Mock Items Used in E-learning Sessions

From Mock to the Real Battle

To facilitate e-learning training, we need to design some mock copies of book to be used as examples in actual hands-on training.

We have already created mock bib records on Millennium solely for the purpose of training. There are still problems with regards to examples used in Connexion, due to the nature of the online cooperated cataloging

Lesson 5: Basic Copy Cataloging Procedures

Beginning from this lesson we will get down to the actual cataloging procedures. We have so far explored the two cataloging interfaces, Millennium and Connexion. And we have learned about the two online databases, namely, OSU Library's OSCAR and OCLC's WorldCat. Let's now take a look on how a book is actually being cataloged in our library.

When a book arrives at the Cataloging Department, it is usually flaged with a slip of paper called "streamer." The streamer bears important information such as a location code and a bibliographic record number. For books to be shelved in the Main Library's East Asian stack area, the color of the streamer will be always lavender. Streamers for other locations, for example, Fine Art Library, are usually in brown color.

Before the book comes to cataloging, staff in the Ordering Unit first create a place-holding bibliographic record - usually very brief, and then attach an order record to it. Our catalogers' duty is to complete the bibliographic record, and then attach item records for each copy or volume of the book.

In the catalog database, order records and item records must be attached to a bibliographic record. In other words, order and item records cannot exist by themselves. This chart illustrates how different types of records are organized in the catalog. For the time being, we only need to pay attention to bibliographic and item records.

For convenience, we will use an abbreviation, "bib record," or simply, "bib," for the term "bibliographic record;" and we'll call a "bibliographic record number" a "b number."

The First Step

When we are asked to catalog a book, we should always begin with searching OSCAR on Millennium to see if our library has already had the same book in holdings. We should check if there is a bibliographic record made for it and if there are any item records already attached. The search will result in three possibilities:

1. A place-holding bib record is found with a blank CAT DATE field


2. A full bib record is found on OSCAR with a specific date in the CAT DATE field
3. No bib record can be found at all for the title in hand

In this lesson we will be dealing with the first situation. We will treat the other two situations in the next two lessons.

This is an example of a bib record in the first situation. As we can see, the CAT DATE field is blank.

This situation is the case when a book is new to our library system. The staff at the Ordering Unit has made a place-holding bib record on OSCAR in order to attach an order record. Remember, the criterion of this situation is that the CAT DATE field in the bib record is blank.

The Second Step

Once this situation is determined, our next step is to search OCLC WorldCat on Connexion. And the purpose of the search is to see if we can find a matching bibliographic record for the book we have a copy in hand.

The search will also result in three possibilities:

1. We find a matching bib record.
2. We cannot find an exact matching bib record, but we can find a related one. For example, a record made for the same title of a different edition.
3. We cannot find any matching or related bib record.

Both of the second and third situations require original cataloging, and therefore are out of the scope of this training program. Therefore, we are only going to deal with the first situation.

[A Hands-on Practice]

Now, let's practice these two steps. Use the mock copy of the book: This is a book titled "The Rise of the Blogosphere" by Aaron Barlow and published by Praeger. Let's try to search Millennium and Connexion.

Now, you see that this book has a brown colored streamer that says JOU. This means that this book should be shelved at the Journalism Library. It also has a b number on it.

As said, our first step begins with searching Millennium. In the search box, type in the title as we taught before. When you are done, click on the Search button or simply press the Enter key on your keyboard.

Next, you must click on the View button under the menue bar.

A place-holding bib record made for this book is opened! Look into the CAT DATE field and you can see it is blank. A blank CAT DATE field is the criterion that the book has not been cataloged by us. Note, even though there is a bib record shown in the lower part of the window and it seems to be a full one - that still doesn't count for being cataloged, because the CAT DATE is blank. That record was brought into the system by the Ordering staff with an intention only to show users some information when the book is still being processed.

Next or Step Two, search WorldCat on Connexion to look for a matching bib.
On Connexion, click on Cataloging,

then, Search,

then, WorldCat.

The Search WorldCat box opens - in the real world, you can also click on F2 on your keyboard to bring up the search window.

Enter the title phrase correctly. When you're doen, click on the OK button or simply press the Enter key.

Two records are found. A closer look tells us that the first one on the list is made for an electronic version of the work. Therefore, the second record is more likely to be our matching record.

Note that sometimes you may locate more than one records made for the exactly same publication, in that case you need to choose the best one for our cataloging purpose.

The Third Step

Once we have located a matching bibliographic record on WorldCat, we need to do the following things:

• Examine and edit the record
• Check the call number when necessary
• Update holdings
• Prepare for Export or Overlay

Let's now take a closer look on each step.

Examine and edit the record means that we need to examine the record for accuracy. Sometimes a matching bib is found but it has mistakes, and we need to correct these mistakes before using the record.

We also check the call number when it is in the P, M, or N classification - this is a special practice in our OSU Library system. We check the call number on OSCAR and make sure that that is a unique one. The call number system we are using is called Library of Congress Classification, and the call number is given in the 050 or 090 fields on a MARC record. In this example, the call number is PN4784 O62 B37 2007, which begins from P. Therefore, we need to check it. The call number thing is indeed a little bit complicated, but RELAX, you are NOT asked to master it! There are only a few small tricks we need to know, and you will receive more instructions later. Now, just watch a demonstration on how it is done.

On Millennium, click on the downside arrown in the Index search box.

Select LC Call number from the list,

and enter the call number. Note, we do not include the year; and you don't have to capitalize the letters. Having space or not in between the letters doesn't make difference in search.

Only one record resulted is located and it is the very place-holding record for this book. This means there is no conflict in the call number with other records, in other words, it is unique for this book; thus is OK to use it, and the checking is done.

After examining the call number, the next step called update holdings. This is to tell the OCLC community that our library has a holding of this publication.

The last action we carry out on Connexion is Export or Overlay. "Export" means we export or, actually, bring in, the bib record we just edited on Connexion from WorldCat to our local catalog database. "Overlay" means we use the OCLC bib record to overaly or replace the targeted place-holding bib record in our local catalog database.

At the time of export or overlay, we also do something to set up the local bib and to add item records. We can do these on Connexion through a step called applying Constant data. This is just a feature provided by Connexion for the local library's convenience, because theoretically, we should set up the local bib and add item records on Millennium alone. The following is a demonstration - you will learn more on how to create and apply Constant data during your face-to-face training.

On Connexion, click on Menu Edit - Constant data - Local - By name; or, simply click on the short-cut button on the tool bar.

Newly supplied fields are marked by black arrows. Now, enter all necessary information in these Constant data fields. Don't worry, you will get an explanation when you receive face-to-face training. Let's now just watch how it is done.

Before clicking on the Export button to complete the action, we should double check the record, esepecially those fields we just edited.

When the Export action is executed, we should watch out the feedback of Connexion and also double check the record on Millennium. Let's watch a demonstration.

After clicking on the Export button, an Export status window will open up and it tells us about how and what has happened. Pay attention to this line says "Export completed," and this one "Overlaid on bib such such number." This number should be the same of the place-holding bib we intended to overlay.

Go back to Millennium, bring up the record again, either using the bib number or by searching the title ect. Now, you should see the item record or records you just added.

Click the View button to open the full bib record. You now see the CAT DATE field is filled with the cataloging date.

Now, click on View on the menu bar to open the Public Display. You can examine the record right on Millennium, but it's a little bit easier and makes more sense to look on the Public Display, because that's what the user will see!

If you spot any mistake, immediately make corrections. And, hooray, we are done!

Lesson 6: Adding Items to Existing Records

forth coming...

2007 HCI Beijing

The 12th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is held this year at Beijing, in the Beijing International Convention Center (Continental Grand Hotel). This is main conference entrance:



The Opening Plenary Session kit off Wednesday evening 5PM, followed by the so called Gala diner - Chinese foods (yeah) and entertainments.... :)


Sherab Chen, Coordinator of Non-Roman Cataloging of the OSUL Cataloging Department, presented a paper titled “Usability Assessment of E-learning Courseware for Basic Cataloging Training” (co-authored with Tingting Lu), on July 26, Thursday. He also chaired the panel of “Usability Cases Studies” consisted of seven speakers including himself.

Lesson 4: Connexion and searching for a "matching bibliographic record"

In previous lessons we have mentioned that we participate OCLC cooperative cataloging in conjunction with the management of our local university library catalog. We have talked about using the Millennium cataloging interface to manage the OSU library catalog. In this lesson we will talk about OCLC Connexion, the cataloging interface on which we perform cooperative cataloging. We will cover the following topics:

Getting started with Connexion

Searching WorldCat through Connexion

The concept of "matching bibliographic record"

As part of the preparation for a regular work session, the next thing you do after openning Millennium is to start Connexion. You can do so by double clicking the Connexion icon located on your desktop. We are using Connexion Client version. There is a browser version of Connexion, but we are not using it in our Cataloging Department.

When you start to work on a computer workstation for the first time, you need to install Connexion and then go through the set-up process. Your supervisor will give you instructions on how to install and set up Connexion when you begin hands-on training, so we will skip this part here in this lesson.

Once the Connexion window is opened, logon to the system as demonstrated.

Note, that when you are logged on, the "Log on" button becomes dimmed, and the "Log off" button lites up. You can log off the system anytime by clicking on the "log off" button. Be aware that there is a 40-minute limit of idle period, which means if you are doing nothing, the system will attempt to log itself off after 40 minutes. A warning message, however, will pop-up reminding you to extend your log on time.

This lesson will not cover all the functionalities of Connexion, but will focus on how to use Connexion to search the OCLC WorldCat. Most of the search methods we learned in previous lessons will also apply here. Let's now try to do a search on Connexion.

For example, here we have a new book to catalog.

From the title page of the book we get the following information:

The title of the book is "Essentials of human nutrition." It is the 3rd edition. Two people are responsible for this work as editors. It is published by Oxford University Press.

On the title page verso we find a publishing date for the 3rd edtion: year 2007.

Now, our task is to search WorldCat to see if there is already a bibliographic record made for this book. Let's do a title search on Connexion.

[Tip] You can also press F2 on your Keyboard as a short-cut to bring up the Search window.

Make sure you select Title from the drop-down list.

The result of our search is shown as a list here for records that may contain the title phrase "essentials of human nutrition." As we can see, Records no.2 to 7 have exactly the same title, and they all indicate the same publisher, Oxford University Express.

Clicking on the Date tab will make the list sort by publication date. Now, since the book in our hand is published in 2007, the last record or Record no.6 on the list looks like a match.

Double click on the title to open up the full record.

Displayed on screen is a bibliographic record in MARC format. Don't be overwhelmed by the complicated look of the record, because at this point we only need to pay attention to some specific MARC fields. We do not have to know all the details the MARC record tries to tell us.

As you can see from the steps we have taken so far, the goal of searching WorldCat on Connexion is to find, if there is one, the best matching bibliographic record so that we can use it for our cataloging purpose. Now we are going to introduce the concept of "Matching bibliographic record." Along with that, we will also introduce some essential fields on a MARC record to which we need to pay particular attention.

"Matching Bibliographic Record" [text caption]

A "matching bibliographic record" is a record that describes the same publication of the work we have a copy in hand. What does this mean? It means that, on the bibliographic record, the title, the name of responsibility, edition, publisher and publication date, as well as format and other physical description such as page numbers, must all match those of the piece in our hand.

Must matches:

title

name of responsibility (author or editor etc.)

edition

publisher and publicataion date

physical description (paging or extent, etc.)

Now, let's examine the record we just located on Connexion. Each field in a MARC record encodes some special information about the bibliographic entity it describes. For example, the 100 or 700 fields encode the personal names of those who are responsible for the work; the 245 field encodes title and statement of responsibility; the 250 encodes the edition of the publication; the 260 field encodes imprint information including place of publication, the publisher's name, and the date of publication; and the 300 field encodes physical description etc.

There are other important fields, such as the 650 fields which provide Subject Heading or tell us what the book is about.

Therefore, to determine a matching bibliographic record, we must pay particular attention to the information provided in the following fields on a MARC record:

100 or 700 -- names of responsibility
245 -- title and statement of responsibility
250 -- editon
260 -- imprint showing publisher name and publication date
300 -- physical description such as paging for a book

In this example, we can easily verify the title, edition, responsibilities, imprint, and paging, which all match those on the book in our hand. Therefore, this record is a matching bibliographic record for the book.

Other ways of searching

We can narrow down our search by giving multiple search terms. For example, we can enter both title and name of responsibility.

There are other ways to search WorldCat on Connexion. For example, we can use the ISBN to search.

We have explored a few ways of searching WroldCat through Connexion. The most often used searching methods include:

Search by title

Search by author name

Search by author title combination

Search by ISBN

etc.

Omit the BEGINNING article in a title when you enter the search box

There is a special rule when you search a title that has an article at the beginning. For example, if a title is "The Handbook of English Linguistics." You do NOT include the beginning article "the" when you enter the title phrase in the search box, in stead, simply enter "handbook of english linuguistcs." It is also NOT necessary to capitalize the first letter, because the database search engine will treat all words as not capitalized. All of these practices are also applicable when you search the library's online catalog.

ECBC Prototype 2 Content and Topics

10 Topics -- 3 Scenarios -- 7 Lessons

Prototype II of ECBC will cover the following topics

1. Introduction to the library's online catalog
2. The concept of a bibliographic record
3. Introduction to cooperative cataloging
4. Interrelationship between cataloging databases and interfaces involved
5. Millennium cataloging interface
6. Connexion client interface
7. Explaining the concept of "matching bibliographic record" (and MARC fields that require particular attention)
8. How to search the OPAC through Millennium
9. How to search WorldCat through Connexion client
10. Basic copy cataloging procedures including adding item to existing record on the library's catalog, editing a matching WorldCat record to conform to local policies and practices, updating holdings and exporting/overlaying OCLC copy to the library online catalog

For the last topic (basic copy cataloging procedures), we designed three scenarios based on three possible situations likely to be encountered in actual copy cataloging workflow at the cataloging department. We emphasized that all procedures should begin with searching the OPAC on Millennium to determine if the title is in the library's holdings. Different searching results will then involve different treatments:

• [Scenario 1] If a full bibliographic record is found in the OPAC -- [Treatments] Add item(s)
• [Scenario 2] If only a place-holding bibliographic record found in the OPAC (which is generated on Millennium at the time of ordering) -- [Treatments] Search OCLC WorldCat on Connexion to look for a matching bibliographic record -- When such record is found -- Perform copy cataloging (edit the record, update holdings, overlay the bibliographic record and attach item record)
• [Scenario 3] If no bibliographic record is found in the OPAC (mostly the case of gift items) -- [Treatments] Search OCLC WorldCat on Connexion to look for a matching bibliographic record -- When such record is found -- Perform copy cataloging (edit the record, update holdings, export the record to OPAC to establish a new bibliographic record and attach item record)

These topics will be included in 7 lessons:

• Lesson 1: Library catalog and bibliographic records -- Covers Topic 1 and 2
• Lesson 2: What is cataloging and how we do it? -- Covers Topic 3 and 4
• Lesson 3: The Millennium cataloging interface -- Covers Topic 5 and8
• Lesson 4: Connexion and "searching for a matching bibliographic record" -- Covers Topic 6, 7 and 9
• Lesson 5: Adding items to existing records -- Covers Topic 10 Scenario 1
• Lesson 6: Basic copy cataloging procedure -- Covers Topic 10 Scenario 2
• Lesson 7: Procedure for gift books -- Covers Topic 10 Scenario 3

Topics not included in Prototype 2 but are being considered in future developments include updating existing bibliographic records, linking items to additional bibliographic records and transferring records on Millennium.

Normalization of Design on Captivate

Lesson title:
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Sub/section title:
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Outline of topics:
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Summary or list of points:
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Definitions:
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Pointing to object & illustrating short phrases:
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Imitation of bib record (card looking):
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Highlight box:
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