COVID-19 caused many libraries to close for a period this spring, and while many are now re-opening, patrons are still relying heavily on eBooks and other online resources rather than browsing library shelves for physical materials. Unfortunately, many eRecords from vendors come with errors that make it difficult for patrons to find what they’re looking for and access all of the materials available.

Watch this on-demand webinar with MARCIVE representative Ligia Gomez, MLS and Assistant Director for Discovery Services at Wellesley College, Ray Schmidt, MLS, to learn how libraries across the country are improving the discoverability of eRecords.

Ligia and Ray share:

• Common problems associated with vendor eRecords
• What fixes can be performed by an automated service
• What eRecords a library should send for automated cleanup

Your library’s resources are needed now more than ever, even if patrons aren’t coming into the library. Whether it’s parents and educators searching for eBooks at just the right reading level; someone searching for medical information; or patrons looking for digital books, music and movies to fill their leisure time at home, join this webinar for strategies to ensure everyone can find just what they’re looking for in your collection. Watch now.

June 2, 2020

MARCIVE has offered FAST Heading processing for many years.   FAST Headings processed by MARCIVE can be in the form of 600 (personal name), 610 (corporate name), 611 (meeting name), 630 (uniform title), 650 (topical term), 651 (geographic name), and 655 (genre/form term). To be properly identified as FAST within the record, FAST Headings require a second indicator “7” with subfield “2 fast”.  MARCIVE verifies the field against the FAST authority record file, updates as needed, and supplies the matching authority record upon request.

Examples of FAST Processing:

BEFORE:           651  7 $aUnited States, West.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01243255

Corrected word orientation

AFTER:              651  7 $aWest United States.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01243255

BEFORE            655  7 $aBiography.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01423686

Updated from deleted to current form

AFTER:              655  7 $aBiographies.$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01919896

The 647 _7 $2fast field for Named Events is being seen in more and more records lately.  Now MARCIVE includes the 647 tag in FAST processing, which sometimes consists of the retagging of the 611 field to the 647 (Subject Added Entry for Named Events) field based on the 147 OCLC FAST authority records for  events.  So, we not only verify existing 647 tags, we also correctly flip 611 7 $2fast to 647 when appropriate! This added programming is part of every customer’s specifications that have asked for FAST processing.   No action needed!

Examples of Updating Named Events in FAST Processing:

BEFORE:               611 27 $aHurricane Rita (2005)$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01755320

AFTER:                  647  7 $aHurricane Rita$d(2005)$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01755320

BEFORE:               611 27 $aVietnam War (1961-1975)$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01431664

AFTER:                  647  7 $aVietnam War$d(1961-1975)$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01431664

BEFORE:               611 27 $aOperation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968)$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01755778

AFTER                   647  7 $aOperation Rolling Thunder$d(1965-1968)$2fast$0(OCoLC)fst01755778

Please feel free to contact us about FAST processing, or any other aspect of authorities processing at [email protected].

Written by Ligia Gomez, MLS

April 20, 2020

MARCIVE listened to customers and is providing a new, easier way to send and receive record files as an alternative to FTP.  We have created a secure website to easily drag and drop records for processing.  A link is provided for picking up the files when ready.  This website applies to customers for authorities processing, government documents cataloging services, and MARC record enrichment.   The link is provided automatically to all new customers.  Current customers with questions can contact us at [email protected] or by emailing their technical contact.

February 7, 2019

Two years ago, we added the FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) vocabulary to the list of vocabularies we process in authorities processing.    This means that as a profile option, we can automatically review and provide maintenance on them.

For more information on FAST access point options, go here.

At the request of a customer, we now have the option to create FAST access points based on LC subject access points.  This happens only when the associated LC access point has been validated, flipped, or split, and the link between the LC term and the FAST term has been established and verified.  This processing is based on the presence of the LC authority record control number in the 7XX field of the FAST authority record, meaning that FAST has stated that these are the same.  Matching authority records will automatically be supplied, unless the library has indicated that they are not needed.  There is no additional charge for this processing.

Example:

LC access point:                       650 _0 $aRivers.  (matched to LC authority record sh 85114250)

FAST access point supplied: 650 _7 $aRivers. $fast OR

650_7 $aRivers. $fast $0fst01098312

(Subfield 0 added if the library has chosen URI additions as a part of the processing).

The access point was generated based on the presence of:

750 _0$aRivers $0(DLC)sh 85114250 in the FAST authority record.

Note to Comprehensive Notification Service (CNS) subscribers:  You can ask that this processing be added with your next update at no additional charge.  Yet another reason why CNS is a great deal!  We can re-process your bibliographic database at the frequency chosen with this new option.

For more information, contact us at [email protected]

Written by Joan Chapa, MLS

November 1, 2018

In February 2017, MARCIVE released a new product that helps libraries keep a better handle on how authorities processing is performed in their ILS or LSP.  Over the years, customers had commented how once an initial backfile authorities processing project was completed and Standard Notification Service was begun, their systems didn’t always do a good job using the monthly updated authority records to revise the associated bibliographic records.  It was difficult to pinpoint why and in what cases an access point would not be updated, even though the proper information was present in the revised authority record.

Comprehensive Notification Service retains the bibliographic as well as the authority records, and periodically refreshes them using the newest authorities files on either a quarterly, biannual, or yearly frequency.  Only the bib records that reflect a change are provided, along with new/changed/deleted authority records.

Access points that were previously unmatched are updated when matched to new authority records through CNS.  Any new fields reflected by new policies in RDA, and continual improvements to MARCIVE processing are also seen.

The number of records changed is typically less than 5%, but different factors can affect the statistics:

–A change to a prolific access point is released by LC, so many records are affected.

–Changes in a profile option.  For example: A library that didn’t ask for processing of FAST access points at the onset and later requests it will see a large increase of changed records.  Or a library that decided to have URI identifiers added to their processing asked us to add that free option with the next update.

Subscribers can send in both bib and authority deletes before the next processing to keep the history files current.

If a library decides they don’t want to track deletes because they weed a great deal, or don’t have the staff to keep up can send their entire database to replace the current history and use that as the input file.

Although CNS was created with Ex Libris Alma members in mind, there are 10 different systems among customers of public, military, and academic libraries of various sizes.  Both public and academic consortia are represented as well.

For more information, please go to https://home.marcive.com/blog/new-comprehensive-notification-services-cns

September 17, 2018

Recently we have received records from libraries containing fields with data that contains incompatible character encodings.  The majority of these fields appear to be summaries, annotations, or tables of contents that may have been copied from websites like Google Books or Amazon.com and pasted into the bibliographic record.

Some of the data used on websites in summaries or tables of contents contains character encodings that are not compatible with a MARC bibliographic record.  Additionally, MARC-8 characters are never appropriate on a web page, so any special MARC-8 data is always incompatible with web data.  Then, when all of the different Web encodings (UNICODE/UCS, UTF-8, UTF-32, Windows 1252, etc.) are added to MARC data, it becomes a conglomeration of many different character sets that is often incompatible with library systems.  We have seen situations in which the special character that appeared as a quotation on a website was represented as a field terminator in the data received by MARCIVE, which makes the record more challenging to process.

Another issue is when a very long summary or table of contents is pasted into a 520 or 505 tag in a MARC record.  There is a size limit for individual fields in a MARC record (9999 bytes), as well as a size limit for the entire MARC record (99999 bytes).  Sometimes these summaries and tables of contents exceed the limits, either for a field or for the entire record.

A few examples of issues with this type of data:

⇒Quotations:  Appears on website   …chance for a “real job”….

The quotations are interpreted by the local system or text editor as something different, and they are incorrect when exported from the library’s system, therefore incorrect when received by MARCIVE. They can appear as question marks or other representations, depending on the editor or function used to view or process the records and how it handles characters that are not valid for bibliographic records.

⇒Apostrophe:  Appears on website   …Jacob’s opinion…..

The apostrophe is interpreted by the local system or text editor as something different, and the data is received by MARCIVE with incompatible coding.

⇒Special characters – non-English:   Appears on website “sueño” and received by MARCIVE as “suñeo”

Depending on how the data is used or displayed, this may appear as “sue?no” or “suñeo” or some other form.  The code for ñ is not being interpreted correctly; it is not the correct code for this special character in MARC records

While we are happy to resolve these problems, sometimes it is not always apparent to the end user where the problems with diacritics and other special characters originated.  Therefore it is good to be aware of the issues that arise from cutting text from websites and pasting it into a MARC record.

The best way to include summaries and Tables of Contents in your data is to have it added by a vendor like MARCIVE that has put procedures in place to make the data compatible with MARC records, or within your system by entering the data using the tools for cataloging bibliographic data or a MARC editor tool.

Written by Carol Love, Programmer/Analyst and Joan Chapa, MLS

September 17, 2018

MARCIVE, Inc. has performed metadata conversion on behalf of Creativebug for Cuyahoga County Public Library. Creativebug is an award-winning on demand video streaming service for arts and crafts and Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) is the first library to subscribe.  Craft books are among the highest-circulating items in the CCPL collection, and they feel Creativebug’s videos are a great complement to the highly circulated genre.

Creativebug provided an Excel spreadsheet which MARCIVE, Inc. converted into MARC format so the streaming videos could be searchable within CCPL’s catalog.  MARCIVE also performed other data manipulation in addition to authorities processing and RDA Conversion, so the records could be as up-to-date as possible.

“Formatting Creativebug data for Library catalogs posed a new challenge for us. The MARCIVE team helped us quickly understand the structure of library record metadata so we could format our own data in order to provide discoverability and relevant search results for library patrons,” says Julie Roehm, Founder and VP of Operations at Creativebug.

“Cuyahoga County Public Library is thrilled to be the first library in the country to offer this exciting new video service,” says Lori Thorrat, Cataloging and Processing Manager at Cuyahoga County Public Library, “We knew Creativebug had good data as part of their product database, but getting it quickly into a library friendly format with Library of Congress Headings was an issue.  We knew MARCIVE could do this for them.”

MARCIVE’s Director of Marketing Joan Chapa states: “MARCIVE has enjoyed a collaborative relationship with the Cuyahoga County Public Library, beginning when we did backfile authorities processing and RDA conversion for them in 2014.  We also enriched their records with Tables of Contents, Summaries, and Reading Notes data (Lexile and Accelerated Reader) to add more access points to their catalog. It has greatly benefitted us to be able to get their feedback on various technical issues, and we were pleased when they reached out to us to ask for advice about how to manipulate data from an outside vendor so that it would be searchable in their catalog.  It is rewarding that besides providing the Library with ongoing authorities maintenance and enrichment, that we were able to assist them with an exciting new resource.”

Creativebug produces high quality video tutorials for various craft projects with 1000+ classes in drawing, painting, sewing and quilting, knitting, crochet, cake decorating and much more.  The product also increases engagement with the public library as it offers a social media aspect, where users can post questions after viewing a video about a certain craft project, and share photos of the project they created.  “It is a genuine thrill to see Creativebug classes appear in Cuyahoga County Public Library’s catalog,” says Julie Roehm, “and MARCIVE helped to make that happen in record time.”

MARCIVE Consultative Sales Representative Ligia Gomez stated, “Creativebug was a great partner to work with in metadata conversion as they really wanted to understand libraries and knew the importance of providing high quality MARC records with their resource.  This project was the first of its kind for us.”

Being able to help Creativebug craft library friendly data with MARCIVE that will be shared as their customer base grows was truly gratifying,” says Lori Thorrat, Catalog and Processing Manager at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.  “We hope by partnering Creativebug with MARCIVE that we have set a good example for other online products as to how to effectively improve their data for their library customers.”

About Cuyahoga County Public Library:

Cuyahoga County Public Library is committed to its mission of being at the center of community life by creating an environment where reading, lifelong learning and civic engagement thrive and its vision to be the most convenient library system in the country. For more information, visit http://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/

About Creativebug:  Creativebug is an online learning community for DIY crafters, producing award-winning inspirational and educational videos. Founded in 2012, Creativebug is known for its all-star lineup of instructors and video classes that walk users through creative projects from start to finish. Members enjoy unlimited access to classes in painting, drawing, sewing, quilting, cake decorating, knitting, crochet and more. There is truly something for everyone in Creativebug’s growing library of more than 1000 classes.  For more information, go to creativebug.com

Written by Ligia Gomez, MLS

January 25, 2018

Now as a part of RDA processing performed during authorities processing, we have the ability to create fields that can assist with formulating format facets, and prepare for linked data.    These new 34X fields provide consistency in describing the characteristics of various formats.  They are:

340      Physical Medium
344      Sound Characteristics
345      Projection Characteristics of Moving Image
346      Video Characteristics
347      Digital File Characteristics
348      Format of Notated Music

The conversion is only as good as the data elements that typically are already present in the MARC record in various fields and subfields.  Our processing looks at the LDR, 007, 008, 300, 533, and 538 fields to accurately create the new 34X fields.

Libraries looking to do authorities processing and RDA conversion on their legacy cataloging records can have this new processing included.  Existing customers can request that we add this option to any new bibliographic records sent for processing.  And even better yet—Comprehensive Notification customers can have this option applied with their next processing run—essentially having the entire backfile performed to include new RDA tags.  There is no additional charge for this option.

Here are some examples.

Interested in learning more?  Send us a sample and we can show you all the good we can do to make your records more useable.  Contact us at [email protected].

Written by Joan I. Chapa, MLS

September 8, 2017

The GPO (Government Publishing Office) is initiating its eighth year of the Cataloging Record Distribution Program (CRDP), with MARCIVE as the contractor.

On September 7, 2017 MARCIVE participated in a webinar hosted by GPO titled Cataloging Record Distribution Program Workflows.  Jim Noel, our Manager of GPO Services was the first speaker and he briefly discussed the process in which we receive new cataloging records from GPO each month and process them for both CRDP participants as well as for our paid subscribers.  Approximately 95 people signed up for the webinar, with about half of them already involved in the CRDP.

Three current participants representing libraries of different types and with different library systems gave a brief overview of how they process the monthly files, the decisions that were made, and tips for handling issues.

1.     Oregon State Library.  This library selects approximately 55% of all GPO item numbers and is a shared regional depository library for the state.  They use the SirsiDynix Symphony system.  Arlene Weibel shared how she loads the records, makes some local edits, and exports record numbers to OCLC to reflect holdings.  She also gave the pros and cons of receiving changed records.

2.     Auburn University.  Although the Ralph Brown Draughon Library selects almost 100%, they are not a regional depository and select almost exclusively electronic-only titles.  They use the ExLibris Voyager system and have a home-grown link tracker.  Liza Weisbrod explained how although they are aware that they can eliminate older cataloging records distributed by GPO, they prefer to receive them since much of their legacy collection is uncataloged.  She did say that dealing with the older records can be time-consuming.

3.     Newark Public Library.  As the largest public Library in New Jersey, they are the regional for the state.  They use the III Millennium system and have been a MARCIVE customer since 1997.  Laura Saurs explained that they still get a paid subscription for authority records matching the CRDP cataloging.  Newark creates their own item records and uses their catalog as a shelflist.  They also get the Historic Shelflist records, an option which is available through the CRDP.

We appreciate having these seasoned librarians sharing their CRDP experiences, and their willingness to answer any system-specific questions!

Written by Joan Chapa, MLS

August 1, 2017

New!  Lexile® format now more granular for early grades

MARCIVE offers Reading Notes Enrichment, either as a standalone service, or as a part of Overnight Authorities and Ongoing MARC Record Services, as well as with other one-time services such as Retrospective Conversion, Brief Record Upgrade, and backfile authorities processing.  This includes Accelerated Reader and Lexile® data.  Reading Counts data is also available through the year 2014.

MetaMetrics is the source of the Lexile® data.  The company has completed in-depth studies to try to provide more guidance and resources for educators, publishers, and policymakers.  They have researched and re-measured the grades K-2 titles, assigning more granular values.  Before, all books measuring below 0L were given a “BR” (Beginning Reader) code.  However, not all K-2 books are created equally, and there was a need for more specificity in measuring the reading levels.  For more in-depth background on this research, go to http://www.lexiletoolkit.com/.

The new format has additional information not previously included in the past.  It contains reading difficulty indicators in four areas:

1. Decoding demand. The decoding indicator looks at parts of the words like vowel and consonant patterns, and sounds by evaluating the patterns of letters in a word.
2. Semantic demand. Looks at what is going on with the words by evaluating the challenge of word meanings in a text.
3. Syntactic demand. Looks at what is going on at the sentence level by evaluating the complexity within sentences and across sentences.
4. Structure demand. Looks at what is going on with text as a whole by evaluating the degree of repetition and patterning (such as repeated phrases) in the text.  Repeated phrases lower the Structure Indicator.

For more information, see our FAQ or contact us at 1-800-531-7678 or at [email protected].

Written by Joan Chapa, MLS