Preparing the Collection for Automation Dania Bilal IS 592 Spring 2005

Things to Consider  Weeding  Inventory  Sheflist analysis  Recon decisions

Weeding  Weeding is essential before retrospective conversion (recon)  Weed the collection based on the library’s weeding criteria  Withdraw the shelflist cards for weeded items

Inventory  Inventory is performed to identify items for which no shelflist cards exist, and to identify shelflist cards for which materials are missing or lost.  Decide on the materials to be converted

Shelflist Analysis  Materials destined for recon must have shelflist cards  The more complete and accurate the information on the cards is, the higher the probability is for finding matches in MARC databases

Shelflist Analysis  Shelflist analysis ensures uniformity and consistency  Each shelflist card must contain this information:

Shelflist Analysis – ISBN and LCCN – no. of copies of an item – no. of volumes for an item – accurate bibliographic information (author, title, publication information, etc.) – a call number and a standard prefix (R for reference or Ref for reference, etc.)

Recon  Recon is the process of converting shelflist cards into a machine-readable format based on the MARC 21 standard.  Each shelflist card is matched against a vendor’s MARC database(s). Matches are done by ISBN, LCCN, then author, author/title, or title.

Recon  Enhancements may be made to matched MARC records, as specified by the library.  Matched MARC records are saved onto CD’s or other media, or transferred electronically over the Web.  Non-matches are either keyed-in by an operator or sent back to the library for in- house conversion.

Recon Specifications  Vendor profile specifications – The vendor should send you a library profile form to complete and return  Library specifications – Includes specifications not addressed in the vendor’s profile form

Recon Vendor Forms  Forms may include these options: – Fiction: FIC with first 3 letters of Main entry – Easy books: E with first 3 letters of Main entry – Reference: REF with Dewey with first 3 letters of Main entry – Barcodes: range of barcodes for items and range of barcodes for patrons

Who Does the Recon?  Vendor (outsourcing) – Advantages Students to describe – Disadvantages Students to describe

Who Does the Recon?  Library staff (in-house) – Fee-based options: CD-ROM Web services – (TLC ITS.MARC) – (EZCat/Pro) – (OCLC)

Who Does the Recon?  Library staff – Free Web-based MARC records Library of Congress Z39.50 Gatewayhttp:// Sunlinkhttp://

Who Does the Recon?  Library staff – Advantages Students to describe – Disadvantages Students to describe

Who Does the Recon?  Combined conversion process – Vendor & library staff – Advantages Students to describe – Disadvantages Students to describe

What Recon Method to Use?  Decision depends on: – the type of library and its collection size – the qualifications of existing library staff – the timeline for completing the automation project – the cost analysis performed for various recon methods

Cost Analysis for Recon  Why do a cost analysis?  How to do a cost analysis? – See Text, pp  Does a large library need to perform a cost analysis?

Barcoding the Collection  Types of barcodes: – Smart barcodes – Dumb barcodes  Can dumb barcodes become smart?

Specifications for Barcodes  Recon specifications should include smart and dumb barcodes  Smart barcodes are generated during the conversion process

Specifications for Barcodes  Specifications for smart barcodes should include: – compatibility with the application software – compliance with barcode standard (symbology) – the type indicator (e.g., 1 for materials) – name of the library, item title, and item call number

Specifications for Barcodes – barcodes should be arranged by call number – one barcode is needed for copy of an item held in the library – one barcode is needed for each volume in a multi-volume set held in the library

Barcoding the Collection?  Pre-requisites – close the library – recall checked-out items – divide shelves into sections – use the smart barcodes first Match each call number on the barcode with that on the shelf before affixing the barcode

Barcoding the Collection?  Placement of barcodes – Print materials Considerations Placement – Non-print materials Considerations Placement

Bibliographic Standards  The format and content of the cataloging database must conform to bibliographic standards. The most important ones are: – MARC 21 – AACR2R – ISBD

MARC 21  Components: – leader – fixed field (tag 008) – variable fields (tags ) – local field (tag 900) – tags

MARC 21  Components (cont’d.) – indicators – subfield codes – delimiters  MARC manual can be found on the Web at

Class Activity Situation: You have been appointed on a library automation team and was asked to decide whether to perform recon in-house or outsource it. The library has 8000 books and 2000 multimedia items.  What would be your decision?  What would you base your decision on? Rembmer that you need to provide convincing arguments about either decision.