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 ConnexionSearching WorldCat through ConnexionThe 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 searchingWe 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 titleSearch by author nameSearch by author title combinationSearch by ISBNetc.
Omit the BEGINNING article in a title when you enter the search boxThere 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.
