work on eBooks in this past decade. There are many exciting new opportunities ahead. We see significant value in the new capabilities made possible by the combination of the shared resource that is WorldCat, cloud computing and cooperation.  We will focus the cooperative’s energy and strategies on continuing our mission to increase access to the world’s information through cooperation and innovation.”

OCLC’s Expert Community Experiment Update

This announcement was just posted by Glenn Patton:

I wanted to call OCLC-CAT readers’ attention to recent updates to the Expert Community pages on the OCLC web site (http://www.oclc.org/us/en/worldcat/catalog/quality/expert/default.htm).  The pages have been updated to clarify that, following the conclusion of the experiment last August, the functionality remain in place.  Activity has continued to be strong over the past 4 months:

August 2009             19,890 replaces

September 2009  20,854 replaces

October 2009            23,794 replaces

November 2009   18,600 replaces

The recording of the Wrap-up webinar is also available on the updated pages.  If you didn’t get a chance to participate in one of the live sessions, click on “Recorded web sessions” in the navigation bar on the left and select “Expert Community Wrap-up Webinar” from the list.

If you would like to track your own institution’s statistics, log on to OCLC Product Services Web (http://psw.oclc.org/) and select “download records and reports”.   Select the report, “OCLC Product Code Detail Usage Report”.  You can either display the report or download it.  To track your Expert Community replace activity, look for the product code, ONT6390.  Statistics are available for July through October of this fiscal year as well as for February through June of last fiscal year.  November data should be available in the next few days.

On behalf of my OCLC colleagues, thanks again for your support of the Expert Community.

Glenn E. Patton

Director, WorldCat Quality Management

OCLC