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

Why do I get these old records?

If your library receives GPO records from us via one of our subscription services or the Catalog Record Distribution Project (CRDP), you may have wondered from time to time why examples of cataloging for fairly old titles arrive in what would seem to be a current cataloging service. The reason is that, in addition to creating new catalog records, GPO also often has occasion to update older records. One thing we see quite often is new cataloging for old titles that have become available online. When these new records are created for the online version, GPO staff normally updates existing records for tangible versions of the titles to include fields that link the tangible version records to the new online version records. The files Marcive receives each month as the source for our GPO cataloging services include records that have been created by GPO in the previous month as well as records that have been updated. When the time comes to select a library’s records, we choose all of the records that match your criteria; age is not normally a concern.

If you get only new records from us, there usually won’t be too many of these, but if you get changed records as well there could be quite a few at times.

Sometimes these older records are useful and may fill gaps in your catalog, but often they are a distraction. Perhaps you already have cataloged the titles in question, or have withdrawn them from your collection. Either way, the arrival of these records can cause some extra work.

If older records are causing problems for you, it is possible for us to filter them out for you. Simply contact us and ask that records for older tangible titles be excluded from your files in the future, and let us know how old is too old. Most libraries requesting this exclusion have us exclude records for titles from five or more years ago, but the choice is yours.

Do you wonder about some of the records you get or don’t get through your Marcive GPO cataloging service? Whether you get our profiled record services or Documents Without Shelves, or participate in the CRDP, don’t hesitate to ask us about it. We’ll be glad to look into what you are getting and make adjustments that should help, or explain what is happening so that you can decide how you want to handle it.

Written by Jim Noël, MLS
2/9/2016