Archive for December, 2010
National Diet Library of Japan adds 4 million records to WorldCat
Records from Japanese national library are now more visible, accessible to scholars, students and Web searchers through WorldCat
DUBLIN, Ohio, December 15, 2010—The National Diet Library has successfully added 4 million records to WorldCat, making these valuable research resources more visible and accessible to scholars, students and Web searchers worldwide through the world’s most comprehensive database of materials held by libraries.
In June, the National Diet Library and OCLC announced their agreement “to cooperate for the benefit of libraries, library patrons and end users of information services.”
OCLC staff from Leiden, the Netherlands, and Dublin, Ohio, USA, worked with National Diet Library staff to create a conversion program to convert JAPAN/MARC to MARC 21 records. Cataloging staff with language expertise were also critical to the successful data conversion and load into WorldCat.
The addition of Japan’s National Diet Library records increases the number of records containing CJK (Chinese-Japanese-Korean) script data in WorldCat by nearly 33 percent.
The National Diet Library has been using WorldCat for current cataloging of Western language materials since 2007. Through the new agreement with OCLC, the National Diet Library will contribute the contents of the JAPAN/MARC database, the official national bibliography of Japan, to WorldCat on a regular basis. The National Diet Library will send updates of bibliographic records about four times a year and will provide JAPAN/MARC (A) authority records.
Kinokuniya Company Ltd., OCLC’s distributor in Japan for 24 years, helped to facilitate this cooperative effort.
WorldCat is a database of bibliographic information built continuously by OCLC libraries around the world since 1971. Each record in the WorldCat database contains a bibliographic description of a single item or work and a list of institutions that hold the item. The institutions share these records, using them to create local catalogs, arrange interlibrary loans and conduct reference work. Libraries contribute records for items not found in WorldCat using the OCLC shared cataloging system.
Since 1971, 200 million records have been added to WorldCat, spanning more than 6,000 years of recorded knowledge, from about 4800 B.C. to the present. This unique collection of information encompasses records in a variety of formats—books, e-books, serials, sound recordings, musical scores, maps, visual materials, mixed materials and computer files. Like the knowledge it describes, WorldCat grows steadily. Every second, library members add seven records to WorldCat.
Once records have been added to WorldCat, they are discoverable on the Web through popular search and partner sites, and through WorldCat.org.
The OCLC cooperative has a long tradition of working with national libraries around the world to facilitate shared cataloging, record exchange, digitization, resource sharing and document delivery. A map displaying national libraries with records in WorldCat is on the OCLC Web site.
About National Diet Library
Established in 1948, the National Diet Library has achieved many results over some 60 years as an organization assisting the legislative activities of the National Diet and as the sole national library of the country. As the only depository library in Japan, the NDL acquires all materials published in Japan, preserves them as national cultural heritage, and provides various types of bibliographic data. NDL-OPAC, the online catalog system, is available on the Web at http://opac.ndl.go.jp/index_e.html. The NDL is also developing the digital library in which digital materials are available directly from the NDL website. For more information, visit http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/index.html.
About OCLC
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a nonprofit library service and research organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services to 71,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories. OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world’s richest online resource for finding library materials. Search WorldCat.org on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.
OCLC, WorldCat and WorldCat.org are trademarks and/or service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.
December 16th, 2010
Upcoming Event: Introducing the New Face of CONTENTdm
Created with a user-centered design approach, CONTENTdm 6 – to be released in early 2011 – offers superior digital content discovery with a completely redesigned end-user interface. It also offers a simple way to customize the appearance of your digital collection’s public interface. You can easily apply a branded look and feel by adding a name, logo, theme, colors, collection descriptions and more – all without programming skills.
In January, OCLC is offering a few opportunities to learn more about CONTENTdm 6 and to view a demonstration of the new, redesigned end-user interface.
If you haven’t seen CONTENTdm in awhile, come and take another look!
Webinar – Wednesday, January 19
2pm EST
Register here
ALA Midwinter 2011 Conference In-person Event -
Sunday, January 9
10:30 – 12pm Pacific
Hilton San Digo Bayfront Hotel, Cobalt Room 503
To attend the event: “Take Another Look: Introducing the New Face of CONTENTdm” with special guest speaker Kevin Miller, Pepperdine University Libraries, please register at www.oclc.org/info/ala/.
Members of the CONTENTdm team also will be available at ALA Midwinter to discuss your digital collection plans. If you wish to set up a one-on-one meeting, send us an e-mail at contentdm@oclc.org. Otherwise, stop by the OCLC booth # 2451 to speak with us or to see ongoing CONTENTdm demonstrations.
December 16th, 2010
This month, four collections from the CONTENTdm Collection of Collections are featured on the OCLC Web site. The featured collections for December are University of Houston Buildings, The Editorial Cartoons of J.N. “Ding” Darling, McMillan Memorial Library Local History and Mathias J. Alten.
The organization names below are linked to each organization’s record, if available, in the OCLC WorldCat Registry. OCLC’s WorldCat Registry allows libraries worldwide to manage and organize their data for vendors and third parties by creating and maintaining a comprehensive institutional profile in a single, Web-accessible location.
University of Houston Buildings
(http://digital.lib.uh.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fp15195coll3)
OCLC WorldCat Registry – University of Houston, M.D. Anderson Library (http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions/5524)
In this collection, researchers will find photographs of University of Houston buildings from Agnes Arnold Hall to the postwar Veterans Village (no longer standing). Almost 300 images from the University Archives document the built environment of the main campus from the 1930s to the 1990s. Additional photographs in print and negative format may be viewed by visiting the University Archives in person.
The Editorial Cartoons of J.N. “Ding” Darling
(http://www.lib.drake.edu/heritage/ding-darling/index.html)
OCLC WorldCat Registry – Drake University, Cowles Library Collection (http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions/1016)
Prolific editorial cartoonist Jay Norwood ‘Ding’ Darling was a Pulitzer Prize winner and was widely read across America. Cowles Library’s extensive collection of Ding Darling artist proofs has been digitized and is presented here online. Search or browse through thousands of editorial cartoons that span the first half of the 20th Century.
McMillan Memorial Library Local History
(http://content.mpl.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/mcml)
OCLC WorldCat Registry – McMillan Memorial Library (http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions/16739)
McMillan Memorial Library of Wisconsin Rapids collects materials concerning local history. Specifically the collection includes: the Tom Taylor Books (100 years of Pictorial & Descriptive History of Wisconsin Rapids); historical postcards; photographs of Vesper, Wisconsin; early city directories and plat books; books about Wisconsin Rapids or by local residents; materials related to the cranberry, lumber and paper industries; and newspaper articles, pamphlets and brochures.
Mathias J. Alten
(http://gvsu.cdmhost.com/gvpages/mjalten.php)
OCLC WorldCat Registry – Grand Valley State University (http://www.worldcat.org/registry/Institutions/1451)
Papers and paintings of West Michigan painter, Mathias J. Alten (1871-1938) represent one of the most important collections in the holdings of both the University’s Special Collections and the University Art Gallery. Alten, who came to Grand Rapids as a youth, is a celebrated American regionalist. The photographs and papers document his family life and career, and support the collection of Alten paintings owned by the University.
December 14th, 2010
Join OCLC at ALA Midwinter
OCLC will be at ALA Midwinter in Booth 2451 and hopes to see you there! See service demonstrations, preview future functionality, meet with other OCLC members and consult with the team on solutions that will help you serve your library users more effectively.
Not attending ALA Midwinter or arriving after January 7?
You can still participate in both the ARC Member Meeting and the OCLC Symposium by registering as a virtual attendee. Simply check the appropriate box(es) on the registration form and we’ll send you complete instructions via e-mail for attending virtually.
There are also many sessions planned about OCLC membership activities, services and related developments in the library community. A few of them—our key membership events—are highlighted below. Please view the full list of these sessions that are open to ALA Midwinter 2011 Meeting registrants at www.oclc.org/info/ala/ and confirm your attendance at those that interest you most.
OCLC Americas Regional Council Meeting
Friday, January 7
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, Indigo Ballroom A/B
Live Stream: www.oclc.org/livefeed/
All are welcome to participate in the OCLC Americas Regional Council (ARC) Member Meeting. Attendees will interact with members of the ARC Executive Committee, OCLC leadership and members of the Board of Trustees. We will also announce the slate of candidates for the upcoming ARC election. Refreshments will be provided. Plan on staying for the OCLC Symposium (below), which follows at 1:30 pm in the same location.
View the agenda
OCLC Symposium: Transformational Literacy: Life Stages and Libraries
Friday, January 7
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time
Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, Indigo Ballroom A/B
Live Stream: www.oclc.org/livefeed/
Every day, libraries help people transform their lives. But nowhere is that role more apparent—and important—as when people move from one life stage to another. Join OCLC and a panel of distinguished guests, including a keynote from Mimi Ito, cultural anthropologist and researcher at the University of California, Irvine, for a discussion on the need for information and preparation during these vital “between” stages.
Context and Community: Perceptions of Libraries, 2010
Saturday, January 8
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time
San Diego Convention Center, Room 08
Join Cathy De Rosa, OCLC Vice President, Global Marketing, for a discussion on what OCLC has learned through updated research into perceptions and use of libraries and information resources.
OCLC Update Breakfast
Sunday, January 9
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time
Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, Sapphire Ballroom A/B/E/F
Join OCLC and your colleagues for breakfast, a free gift and an update on OCLC activities from Jay Jordan, President and CEO. Then, share roundtable conversation with colleagues who share your interests, hosted by OCLC staff.
Registration for these key member events and many other OCLC information sessions at ALA Midwinter is quick and easy. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!
December 13th, 2010
Save the date: next WorldCat Mashaton set for April 7 – 8, 2011
OCLC is happy to announce that the next WorldCat Mashathon will take place Thursday and Friday, April 7-8, 2011.
But where, you ask?
The lack of a specific location reflects a different approach we’re trying out with the next mashathon. It’s going to be distributed among several locations. The idea is that this approach will make it easier to participate no matter where you live–and be a test bed to see if your library might want to be a host location in the future. Because this is the first time doing it this way, the Mashathon will be held at the same time in three different OCLC offices:
- Washington, DC
- Columbus, OH
- San Mateo, CA
How will it work?
- OCLC plans to webcast the presentation and hands on activity portions of the mashathon to all locations.
- Participants at each location to have time to work collaboratively on projects together.
- Each location will have members of the Developer Network team there in person to act as hosts and answer questions.
- Chat, IRC, video conference, and webcasting will all be used to facilitate communication between participants at all three locations. If a participant has a question that requires a particular person’s expertise, then all get together virtually.
- Groups will have a chance to present their Mashathon project(s) and OCLC will webcast the “Show and Tell” wrap-up back to the other locations and the Web at large.
This is a grand experiment for the OCLC Developer Network, but it seems well worth it if it gives you the chance to attend a mashathon with fewer travel expenses and more opportunities to collaborate with other far-flung developers. Rest assured OCLC is working hard on the technology aspects of hosting a distributed mashathon so you have the best experience possible. And in the spirit of mashathons, everyone will have a lot of fun no matter what.
Registration will be available early in 2011. But mark your calendars now for April 7-8 at a location near you!
December 13th, 2010
OCLC increases content accessible through WorldCat Local
DUBLIN, Ohio, December 2, 2010—Library users can now find more than 700 million items through the WorldCat Local service as the OCLC cooperative expands agreements with content providers to make more content in a variety of formats accessible to users.
In addition to the 200 million records contributed by OCLC member libraries worldwide, 500 million items from leading publishers, aggregators and mass digitization efforts are also now accessible through WorldCat Local.
OCLC has recently added content to WorldCat Local from EBSCO; Gale, part of Cengage Learning; Modern Language Association; ProQuest and the U.S. Department of Energy. There are now more than 400 million articles, 170 million books, 10 million eBooks and 1,100 databases accessible through the WorldCat Local service.
Additional agreements have been signed with ABC-CLIO, American Psychological Association, Association for Computing Machinery, BioMed Central, BioOne, Cambridge University Press, Emerald, IGI Global, Sabinet, Sage, Taylor & Francis and World Bank Publications.
OCLC has added databases accessible through the WorldCat Local central index, which delivers an enhanced user experience because searches will immediately retrieve records indexed within the WorldCat Local service. Other databases are accessible through a quick, remote WorldCat Local single search that is integrated into a single set of results.
Recent additions to the WorldCat Local central index include:
Recently added remote-access databases searchable through the WorldCat Local single search include:
- Gale: Health & Wellness Center with Alternative Health; Health Reference Center Academic, and Literature Resource Center
- EBSCO: Computer Source; Economia y Negocios; Fuente Academica; GreenFILE; MedicLatina; Primary Search; Professional Development Collection; Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection; Science & Technology Collection; World History Collection; Teacher Reference Center; Texas Reference Center; TOPICSearch; Vocational & Career Collection
OCLC is working on behalf of libraries and along with libraries, leading publishers, aggregators and mass digitization efforts to make the full range of library resources accessible through WorldCat Local, providing an integrated discovery and delivery service for libraries’ physical, licensed and locally produced electronic collections.
WorldCat Local expands a library’s collections by combining items from the library, relevant groups or consortia, and libraries around the world through a single search and result set. Built on the foundation of WorldCat, the comprehensive source for discovery of items held by libraries, WorldCat Local allows users to discover unique, locally available resources as well as materials in other libraries around the world.
In addition to new content, OCLC continues to add new features and functionality to WorldCat Local. OCLC recently added direct links to full-text articles and open access objects from the brief results in WorldCat Local and WorldCat.org. This new feature is enhanced by the new WorldCat knowledge base functionality that combines data about libraries’ electronic content with linking features that enable access to the content.
A new mobile view in beta form is now available for both WorldCat Local and “quick start” libraries. The new mobile view for WorldCat Local is optimized for the Apple iOS and Android platforms, but any smartphone browser, including Windows 7 Mobile and Blackberry is supported.
About OCLC
Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 171 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.
December 2nd, 2010
EZproxy hosted service now available from OCLC
The new hosted version of EZproxy makes it even easier for libraries to deliver eContent and make services accessible to their users wherever they are, at any time. A pilot version of the hosted service has been active with five participating libraries since April 2009.
“The hosted version of EZproxy will help truly deliver on the promise of its name—a quick and easy installation of a library proxy server for any size library,” explains Don Hamparian, OCLC Senior Product Manager for EZproxy. “A hosted solution provides 24/7 reliability and access—with minimal technical support required from the library. Our goal is to help more libraries manage and provide one-click access to electronic content for their authorized users.”
Libraries who subscribe to the EZproxy hosted service receive additional benefits such as:
- Timely addition of new databases
- Reduced reliance on technical staff for initial configuration or ongoing configuration file changes
- Peace of mind with a secure environment and security for user information
- 24/7/365 access monitoring and reporting on usage
- Elimination of local proxy server (or other hardware) maintenance
- Automatic updating for bi-annual enhancements
EZproxy hosted service is available as a yearly subscription, based on FTE or population served. All hosted implementations will run the latest release of EZproxy, currently version 5.3. Current EZproxy client users can use their existing configuration files when moving to the hosted service. New EZproxy users also receive up to ten (10) hours of configuration time in the first year’s subscription. OCLC supplies the security certificate for libraries who subscribe to the hosted service.
“Hosted EZproxy is another step toward OCLC member libraries being able to implement a single, simple electronic content solution that includes hosted EZproxy, the WorldCat knowledge base, licensed resource management, and integrated link resolution” says Andrew Pace, Executive Director, Networked Library Services. “We are relentless in trying to make things easier, more efficient, and less expensive for member libraries.”
The hosted version of EZproxy is currently available for libraries in the United States and Canada. Hosted services will be available for additional regions at a later date.
To learn more about the hosted EZproxy service, plan to attend one of the introductory Webinars:
To subscribe to the EZproxy hosted service, please contact EZproxy@oclc.org with your name, institution and FTE or community served.
December 2nd, 2010
