Status Line
- Resource Sharing
- Feb 07
- Issue: 209
WorldCat Resource Sharing Enhancements
OCLC recently installed the following enhancements to WorldCat Resource Sharing.
Electronic Delivery Address in the Admin Module
To further automate processing of resource sharing requests, users of WorldCat Resource Sharing and ILLiad now have the ability to designate electronic delivery addresses in the WorldCat Services Administrative Module.
To accommodate this enhancement, the “Constant Data” screen has been renamed “Constant Data Records” and a new screen “Constant Data Options” must be used to enter options. This new screen in the admin module allows users to configure data that will apply to all constant data records. Not only will Electronic Delivery Types be input on this screen but so will the ability to set persistence for Constant Data.
Copy/Loan Selection Box
A new field has been added to the staff workform which allows users to manually select whether their request is for a copy or a loan. Previously, the OCLC resource sharing system designated a request a copy or a loan based on the presence or absence of article data in the workform as well as the presence or absence of a due date. Now users will be able to make this decision as a part of their workflow. This field is not required and if a user does not designate a request to be a copy or a loan, OCLC's resource sharing system will default to the automated method on behalf of the borrower/lender.
OCLC Holdings Now Show ISO Country Codes
OCLC FirstSearch and the WorldCat Resource Sharing display of library holdings has been improved and now show ISO country codes. For US and Canadian libraries, the holdings will display as the ISO country code followed by the state or province code. For example, an Ohio library appears as US,OH and an Ontario library would appear as CA,ON. Libraries from the rest of the world will display ISO country codes only for the location of the library. This is an improvement, since previously the code provided was for broad and general regions and included codes like EU and ZZ, grouping a large numbers of countries together.
Future planned improvements will have the country codes spelled out into the language of that interface. These improvements will be announced before the enhancement is installed.
ILL Enhancements Made to WorldCat Collection Analysis Service
New ILL enhancements have been made to WorldCat Collection Analysis that will be particularly helpful to collection development professionals. The enhancements are based on WorldCat Resource Sharing data, and give individual subscribing libraries the ability to:
- Compare borrowing requests over time to identify acquisitions priorities.
- Compare borrowing requests based on age, subject, serial and nonserial items.
- Analyze what your library borrows - to identify items that supplement your collection.
- Analyze the items your library is lending-to reveal how your collection is used.
Available via annual subscription, WorldCat Collection Analysis lets you analyze all the materials in your collection that are cataloged in WorldCat, and compare your collection to other collections to check for gaps and overlaps. You can evaluate these holdings in many ways - by format, subject, language, audience, publication date and more - and generate intuitive reports to support your analyses.
When you purchase a new subscription to WorldCat Collection Analysis, OCLC offers your library a one-time retrospective or reclamation batchload at no additional charge. Bringing holdings up-to-date in WorldCat enables your library to better analyze its entire collection.
Want to learn more? Please contact Nylink or visit http://www.oclc.org/collectionanalysis.
[OCLC - edited]
Resource Sharing Contact Information
Please contact Jon Penn, Resource Sharing Librarian at Nylink, with questions. Jon is available via email (pennj@nylink.org) or phone (800-342-3353/518-443-5444).