-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        RE: WorldCat records for digital versions of print materials
Date:   Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:34:28 -0400
From:   Carlucci, April <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
CC:     Caplan,Ellen <[log in to unmask]>



Hello Angie and all

Sorry for the delay in replying to this. Angie poses a number of interesting and important questions, and I would support this being discussed in the MAGERT cataloguing venues in Anaheim as suggested by Carolyn, with the one proviso that we actually come to some decisions before too many people go down separate paths!

We have been looking at this issue at Yale for the last few months, where we have a program underway to make digital surrogates of the rare maps in the collection. The question remains of where to put the url.

It is my opinion that the url for the digital surrogate of a map should be present in the record for the original paper version, as I don't think it serves anyone to lose that connection. A separate record for the digital surrogate could be made and linked to the record for the original, and vice versa, but this seems extra work. I do not support the suggestion to make an entirely separate database of urls.

The url for the digital surrogate can be included in the record for the original in an 856 either in the bibliographic record or the holdings record. The 856 is repeatable, and I have tested it with up to eight 856s in both records. Depending on your OPAC software (we are using Voyager), there is a variation in the display depending on whether the 856 appears in the BIB or HLD record. Either is probably acceptable, and it may be a question of local configuration. There is an additional question, which is, if you elect to put the url in the HLD record, do you put it in the same HLD record as the original or in a second HLD record? Using two HLD records for the original and digital manifestations would seem to fit the definition of why we have HLD records in the first place.

I am not sure at this point about how this works in OCLC. If the url appears in the HLD record, how will it appear (if at all) in the record in OCLC? Rumsey does indeed include the url in the BIB record (or at least this is how it appears in OCLC), but, as Angie mentions, Rumsey is cataloging the electronic resource rather than the original. However, I find it very useful to have the url readily available when searching for copy because with one click I am able to 'see' Rumsey's version of the map. But then if I want to use that record as copy, I have to strip out the 856 because we do not refer to another institution's local digital surrogate as a matter of policy. For public service and security purposes, we want to have the link to our digital surrogate of our map in our record, as would other libraries, I should think. But do we really want 20 different records in OCLC for the same map just because the url is different? Does this point us towards using the HLD record ins!
 tead of the BIB record?

It seems to me that this all comes down to technical questions with OCLC, but ones we need to have answered sooner than later. Has anyone looked into this in detail, or do we need help directly from OCLC? Perhaps Ellen Caplan can weigh in with some advice. As we all know, maps are pretty and also at risk, so we are leading the way in many respects with digital surrogacy. As usual, those of us with the maps are out in front!

Thanks
April

April Carlucci
Catalog Librarian for Maps
Yale University Library


-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & Geospatial Systems Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Maps-L Moderator
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 4:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: WorldCat records for digital versions of print materials

Hi All,

Questions being considered:

Is it valuable to add a WorldCat/OCLC record for digital copies of maps?

Is it valuable to create separate, unique WorldCat/OCLC records for
these digital copies or is it more valuable to add url information to
existing records indicating - as LC does - that the item is also
available via the internet?

What are the implications of adding url / 856 fields to WorldCat/OCLC
records created by an institution other than your own and that support
multiple holdings?

What if 20 institutions hold the same hard copy map, all 20 institutions
scan the same map and then all add their unique url for the digital
version of that map to that one existing WorldCat/OCLC record?

What if all 20 institutions create separate WorldCat/OCLC records for
their individual digital version of the exact same map?

I've seen records out there handled multiple ways. Rumsey catalogs the
digital version. LC, Princeton and a few others catalog the hardcopy and
add information in the same record about the digital version. USGS
handles things both ways.

I ask you - the map professionals, the library professionals, the
decision makers of the now and beyond - what are we do do??


-Angie

Angie Cope, Senior Academic Librarian
American Geographical Society Library
UW Milwaukee Libraries
2311 E. Hartford Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201

http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/AGSL/index.html
Hours: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm
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(414)229-6282 / (800)558-8993 (US TOLL FREE) / (414)229-3624 (FAX)
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