OCLC Newsletter

              (
Wigington
Elected
Chairman of
OCLC Board
of Trustees
DUBLIN, OHIO-The Board of Trustees
of OCLC Online Computer Library Center
unanimously elected Ronald L. Wigington
Chairman at the Board's annual meeting on
December 17, 1984. Dr. Wigington is
Deputy Executive Director of the Am~ri­can
Chemical Society for -washington Op­erations.
He succeeds Russell Shank, Uni­versity
Librarian, UCLA, whose term on
the Board expired at the December
meeting.
The Board also elected D. Kaye Gapen
as Vice-Chair. Ms. Gapen is Director of Li­braries,
University of Wisconsin, Madison.
She is one of the original Trustees elected
to the Board by the newly-formed OCLC
Users Council in 1978 and was subse­quently
reelected in 1980. She is a mem­ber
of the Research Libraries Advisory
Committee to OCLC.
David P. Lighthill, OCLC, Vice President
and Corporate Counsel, was elected
Secretary.
John M. Shary, OCLC, Vice President,
Finance, was elected Treasurer.
John Burkley, OCLC, Corporate At­torney,
was elected Assistant Secretary.
President and Chief Executive Officer of
OCLC is Rowland C. W. Brown.
An authority on computer technology
and information science, Dr. Wigington
was director of research and development
of Chemical Abstracts Service, a division
of the American Chemical Society, from
1968 to 1984. He has been a member of
the OCLC Board of Trustees since 1978
and was Vice Chairman in 1983/84. He
also served on the Advisory Council to the
Board of the Ohio College Library Center,
the group that recommended the present
governance structure of OCLC.
As Deputy Executive Director of ACS,
Dr. Wigington is responsible for several
Ronald L. Wigington
operating units at the American Chemical
Society's Washington headquarters. These
(continued on page 2)
Contents
Research Library Directors to Meet 2
University of Oregon Gets
7 Millionth ILL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Users Council News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
MITRE, Texas A 8i:. M Medical Sciences
Acquire LS/2000 .................. 7
Micro Use Database Publishes
First Directory on Software . . . . . . . . . 7
OCLC Statement to ALA Task Force on
Copyright of Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
OCLC to Offer Printers, Modems ....... 11
Empowerment at Local Level with
SC350 & MICROCON .............. 12
Micro, a Magazine for Libraries From
OCLC, to Debut ................... 14
How Many OCLC Members
Own Micros? ..................... 14
Eight Vendors Become
Direct Transmission Participants ...... 15
AMIGOS, SOLINET to Integrate
Conversion Records with
OCLC Database ................... 16
SUNY University Centers to Tapeload
into OCLC Database ............... 16
Pennsylvania Union List of Serials ...... 17
Advisory Committee to Public Libraries
Meets ........................... 18
Terry Noreault Named
Visiting Distinguished Scholar ........ 19
Mary Ellen Jacob, Michael McGill Named
Vice Prc;sidents ................... 19
Database Index
Regeneration
Completed Over
Holidays
by Glenn Patton
Over the Christmas holidays OCLC staff
successfully completed a regeneration of the
index files for the Online Union Catalog and
the LC Name-Authority File. Although this
major undertaking is largely transparent to
users, the regeneration ensures that in the
OCLC database there is a place for
everything, and everything is in its place.
During the 75 hours from scheduled sys­tem
shutdown on December 22, 1984 to
scheduled startup on December 26, OCLC
computers processed index keys to 11.4
million bibliographic records for a total of
58,832,853 search keys for titles, personal
authors, corporate names, author /titles, and
OCLC Control Numbers. Additionally, the
computers indexed 1.2 million name author­ity
records with 1,841,773 name keys.
Integrity
OCLC performs regenerations from time
to time to ensure the integrity and accuracy
of index keys and to correct known prob­lems
in indexing techniques and structures.
Regeneration of index keys also enables
OCLC to repartition (redistribute) the index
files across the online bibliographic ftle,
which presently consists of 47 disk devices
with approximately 250,000 records per
device. This repartitioning, a sort of load
leveling, distributes the input/output load
more evenly across the database and im­proves
system performance.
During the index regeneration OCLC also
added several new data elements to existing
(continued on page 2)
LUCKY DUCKS CAPTURE
OCLC ILL GOLD RECORD.
See Page3,
2 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Total bibliographic records indexed,
Title keys 14,63!,669
Personal author keys 11,534,768
Corporate name keys 4,325,24 I
Author/Title keys 18,590,251
Control numbers 9,750,924
Total keys regenerated, 58,832,853
Total Name Authority records indexed:
Name keys regenerated, I ,84 I, 773
Uniform title keys 95,869
Control numbers 1,217,025
Total keys 3,154,667
Total records processed:
Total index keys generated'
Average number of index keys per record:
11,451,920
1,205,919
12,657,839
61,987,520
4.9
Database Index Regeneration
(continued from page I)
indexes and made preparations in the in­dexes
for future searching enhancements.
The last regeneration occurred in September
1982.
second and generated just over 478 index
keys per second. The remainder of the
scheduled 75 hours was taken up in prepar­ations
for the run of the index generation
and the process of returning the system to
online operation for system startup on De­cember
26.
Intensive Effort
Imagine manually inspecting 11.4 million
catalog cards over a long weekend!
-Glenn Patton is Senior Support and
Training Specialist at OCLC.
Conference of
Directors· of
Research Librarier'
in OCLC to
Convene March 10
Directors of the 93 research libraries in
OCLC are expected to attend a two-day con­ference
at OCLC in Dublin, Ohio, March
10-II.
Sponsored by OCLC and the Research
Libraries Advisory Corrunittee to OCLC, the
conference will focus on issues, concerns
and activities of the research library com­munity
within OCLC.
Featured speakers are Patrick Winston,
Director of Massachusetts Institute of Tech­nology's
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory,
and Maurice Glicksman, Provost arid Dean
of Faculty, Brown University. Dr. Winston
will speak on "Artificial Intelligence and
Libraries." Dr. Glicksman will speak on
"Library Costs and Charges in the Electronic
Information Age."
The Conference will include demonstra­tions
and presentations on new develop­ments
at OCLC as well as small group
discussions.
Conference Chairman is Jay K. Lucker, /
Director of Libraries, Massachusetts Institute(
of Technology. ·
Completion of the index regeneration in
the early hours of December 26 was the
result of six weeks of intensive effort by staff
from a number of areas of OCLC. Staff in
Database Support Section and Online Sup­port
Section of System Engineering Division
prepared needed software changes and
tested those changes using OCLC's test
facilities which emulate the Online System.
Staff from the System Support & Training
Section and Online Data Quality Control
Section of Marketing & User Services Divi­sion
offered advice and help in the design
and testing process. Once software changes
were in their final form, staff from Quality
Assurance Department performed final ac­ceptance
testing and prepared software for
installation.
Wigington Elected Chai.rmanrcontinuedfrompage I)
Battle Plan
In the meantime, Database Support Sec­tion
staff prepared a "battle plan" for the
75-hour time period set aside for the regen­eration.
Detailed, step-by-step schedules
were set up. Contingency plans were written
to cover various types of problems which
could occur. Schedules were developed to
provide for 24-hour, on-site coverage by
staff members from the Online Computer
Operations Section of Operations Division.
On-site and on-call coverage was provided
by staff from Computer Maintenance Section
of System Engineering Division. Some 25
people gave up a portion of their Christmas
holiday to ensure the successful completion
of this project.
It required 36 hours to generate, sort
and load these index keys into their re­spective
ftles. To do this, the computers
processed approximately 97 records each
include the Books and Journals, Education,
and Membership Division; Financial Oper­ations;
Chemical & Erigineering News, the
ACS weekly magazine; Public Affairs; Mar­keting;
Personnel; International Activities;
Data Processing/Word Processing; and
Public Relations.
Before joining the ACS staff, Dr. Wig­ington
was associated with Bell Telephone
Laboratories in New Jersey, and with the
Department of Defense in Washington. In
1967-68, he was a lecturer in Technology
of Management at Washington's American
University, and was an adjunct faculty
member in Computer and Information Sci­ence
at Ohio State University from 1969
to 1978. He has been quite active in
elementary and secondary school educa­tion
in the Washington area, and served
two terms as president of the Upper Arling­ton
(Ohio) Civic Orchestra.
He is a recipient of a national Capital
Award from the District of Columbia
Council of Engineering and Architectural
Societies, and of a Meritorious Civilian
Service Award made by the National
Security Agency. In 1953, he was named
"the Honor Man" of the University of
Kansas, and was also a Summerfield
Scholar.
Dr. Wigington, 52, has served as a con­sultant
to governmental and private
organizations. Among these are the Na­tional
Science Foundation, National
Academy of Sciences, Department of
Defense, and Battelle Memorial Institute in
Columbus. He has served on the board of
Directors of OCLC, Ohio Teleport Cor­poration
and the Applied Information
Technology Research Center in Columbus,
Ohio. He was also president of the Na­tional
Federation of Abstracting and Infor­mation
Services and is currently chairman
of the National Research Council Advisory
Panel, a committee of the National Bureau
of Standards.
A native of Topeka, he completed the
B.S. in engineering physics at the Univer­sity
of Kansas and the M.S. in electrical en­gineering
at the University of Maryland. He
returned to the University of Kansas,
where he was awarded the Ph.D. in elec­trical
engineering. He completed the Ad­vanced
Management Program, Harvard
Graduate School of Business Administra­tion,
in 1977.
He is a member of several professional
organizations. Among these are Sigma Xi,
the honorary scientific society; the In-(
stitute of Electrical and Electronics '­Engineers;
and the American Chemical
Society. He is author or coauthor of
numerous technical papers on computer
and information systems.
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 3
University of Oregon Logs Seven Millionth
( Interlibrary Loan on OCLC
(
DUBLIN, OHIO,Jan. 21-The University
of Oregon sent the Seven Millionth Inter­library
Loan Request via the OCLC com­puterized
Interlibrary Loan Subsystem
(ILL) on January 2I, I985, marking the
seventh consecutive reduction in the time
period required for OCLC members to log
a million online requests since the sub­system
came up in 1979.
Sending the Seven Millionth Online In­terlibrary
Loan Request was Joanne
Halgren, Head, Interlibrary Loan, at the
University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. ·
Prediction
''Although the chances of getting it (the
Seven Millionth ILL Request Record) were
pretty slim, I was tryirig for it," says Ms.
Halgren. "I had all my requests ready to
go, and based on the activity that morn­ing
I was predicting that it would happen
around I L45 a.m."
That prediction proved accurate: the re­quest
was transmitted at 11:45 a.m. Pacific
Standard Time ( 2:45 p.m. EST). The re­quested
item was a doctoral dissertation
by Ann Schofield: The Rise of the Pig­Headed
Girl: An Analysis of the American
Labor Press for Their Attitudes Toward
Women, 1877-1920. Ms. Halgren specified
to the Subsystem that the ILL request,
which is forward automatically to up to
five libraries, be routed to these institu­tions:
California State University,
Sacramento; Auburn University; Sarah
Lawrence College; Suny-Binghamton; and
Arizona State University.
Use of the OCLC Interlibrary Loan Sub­system
has increased dramatically since it
began operation in April 1979. It took li­braries
545 days to send the first million
online ILL requests. That time period drop­ped
sharply to 370 days for the second
million, and the most recent milestone, the
seventh millionth, was logged in only 178
days. (See ILL Milestones below.)
Steady Increase
The University of Oregon has been an
OCLC Pacific member participating in
Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan since July
1981. Ms. Halgren notes that the library's
use of the ILL Subsystem has increased
steadily. "Our first month we sent 60 re­quests
via OCLC," she says. "Since then
we've requested over 10,000 items online.
Over 80 percent of our total ILL requests
go out via OCLC, and the fill rate for these
is 90 percent."
The Interlibrary Loan department at the
University of Oregon has an OCLC M300
Workstation and the ILL Micro Enhancer,
which, Ms. Halgren says "saves us approx­imately
20 hours a week in updating our
ILL request lists."
LUCKY DUCKS. Members of the University of Oregon Library's Interlibrary Loan Department
(left to right): Joanne Halgren, Head, Interlibrary Loan; Aimee Yogi, Clerical Specialist; and
Carol Hermans and Marlka Thompson, Student Assistants. Ms. Halgren sent the Seven
Millionth ILL request on OCLC on January 21, 1985.
OCLC Interlibrary Loan Milestones
Seven Millionth ILL
Six Millionth ILL
Five Millionth ILL
Four Millionth ILL
Three Millionth ILL
Two Millionth ILL
One Millionth ILL
University of Oregon, Jan. 2I, I985 (I78 days)
California State University, Dominguez Hills, July
27, I984 (185 days)
U.S. Geological Survey Library, Reston, VA., ]an.
24, 1984 (236 days)
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, June 2,
1983 (247 days)
Brandeis University, Sept. 28, I982 (3I4 days)
Lincoln Trail Libraries System-University of
Illinois Bibliographic Center, Champaign-Urbana, IL
(370 days)
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, Nov. 13,
I980 (545 days)
ILL Subsystem Activated April I, 1979
4 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Users Council Hears Reports on Copyright
Alternatives, Third Party Use;
Examines Major Issues Facing OCLC (
Although sub-zero temperatures greeted
OCLC Users Council delegates as they ar­rived
in Columbus for their winter meeting
on Sunday, Jan. 20, neither snow, nor
Super Bowl nor Presidential Inauguration
kept the 60 delegates from dealing with
major issues facing OCLC.
Among the topics discussed at the jan.
20-22 meeting at which Users Council
President Irene Hoadley presided were:
copyright; use of OCLC-derived records;
OCLC MicroSystems; research at OCLC;
pricing; and OCLC finances. Delegates also
met in small group discussions with 13
members of the OCLC Board of Trustees.
Tuesday's session was capped by a talk by
OCLC President Rowland Brown, "OCLC:
Present Issues, Future Directions.'' The
Users Council Executive Committee has
asked that Mr. Brown's remarks be shared
with the general membership, and OCLC
is preparing to issue them as a separate
document.
Committee Reports
Delegates heard reports from the fol­lowing
Users Council Committees: Consti­tuent
Communication; Planning; Bylaws;
and Relations (with general members, net­works,
OCLC management and Board); Fi­nance;
and Executive. A Task Force on
Special Interests (Berna Heyman [Chair],
College of William and Mary; Harold Bill­ings,
University of Texas, Austin; Steven
Hawk, Akron-Summit County [Ohio[ Pub­lic
Library; Vija Karklins, Smithsonian In­stitution
Libraries; and Louella Wetherbee,
AMIGOS) reported that it is identifying and
examining how special groups relate to
and interact with OCLC. The Task Force
has identified such special interest groups
as OCLC Subsystem Advisory committees,
type-of-library advisory committees (for
example, RLAC, Advisory Committee on
Public Libraries, and school libraries) and
user groups such as Music Libraries, Health
Sciences and others.
Committee on Copyright Alternatives
(COCA)
Nancy Marshall (University of Wiscon­sin-
Madison, and member of the OCLC
Board of Trustees) presented the report of
the Committee on Copyright Alternatives,
which she chaired, and which had been
by Leslie Pearse and Phil Schieber
charged by the OCLC Board of Trustees
"to identify, delineate, and advise on the
feasibility of using alternatives to protect
the viability of OCLC and the rights of its
membership with respect to the OCLC
database."
Other COCA members are: David Bishop,
Library Director, University of Georgia;
William Chait, OCLC Board of Trustees
and Director Emeritus, Dayton and Mont­gomery
County (Ohio) Public Library;
Glyn Evans, OCLC Board of Trustees, and
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Library Ser­vices,
SUNY; and Kenneth Harris, Senior
Vice President, Marketing and Field Oper­ations,
OCLC.
Nancy Marshall
''The Committee supports the tenet that
OCLC membership is a privilege and car­ries
with it responsibilities as well as
rights,'' Ms. Marshall said. She reviewed
the questions considered by the Commit­tee
and noted that a final report had been
submitted to the Board of Trustees on
December 17, 1984. The Board accepted
the report for further study and adopted
four basic recommendations (see Rowland
Brown's testimony to the ALA Task Force
on _the Copyright of Bibliographic Data­bases
on page 8 of this Newsletter). The
Committee stated that "there is no other
viable alternative than copyright" to pro­tect
the database from third-party use
when there are no contractual relation­ships.
Alternatives exist for the general
members and networks through contracts.
Select Committee on Third-Party Use
Donald Sager, Milwaukee Public Library,
presented the report of the Select Com-mittee
on Third-Party Use (See Rowland
Brown's testimony on page 8 of this News­letter
for a brief history of this group).
Members of the Committee are: Irene
Hoadley, Texas A & M University; joseph
Howard, National Agricultural Library;
Vicki Kreimeyer, Lewis and Clark College
Library; Pat Mulholt, Rensselaer Polytech­nic
Institute; Brooke Sheldon, Texas Wo­men's
University; Elliot Shelkrot, State
Library of Pennsylvania; Richard Talbot,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst;
and Mr. Sager.
Mr. Sager said that the Committee's
recommendations ~ad been presented to
the OCLC Board bf Trustees. He noted
that the Committee concluded "there
would always be room for disagreement"
on use of the database, no matter how
detailed the guidelines were. The Commit­tee
has recommended both principles and
guidelines for third party use and the es­tablishment
of a "mechanism to resolve c·
disagreements.'' ,
At its February meeting the OCLC Board
of Trustees will study recommendations
from OCLC management and the Commit­tees
on Copyright Alternatives and Third­Party
Use in their review and adoption of
further guidelines for use of records de­rived
from the OCLC database.
RLAC
Jay Lucker, Director of Libraries,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and
Chairman of the Research Libraries Advi­sory
Committee to OCLC, reported on the
activities of that Committee. The 12-15
member committee is drawn from mem­bers
of the Association of Research Librar­ies
(ARL) or the Independent Research Li­braries
Association (IRLA). He traced the
history of RLAC and reviewed its pur­poses,
which are to identify and define
programs of interest to research libraries,
advise OCLC in establishing priorities for
implementing these programs, and facili­tate
wider distribution of the products of
these programs by obtaining outside re-sources
whenever necessary. (
"RLAC assumes that the means that fa- ~~­cilitate
the ability of the research libraries
to contribute to and strengthen OCLC's
Online Union Catalog will serve not only
the interests of research libraries in OCLC
but ultimately all other member libraries,''
said Mr. Lucker. He noted that one of
RLAC's achievements was to suggest to
OCLC the need for a "hold-search" capa­bility,
which eventually led to OCLC's
development of the Cataloging Micro
Enhancer.
Among current RLAC activities and in­terests
are: document delivery; coopera­tive
retrospective conversion projects; a
national online conspectus of research
library collections; recording of preser­vation
information in the OCLC Online
Union Catalog; and cooperative cataloging
of large microform sets.
Mr. Lucker said that RLAC has been in
discussions with the Research Libraries
Group for the past two years. ''Bothgroups
agree on the need for a mechanism for the
free flow of bibliographic information be­tween
RLG and OCLC," he said. He also
cited the need to share not only catalog­ing
information but also information on
preservation, retrospective conversion,
and interlibrary loan. 'Resource sharing is
the goal of these talks," he said.
Jay Lucker
OCLC Office of Research
Michael McGill, OCLC Vice President, Re­search
and Technical Planning, reported
on research activities at OCLC. He stated
that the purpose of research at OCLC is ''to
explore, analyze, and conduct research to
maintain and extend OCLC's leadership
position as a provider of information.''
Dr. McGill noted that OCLC has estab­lished
a Research Advisory Committee and
a research intelligence center that monitors
outside research activities and determines
which technological developments OCLC
should examine more closely.
Among current research projects are
electronic document delivery and three
different approaches to subject-access
work: the Library of Congress Subject
Headings project, whose purpose is to pro­vide
better access to the present OCLC
database; the Dewey Decimal project,
which is concerned with enhancing users'
searching effectiveness through Dewey­related
subject access; and the EIDOS (Elec­tronic
Information Delivery Online Sys­tem)
project, which seeks to provide full­text
browsing capabilities to users so that
they can identify actual paragt;aphs and
sentences in a document.
MicroSystems
''The M300 Workstation is the founda­tion
of OCLC's microsystems effort,' said
Tom Harnish, Manager, OCLC MicroSys­tems
Department. OCLC is focusing on
three main areas for microsystems: hard­ware;
software; and training and support.
According to Mr. Harnish, OCLC is of­fering
Micro Enhancer software developed
by OCLC as well as third-party software,
including both library and general purpose
applications. In addition, OCLC is dis­tributing
software in the public domain
through the OCLC Microcomputer Pro­gram
Exchange (OMPX).
Mr. Harnish said that MicroSystems
training and support efforts include: help­ing
libraries use the M300 as a workstation;
computer education; OCLC Micro, a new
subscription-based magazine (see page 12);
and evaluation of prototypes and integra­tion
of existing off-the-shelf software and
hardware.
New Products & Services
Kate Nevins, Manager, Network and Li­brary
Services Department, reported to
the Council on OCLC's new products and
services for the Cataloging, Acquisitions,
Interlibrary Loan and Serials Control Sub­systems.
She noted that OCLC has recently
implemented two new formats, Machine­Readable
Data -FileS, and Archive and Man­uscript
Control.
She said that OCLC has developed a new
self-training software package, CBT (Com­puter
Based Training): OCLC Basics, that
trains new users in basic searching and ter­minal
use. It is designed to reduce the
amount of staff time devoted to training
new users; a free copy will be sent to each
M300 owner. She mentioned "What's
New at OCLC"- a publication that comes
out every winter and summer detailing
new and enhanced OCLC services. Copies
are available to all members from their
network.
(See related articles on MICROCON, Ser­ials
Control350, and Direct Transmission
in this Newsletter).
Telecommunications Update
Larry Learn, ·Director of Telecommuni­cations
Planning at OCLC, reported on re­cent
tariff filings by AT&T with the Federal
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 5
Communications Commission and OCLC's
reaction to those filings. He also briefly de­scribed
OCLC's current telecommunica­tion
network and the proposed open net­work
that will evolve as OCLC implements
its S2.6 million telecommunication moder­nization
program over the next year.
Mr. Learn said that OCLC will file com­ments
with the FCC to AT&T's proposed
new tariffs, which are over 3,000 pages
long. OCLC has also commented formally
on the tariff ftled by the National Exchange
Carriers Association (NECA), which repre­sents
the non-long distance portions of a
telecommunication circuit. He said that a
preliminary analysis indicates the pro­posed
tariffs could have a significant im­pact
on OCLC telecommunication costs,
and that it may become necessary again to
mobilize library opinion in communicating
to the FCC.
(Editor's note: OCLC has since learned
that the impact of the proposed tariff
would be severe for member libraries. An
average increase in telecommunication
costs of 26 percent is estimated, but librar-
Donald Sager
ies in certain states could see much higher
increases. On February 7, 1985 OCLC filed
comments with the FCC on the proposed
new tariff.)
In describing OCLC's development of an
open system, Mr. Learn noted that tele­communication
within future information
systems should not be viewed as simply a
means of connecting terminals to compu­ters,
but rather as "an information system
that makes information available quickly,
easily and economically to a wide variety
of users through an array of access mech­anisms'
such as computers, intelligent
workstations, document delivery stations,
microprocessors and local area networks.
He said that the new telecommunication
system would enable OCLC to distribute
processing power as well as information
storage. The goal is to provide a telecom-
6 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Users Council
munication capability with far greater
capacity, improved performance, system
flexibility, and higher-speed, lower-cost,
telecommunication links. 'We will have
more choices," he said, "and we' will
be able to choose on the basis of cost­effectiveness.''
Pricing
Rowland Brown, OCLC President, and
Tom Sanville, Director, Marketing and
User Services Division, updated the Users
Council on pricing. Mr. Brown said that
the work of the OCLC Pricing Committee
had been "a good model of how a mem­bership
organization determines prices for
itself." Staff studies, meetings with Users
Council Finance Committee and delegates,
regional networks, and many other groups
provided advice to the Pricing Committee.
Mr. Brown stated that the increasing diver­sity
of library automation requirements
creates a need for a wider range of availa­ble
memberships and participation levels.
"These should be offered in the context
of ensuring the vitality and viability of the
OCLC database."
Mr. Brown said that the new pricing
structure would seek to encourage and
reward contribution to the database and
resource sharing as well as the use of OCLC
key services. He noted that the Board of
Trustees would review and act on the rec­ommendations
of the Pricing Committee
at the Board's February meeting, and that
pricing changes would be implemented in­itially
in two phases, July I, 1985, and
January 1, 1986, with the latter phase re­flecting
the implementation of a new pric­ing
structure rather than the July changes,
which are price adjustments. The schedule
has been designed to provide the maxi­mum
amount of time for institutions and
networks to plan and to allow OCLC to
make necessary software changes to re­structure
billing procedures.
"To have the Users Council participate
in determining its own prices is a real
responsibility," said Mr. Brown. 'The out­come
is admirable.''
Mr. Sanville described specific changes
in the pricing structure which the Pricing
Committee will recommend to the Board
of Trustees. He said the new structure
would be both "more equitable" and
"workable."
"The pricing strategy strives for as
moderate an impact as possible across the
range of libraries," said Mr. Sanville. From
64-70 percent of libraries will experience
a- decrease in combined online and offline
charges under the new structure. Pending
Board approval in Februrar.r_. OCLC will
distribute to member libraries sufficient
pricing detail to allow them to assess the
impact of the new pricing structure on
their institutions. Additionally, OCLC will
distribute via networks general informa­tion
and documents that should answer
most libraries' questions about the new
pricing structure.
Irene Hoadley
Financial Report
"We're not here to maximize earnings,
but to strengthen programs," said John
Shary, OCLC Vice President, Finance, and
Treasurer, during the financial report on
January 22. He said that operating results
for 1983/84 were favorable, with service
revenues of approximately $56.1 million.
Contribution to equity was approximately
S5.2 million. He noted that OCLC plans to
spend approximately $16 million in the
current fiscal year for computer and tele­communication
equipment, and that the
1985 I 86 budget calls for capital equipment
expenditures of at least $16 million.
Mr. Shary said that total service revenues
for the first half of the current fiscal year
were S33 million, compared with 525
million a year ago. He stated that total
revenues projected for the 1984/85 fiscal
year are $70 million. He pointed out that
although OCLC is in a sound financial
position presently, the next few years will
"become tighter" as capital equipment
expenditures for telecommunication mod­ernization
and the redesign of the OCLC
Online System make greater demands on
OCLC' s working capital and cash positions.
OCLC is also exploring the advisability
of refinancing its existing debt on its build­ing/
computer facility in Dublin, Ohio, Mr.
Shary said, because the covenants o~ the
existing bond issue, made when OCLC was
a young organization with no financial
track record, had since become cumber-some
and restrictive. Refinancing would
work to the benefit of the membership by ,
not only reducing the amount of the debt, (
but also by giving OCLC greater flexibility '
in its use of capital and assets.
OCLC President's Report
OCLC President Rowland Brown spoke
on "OCLC: Present Issues, Future Direc­tions."
The Users Council Executive Com­mittee
has since asked that his remarks be
distributed to the Membership, and they
will be mailed as a separate document to
the Directors of Libraries in OCLC late in
February.
Resolutions
Users Council delegates by acclamation
passed a resolution commending Sharon
Walbridge for her five years of service as
Users Council Coordinator. The first Co­ordinator
of the Council, Ms. Walbridge is
now Special Assistant to the President of
OCLC, Rowland Brown.
Delegates adopted a resolution recom­mending
that an active librarian or library
educator be appointed to the OCLC Re­search
Advisory Committee.
The Users Council adopted a resolution '
asking the OCLC Board of Trustees to dis-(
tribute proposed guidelines for use of
OCLC-derived records by member librar­ies,
networks, and third parties to the
Users Council and network directors be­fore
the next draft of the OCLC/network
contract is issued for discussion.
After a discussion of the challenge to
OCLC's tax-exempt status in Ohio, the
Council unanimously adopted a resolution
urging OCLC to study the possibility of
moving to another tax jurisdiction should
an acceptable solution not be achieved.
Next Meeting
The next Users Council Meeting will
convene in Columbus, Ohio, May 19-21,
1985.-Leslie Pearse is Users Council
Coordinator at OCLC, and Phil Schieber
is Public Relations Manager.
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 7
Two More Libraries Acquire LS/2000
MITRE Corporation's Washington Center
and Texas A&M Medical Sciences Library
have acquired OCLC LS/2000 systems.
MITRE
The Center Library in McLean, Virginia,
has been using LS/2000 since 1982 in a
timesharing environment, but will convert
to their own system using a Data General
S/140 minicomputer in January 1985.
OCLC will provide hardware, software,
terminals, and printers, training and pro­filing,
as well as ongoing hardware and
software maintenance. As part of the in­stallation,
the Library will use the Center's
local area network to provide information
services to users in seven buildings located
within Yz mile of the installation.
Information Services Manager, jean
Tatalias, reports, "Because our library
moved from card catalog to online re­trieval
in 1983, the features of an online
catalog are very important to us." LS/2000
offers wide flexibility in handling multiple
retrieval points in library-designed
indexes.
The Library's automation project man-ager,
Mary Coyle Kidwell, comments,
"LS/2000 gives us a single source for
searching the various collections and loca­tions
within Information Services. It pro­vides
solutions to the unique requirements
of a special library.''
The MITRE Corporation is a not-for­profit
systems engineering corporation
working primarily for governmental spon­sors
in the areas of defense and com­munications
systems; air traffic control;
energy, resources and the environment;
and large information systems. MITRE's
Washington Center Library has a staff of
15, a book collection of 10,000 volumes,
and a report collection of over 70,000
items.
Texas A&M
The Texas A&M Medical Sciences Li­brary
in College Station, Texas, initially
will use a Data General S/280, a 16 bit
minicomputer with 29 terminals. The Sys­tem
will support not only the Medical
Sciences Library which is the administra­tive
unit of the A&M Consortium of
Medical Libraries, but also the two Consor-c
MicroUse Database Publishes
First Directory on Software
Recently released is Micro Use Directory:
Software, the first printed product to be
compiled from MicroUse, the microcomputer­based
database developed by Dr. Ching-chih
Chen and researchers at the Graduate School
of Library and Information Science at Sim­mons
College.
Software includes 1, 500 software
packages that are either specific to library
applications or are potentially useful for such
applicati.ons. The Directory consists of an
alphabetical list of software and summary
descriptions, and five functional indexes:
type of software; vendor; hardware; oper­ating
system; and RAM requirement.
Timesaver
"Information professionals badly need to
have some type of directories to assist them
in locating the appropriate application soft­ware,"
Dr. Chen writes in the preface to the
Directory. "(It) can enable them to peek into
the dynamic and confusing software market
with some preliminary useful information
on the potential software which they are
contemplating acquiring. It can save valuable
time in the selection process by providing
a quick overview of the availability, use, and
requirements of a particular (piece of) soft­ware."
Library Use
"The development of microcomputers
has been so dynamic that keeping up-to-date
has been an enormous challenges," says Dr.
Chen. "Librarians now have a tool to pro­vide
current, accurate and comprehensive
information on this rapidly ch~ging field.''
OCLC Grant
OCLC awarded a S 10,300 grant to the
researchers at Simmons College toward
development of the MicroUse database.
The database project is under the direct
supervision of Dr. Chen, a Professor and
Associate Dean of the Graduate School of
Library and Information Science at Sim­mons
College. The Simmons College Fund
for Research is also providing partial fund­ing
for the project. Dr. Chen plans to pub­lish
in the near future another directory,
this one dealing with applications, based
on the MicroUse Database.
Order Information
Price of Micro Use Directory; Software is
S99.50. Domestic orders should include
$3.00 for postage and handling; interna­tional
orders, $ 9.00. Send orders to
MicroUse Information, 1400 Com­monwealth
Avenue, West Newton,
Massachusetts 02165.
tium Libraries in Temple. Installation is
scheduled for July 1985 when the library
moves to its new facility.
The Medical Sciences Library at Texas
A&M University serves both the College of
Medicine and the College of Veterinary
Medicine. Combined enrollment of the
two professional schools in College Station
is 700 students with 300 faculty. In addi­tion,
Medical Sciences Library serves a
large number of A&M students and faculty
in biological sciences, animal science and
other fields related to biomedicine. Many
health sciences faculty and staff in Tem­ple
will also be using the System.
The Medical Sciences Library has 63,000
bound volumes and over 1900 periodical
subscriptions. Combined holdings of the
three Consortium Medical Libraries total
approximately 110,000 volumes. Virginia
Algermissen, the Director of the Library,
says LS/2000 was chosen because of its
multi-library capabilities, flexible design,
and assured future support.
With the addition of this contract, OCLC
now supports 32 LS/2000 computer in­stallations
serving 421ibraries in 14 states,
the District of Columbia, and the United
Kingdom.
Ching-chih Chen
o,.o.m.,.w,.<,o ', tu. roo '"'"'. . .. """"' ' ........... , ........ . ,_ ... ' ..., .............. ..,. .................. , . ,.,
~01~:.: !r"''"" ....,. ... ,.,,...,.,,.,, .. ,.,unotu
..0.0.1.- ..........,.,.. ....... ....... ... -............ ""''''""'"""'"'·'"' ................ .. ,...,.. .. •::,,-~'ll1'::::.~::r::: ~!:t.~. . ~!:; :::;~:" •• ""'" '" ,,.,_
................. . .'.".... ... ,..,........,.. .....,. , QCU:,Ioc.
~~; ~-::.~:-=··~
~l : .. ~ .................... '"· ... ><:, ........ """".,..
==-: ~ .... =:.:·· ........ ""'"" ..
=-:: ;""' .... ,. "'"
.".".,".'."..' 'o <l''/0" o r 01'/0 ._.,.,,,,nom I•U, , .. ,.. .., ., IIOtn 1-11,
Tn.<YIO>O 102, T ...... OOO .. ,.
0_01 ...,,,,. ,....,..
=~:~sm:~rm::r~--:::~1.::!~ ::::::::: .......... 'DO"' .. ..
"'
Sample entry
from MicroUse Directory: Software.
8 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Statement To The American Library
Association Task Force On The Copyright Of
Bibliographic Databases l
The following statement was presented by OCLC President
Rowland C. W. Brown, at the ALA Midwinter Conference in
Washington, D. C. on january 5, 1985.
I believe all of us in the library world enthusiastically espouse
the goal, however elusive it may seem, of unimpeded equal ac­cess
to bibliographic records. With equal enthusiasm, we pur­sue
the more immediate and achievable goal of facilitating, to
the greatest extent possible, resource sharing at every level: local,
state, region?!, national and even international. However, in pur­suing
these goals, we find our path to be strewn with technical,
economic, administrative, organizational and even political issues
that must be faced and addressed realistically by all of us.
As a trustee of OCLC and as a member of its management, I
can report that we all strongly believe that no single organiza­tion
has done more than OCLC has to move these twin goals
toward reality. Taking full advantage of what Richard DeGen­naro
has termed "The Golden Age of Library Cooperation,"
OCLC has effectively marshalled the collective input of thousands
of libraries of every type and size and from every part of.the
United States (where members are still joining at the rate of 25
to 30 a month) and from a number of other nations. By combin­ing
the collective efforts of its members with computer capabili­ties,
innovative system design and software, and a unique
telecommunication network, OCLC has enabled literally thou­sands
of libraries, more than ever before in history, to have almost
instant access at an affordable cost to the largest online union
catalog of bibliographic records and holdings in the world.
Not only has OCLC provided the means by which previously
unavailable member library cataloging records are made widely
available online, but it has also made the machine-readable rec­ords
produced by the Library of Congress, the National
Agricultural Library and the National Library of Medicine quickly
available to a wider group of libraries than by any other means.
We fully expect to be able to provide the same unprecedented
access to the records of foreign national libraries, as well.
OCLC has also facilitated unprecedented resource sharing, both
through its own Interlibrary Loan subsystem and through librar­ies'
use of location information in combination with other ar­rangements.
Richard Dougherty of the University of Michigan has
described this as a breakthrough comparable to that of shared
cataloging.
Either by full membership in OCLC or through one or more
of several participation options, OCLC currently provides access
to records and facilitates resource sharing for institutions serv­ing
a majority of library patrons in the United States. We recog­nize,
however, that thousands of institutions, particularly public
and school libraries, find it difficult or uneconomical to access
the OCLC system, and we continue to seek cost-effective means
of meeting their needs.
We recognize also that both Research Libraries Group mem­bers
that are not tapeloading members of OCLC and OCLC mem­bers
that do not have access to RLG records wish to have access
to the records of each bibliographic network. This capability can
presently be provided through a mutual exchange of records, and
eventually will be made possible through a machine linkage of
OCLC and RLG. We are encouraged by the number of RLG in­stitutions
that have chosen not to wait for machine linkage to
facilitate resource sharing but to do so now, by tapeloading their
records into the OCLC database.
Our efforts to further the ease of access to additional informa­tion
and to extend access to a wider body of users are being
helped by technological advancements, particularly in mini and
microcomputer technology, high density compact storage
devices, telecommunication and software interfaces, and imag­ing
and printing devices. These advancements greatly broaden
the horizons for all of us in librarianship. They provide many
new options to the user, to the individual library, to clusters of
libraries, to state systems, to regional networks and to a grow­ing
spectrum of commercial enterprises, both large and small.
Furthermore, costs of electronic access and storage are decreas­ing,
and the possibility for local control and greater independence
is increasing the number and the quality of options available to
libraries. The promise of greater access and broader resource shar­ing
by the removal of some of the current economic and tech­nological
barriers and the concomitant threat of a reduction in
the national and international contributions of records needed
to maintain the OCLC database as the "database of last resort"
is a paradox of current developments.
* * * The issues of copyright and contract have generated much heat
and much smoke, and have largely obscured the remarkable con­tributions
OCLC has made and is continuing to make toward
"unimpeded access" and to resource sharing. It is in the con­text
of the unparalleled OCLC database, its remarkably successful
interlibrary lending activity and its continuing efforts to broaden
and to enhance the availability of information and resources that ,
the issues of today's inquiry must be seen and examined. (
Both the OCLC Board of Trustees and the management of -
OCLC were acutely aware that copyright, long a "hot button"
for librarians, would be controversial. Neither was prepared,
however, for the resistance by OCLC-affiliated networks to pro­posed
contract language that would govern the display and trans-fer
of OCLC-derived machine-readable records. For the record,
it should be noted that these steps were not taken by OCLC with­out
powerful underlying reasons. I will try to summarize some
of these reasons.
As I have already indicated, the use of innovative technolo­gies
and sound financial practices and an unparalleled col­laborative
commitment on the part of thousands of libraries
throughout the United States and abroad, libraries of all types
and sizes, have enabled OCLC to compile a bibliographic database
that is unsurpassed by and incomparable with any other in the
world. This database has become virtually indispensable to OCLC
member libraries, to many non-member libraries, and to tens of
thousands of library patrons. Recognizing the value of this asset
to the library community, the Board of Trustees and the man­agement
of OCLC consider the enhancement of the size and the
quality of this database and the maintenance of its economic in­tegrity
as central and crucial objectives.
Technological advances, which are occurring with dizzying
rapidity, are multiplying opportunities for uses of the database
and segments of it in new, creative ways, ways that were not
dreamed of eighteen years ago when OCLC began to take shape.
Individual libraries, clusters of libraries, state systems, regional
consortia, networks and others, including commercial enter­prises,
are making (or are proposing to make) new uses of the
OCLC database and the OCLC telecommunications system. By 1
downloading records from the database, or by loading single- Of\_
multi-institution tapes containing OCLC-derived machine- '
readable records, the database can be, and is being, used to sup­port
not only online public access catalogs and circulation systems
but interlibrary lending systems and online current and retrospec­tive
cataloging services, as well.
l
l
OCLC's Board and management are committed to facilitating
constantly broader access to this resource by the library world.
OCLC has long allowed cataloging processing centers to use the
system to the enormous benefit of many small libraries. In re­cent
years it has extended opportunities for participation in the
system to non-members through a "Group Access" capability and
"Cluster Options;" it has found ways to make dial access less
expensive, and it has developed MICROCON, an inexpensive ret­rospective
conversion alternative. It has also concluded special
arrangements with non-members for use of the system, or parts
of the system, where it was felt that the library community would
benefit and that there would be no impairment of the rights of
OCLC member libraries.
Exploration of how unimpeded access to bibliographic records
can be achieved at costs affordable to the many segments of the
library community is neither an occasional activity nor a trivial
pursuit at OCLC. It is a problem that is constantly being addressed.
However, OCLC's.Board must also address the need to accom­modate
the continued growth of the database through the addi­tion
of the cataloging of both OCLC members and non-member
institutions that use other bibliographic systems but have signif­icant
access to OCLC-derived records. Furthermore, the Trustees
have a fiduciary responsibility to insure the economic viability
of the OCLC system and, where appropriate, to see to it that the
general member libraries that have contributed to the database
benefit from use by others.
* * * It is a paradox that this asset-this great database and-the OCLC
system created by the collaborative efforts of the OCLC member
libraries and by the technical ingenuity of hundreds of OCLC
staff-is at once so powerful and so fragile. It depends for its very
existence and for its continued growth on a tenuous commitment
by its members to contribute to it and on their willingness to sub­mit
to-even to insist upon-a certain discipline in its use that
will not permit its erosion, either by themselves or by others.
OCLC does not "own" any of the records in the database and
has not claimed ownership of them, and, in fact, ownership of
the records is not the critical matter here. What is important is
what is done-what can be done-with those records. There
have always been implied mutual obligations in OCLC's col­laborative
membership activities. Each member presumably has
ownership of the original cataloging records of which it is the
"author" and which it enters into the OCLC database, but that
normally accounts for only a small percentage of the records it
needs. As to the balance of records needed, all created by others
and compiled and made available and retrievable by OCLC, there
has always been an implied limitation that the records not be used
in ways inimical to the shared database. OCLC would not have
survived had this not been the case. Likewise, the OCLC Board
and management recognize an implied obligation to support and
improve the system and to protect both the quality of the database
and the interests of the general membership in the unique asset
they have helped to create.
As technological complexities increased and as opportunities
for use of OCLC-derived machine-readable records broadened,
it became clear in many sectors of the OCLC community that
something more formal than an implied code of conduct and im­plied
limitations were necessary. The OCLC Users Council under­took
the development of a "Code of Responsible Use," and
OCLC's Board of Trustees requested that language that would
serve as a basis for mutual understanding on the use of OCLC­derived
machine-readable records be placed in new contracts
with libraries and with OCLC-affiliated networks. It also, on ad­vice
of counsel, directed OCLC's management to claim copyright
in the compilation of data that is the Online Union Catalog so
that, in the absence of contract provisions governing the use of
records (the importance of this will become clear later), the
database could be protected from unauthorized use by "third par­ties.''
Finally, the Board instructed management to develop and
s\lbmit to it a set of guidelines for the use of records by member
libraries and others in contract with OCLC.
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 9
All of those steps were taken. Preliminary criteria regarding
the use of machine-readable records were broadly disseminated
and discussed, and contract language to govern the use of records
was drawn up. This new use-of-records contract language was
proposed to (but has not yet been accepted by) OCLC-affiliated
networks to be applicable to each member library and to networks
themselves where they use OCLC-derived machine-readable
records or turn records over to third parties. While discussions
were continuing with network representatives, who were ap­parently
convinced that no library would sign a contract that
contained the suggested language to use of records, contracts
were negotiated with approximately 300 individual libraries in
the OCLC Pacific Network, all of which contain the suggested
language governing the use of records. The libraries that have
signed these contracts have not challenged such language as either
burdensome or inappropriate. During this same time, OG:LC
received a variety of requests from institutions seeking to use
OCLC-derived machine-readable records in unusual ways or to
share such records with non-members. Each of these requests
was favorably accommodated.
* * * To test the appropriateness of OCLC's policies and the steps
it had taken and to provide guidance in the development and ap­plication
of additional policies, the Board and management
solicited the advice of two groups: a Committee on Copyright
Alternatives and a "Select Committee" on Third Party Use.
The Committee on Copyright Alternatiyes, popularly known
as COCA, was appointed by the OCLC Bo<;lrd of Trustees follow­ing
a report of an OCLC Users Council study group that examined
the major issues relative to OCLC's copyright decision. COCA
comprised two OCLC Trustees (both library professionals), two
Users Council members (a director of a research library and a net­work
director, both of whom had served on the Users Council
study group), and a member of OCLC management. The charge
to the Committee was to study the alternatives to copyright in
approaching use-of-records issues and to report its findings to
the Board.
The Select Committee on Third Party Use of records was ap­pointed
by OCLC management with the support and approval
of the Board. Eight outstanding professional librarians generously
.agreed to serve on this task force and to make policy recommen­dations
to OCLC management and, through management, to the
Board. The eight were chosen because in one way or another
all had received broad recognition from their peers, and collec­tively
they represented the major segments of the library com­munity
that have an interest in unimpeded access to bibliographic
records. [The names of the members of both committees are listed
in the summary of the Users Council Meeting on page 4.]
Both committees met frequently over a period of several
months, and both submitted reports in time for consideration
by the Board of Trustees at their December 17 meeting. In their
written reports, the committees agreed with each other on cer­tain
fundamental points. They are restated here.
• The availability of OCLC-derived machine-readable records
has great potential to enhance resource sharing locally,
regionally, nationally, and even internationally, and such ac­cess
should be encouraged and facilitated, with special inter­est
given to how, through such access, the OCLC database itself
can further be enriched.
• OCLC membership is not an inherent right, but is a privilege
which carries with it certain responsibilities as well as certain
rights.
• It is recognized that protection of the database for the benefit
of the OCLC community is necessary; that uses of the database
that could adversely affect OCLC's viability should not be per­mitted;
that the interests of the membership as a whole will
take precedence over any segment.
• It is recognized that protection of the database should be on
a contractual basis with the OCLC community (which includes
both member libraries and affiliated networks).
10 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
• In the absence of a contract governing the use of records, OCLC
may properly seek to protect the Online Union Catalog by in­voking
copyright.
• Guidelines should continue to be developed to facilitate ac­cess
to bibliographic records, encourage the inclusion of hold­ings
and records of all parties, protect the database, lessen
uncertainty and increase the predictability of library, network
and OCLC decisions in the use of the database.
• Account should be taken of these objectives and guidelines in
negotiating and administering new agreements between and
among OCLC, networks and the general members concerning
the use of members' records obtained from the Online database
and in negotiating agreements with non-member libraries and
other third parties.
• The need for continuing library input is recognized. One com­mittee
recommended the appointment by the Board of Trustees
of an advisory committee to provide input by the member­ship
and the library and information community in general as
future issues and problems arise. The other committee recom­mended
an appeal procedure under certain circumstances in
case of a dispute with a member library.
The reports were accepted by the Board for further detailed
study, and certain general principles or recommendations pro­posed
in the documents were adopted. Specifically, the Board
approved the following four recommendations, which were
based on input from the COCA report:
1. That the Board affirms the use of contract language as an
alternative to copyright for protection and use of records from
the online database as it pertains to general members and net­works,
but that copyright be an available option for use against
third-party infringers.
2 . That the Board instruct OCLC management and the OCLC con­tract
negotiating team to propose to the network contract
group specific language to the effect that reliance for protec­tion
of the database be on a contractual basis rather than on
a copyright basis; that OCLC will not invoke copyright against
its membership; and that account should be taken of these
guidelines for sharing and use of members' records from the
online database with non-member libraries and other third
parties in negotiating the new contract.
3 . That the Board create a committee to study issues and prob­lems
arising from the interpretation of the guidelines for the
sharing of records and the use of the database. The commit­tee
should recommend to the Board, from time to time, ad­ditions
or refinements to the guidelines. The committee may
also recommend policies to the Board on additional ways to
protect the database and on the establishment of fees and
licenses. It is contemplated that the committee appointed by
the Board of Trustees, will include representation from the
OCLC Board, OCLC Users Council, OCLC management and
the Network Directors. However, the Board should seek the
advice of the OCLC Users Council and the Network Direc­tors
prior to determining the composition of the committee.
The committee should feel free to invite others from the li­brary
and information community or from the private and
public sectors, to assist in addressing specific policy issues.
4 . That to the extent that OCLC realizes supplemental net in­come
from licenses or other contractual agreements for the
specific use of the database outside the regular OCLC serv­ices
income and in keeping with the principles of shared use
of OCLC-derived records, such aggregate net revenue ... be
used to supplement funds expended for the enhancement, in­cluding
quality, of the OCLC databases on behalf of the mem­bership
and library community.
The Board also approved the following statement from there­port
of the Select Committee on Third Party Use:
The following Principles shall apply to protection of the
Online Union Catalog and use of Records by Third Parties.
A. Protection of the Online Union Catalog for the
benefit of the OCLC membership is necessary.
B. Protection of the Online Union Catalog is best
achieved through contracts with users or with OCLC­affiliated
networks.
C. Contracts with Third Parties shall provide for appro­priate
compensation, financial or otherwise, for the
use of records.
D. In tlie absence of a contract governing Third Party
use, OCLC may seek to protect the Online Union Cat­alog
by invoking its copyright in the OCLC database.
Both committee reports contained a series of general guidelines,
as well. While these were approved in each case by a majority
of the committee, there were some minority positions regarding
substance and language. The OCLC Board charged its manage­ment
to develop a single set of guidelines from the two sets and
to indicate to what extent, if any, the guidelines differ from the
guidelines with which OCLC has been operating. Management's
report, together with the two committee reports and comments
received from the Users Council at its forthcoming January
meeting, will be the subject of study and action of the Board of
Trustees at its meeting in February.
* * *
It is our firm conviction that both the OCLC Board of Trustees
and its management representatives have acted prudently and
responsibly in the fulfillment of their fiduciary trust to the OCLC
membership and to the library world. We further believe that
both copyright of the OCLC database and the contract language
that has been used and proposed will protect the rights and in­terests
of the OCLC membership and will, at the same time,
enhance, not impede, resource sharing and access to informa­tion
by the library world in general.
(
We have listened attentively to and considered carefully what('
has been said and is being said by our supporters and detractors
in the library world. We hope that when the outcry subsides you
will carefully and calmly examine what has been created in OCLC
and that you will understand the complex reasons for our hav­ing
embarked on a course that we knew to be controversial and
fraught with emotion. When you have done this, we hope you
will agree that OCLC is worth nurturing and preserving, not just
for what it has done, but for what it can do.
Rowland C. W. Brown
NOTE:
During the discussion at the hearing, OCLC informed the Task
Force of the agreements with AMIGOS and SOLINET so that bib­liographic
records converted to machine-readable form by the
retrospective conversion services of these regional networks will
be tapeloaded into the OCLC Online Union Catalog (see story
on page 16 of this Newsletter). By these special agreements, OCLC
accepts the fact that these services, which are competitive with
OCLC, depend for their operation on access to bibliographic data­bases
that include significant numbers of records derived from
the OCLC Online Union Catalog, and this is a further indication
of the manner in which OCLC is approaching the issue of access
on behalf of the library community in general.
(
(
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 11
Pearse Named Users Council Coordinator
Rowland Brown, President of OCLC,
and Irene Hoadley, President of the OCLC
Users Council, have announced the ap­pointment
of Leslie Pearse as Users Coun­cil
Coordinator. Ms. Pearse attended her
first Users Council meeting january 20-22
and began her new duties at OCLC on
January 28.
Ms. Pearse joined OCLC in 1979 as a
User Documentation Specialist I. Most
recently she served as a User Documenta­tion
Specialist II with her major respon­sibility
being documentation for LS/2000,
OCLC's local library system.
A high school teacher of English and
German for seven years, Ms. Pearse re­ceived
the B.A. in English and the M.A. in
English Education from Duke University.
She received the M.L.S. degree from the
University of North Carolina at Cha,pel
Hill. She has also served as a library in­tern
at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Library at the Research Triangle
Park in North Carolina.
As Users Council Coordinator Ms. Pearse
will serve as a link for communication be­tween
libraries and OCLC for input into
decision making. She will maintain com­munications
with the Council as well as
between the Council, OCLC Management,
and the OCLC Board of Trustees. She will
keep the Council informed and abreast of
OCLC activities.
The second Coordinator in the Users
Council's history, Ms. Pearse succeeds
Sharon Walbridge, who served in that post
from March 1979 until January 1985. Ms.
Walbridge has been named Special Assis­tant
to OCLC President Rowland Brown.
Leslie Pearse
OCLC to Offer Selected Printers and Modems
Beginning in March libraries will be able
to order OCLC-supplied printers and dial­access
modems from their network. This
new service is in accordance with OCLC's
goal of providing a complete microcom­puter-
based workstation to its users, in­cluding
an OCLC M300 Workstation and
the hardware to go with it.
The OCLC M300 Workstation, a
customized IBM Personal Computer and
OCLC terminal available since March 1984,
can also be used for many standalone func­tions
or as a dial-access terminal to either
OCLC or other computer services, thus in­creasing
user need for hardware acces­sories.
For example, libraries using OCLC­deve1oped
software packages (the Catalog­ing
and Interlibrary Loan Micro Enhancers)
through dial access communication for the
M300 use OCLC-designated auto-dial
modems. The Micro Enhancers' ability to
generate locally printed reports and other
printouts made it more important than
ever before for users to acquire reliable,
compatible printers. So did the M300's
ability to perform nonlibrary functions,
such as word processing and budget man­agement.
Epson Printers
Users can order OCLC-evaluated and se­lected
Epson printers: models FX 80, FX
100, and LQ 1500. These printers have
been tested and proven to work with all
OCLC terminals. They are able to print
OCLC I ALA special characters and
diacritics when used with an M300. These
Epson printers perform a variety of tasks,
including printing spine labels, interlibrary
By Ken Thomas
loan pending requests, reports, and many
other related functions. Epson printers are
one of the most popular printers chosen
for use with the IBM Personal Computer
and are well known for their durability,
versatility, software compatibility and print
quality. Each printer available through
OCLC is backed by Epson's one-year war­ranty.
There are more than 1,000 author­ized
Epson service centers in the United
States.
Printers are shipped to users directly
from an Epson distributor, complete with
proper cables for use with the specified
OCLC terminal (100, 105, 110, M300) and
an initial ribbon cartridge. The three
models available through OCLC use stan­dard
paper and Epson cartridge-type rib­bons.
Printer translation tables are built
into M300 software to enable the printer
to print the entire ALA character set. All
three are dot matrix printers, featuring two
user-selectable print speeds. When used
with appropriate software, all three allow
users to integrate graphics (e.g., bar charts)
into text. They also feature programmable
line spacing, page length, column width,
and perforation skipping. One of the avail­able
models, the Epson FX 80, FX 100, or
the LQ 1500, is right for most libraries'
needs.
Hayes Modems
OCLC also supplies Hayes modems, the
Smartmodem 1200 and Smartmodem
1200B, for M300 users. Hayes Smart­modems
dial, answer, and disconnect calls
automatically, enabling them to operate
unattended. They can redial, on com-mand,
the last number dialed. Because dial
access can be accomplished without a tel­ephone
receiver, users experience less
distortion and fewer transmission losses
than with an acoustic coupler.
Both the Hayes Smartmodem 1200 and
120GB have their own companion soft­ware:
Smartcom II. Smartcom II is an an­synchronous
communications package
designed for user with the IBM PC. Both
models operate with rotary dial, Touch­Tone,
and key-set systems. Both operate
at full or half duplex, providing compati­bility
with most time-sharing systems. The ·
Smartmodem 1200 and 120GB were
designed to perform over long distances
and with large volumes of data and oper­ate
at 300 or 1200 bits per second. These
modems are recommended by OCLC for
dial access use of its Cataloging and Inter­library
Loan Micro Enhancers and the new
Serial Control 350 service. Many IBM PC
software applications packages using asyn­chronous
communication have also been
developed for use with Hayes modems.
The 1200 and 1200B come with manufac­turer's
manuals providing users with setup
and use instructions.
Hayes modems are covered by a two­year
warranty and instructions for acquir­ing
service, if needed, are included in the
users manual.
OCLC's prices for compatible hardware
components are below suggested retail, so
libraries pay no more for this extra serv­ice.
Prices and order forms for Epson
· printers and Hayes modems are available
from participating network offices. Ken
Thomas is a Senior Support & Training
Specialists at OCLC.
12 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Empowerment at
At the ALA Midwinter Conference OCLC
unveiled new microcomputer~ based serv­ices
for retrospective conversion,
MICROCON, and serials control, SC 350.
MICROCON is a microcomputer-based
batch retrospective conversion service that
enables libraries to obtain complete retro­spective
conversion with reduced labor in­tensiveness.
It allows input of local infor­mation
by the library staff onto a rent-free
microcomputer and diskettes for subse­quent
automated searching of the OCLC
tlatabase.
SC 350 is a microcomputer-based serials
control system that enables serials librari­ans
to decentralize certain processes and
at the same time enjoy the benefits that
derive from access to the over 600,000
serials bibliographic records in the OCLC
Online Union Catalog.
Empowerment
"These new services are part of OCLC's
continuing commitment to empower the
library by using new technologies," said
OCLC President Rowland c: W. Brown at
a press conference on Jan. 5 at. the Sher~
aton Washington Hotel. "Through the
power of the micrcomputer, library staff
can do a significant amount of tasks at their
local workstation, drawing upon the cen~
tral OCLC database and telecommunica­tion
structure only when necessary.''
''Automation in the 1970s saw libraries
being able to tap into OCLC for computing
power," Mr. Brown said. "Now these li~
braries have powerful local resources at
their workstations. The libraries do not
have to go to OCLC. OCLC has come to
the library.''
Removing Barriers
Mr. Brown noted that "empowerment
is going to blur the distinctions between
local and centralized systems," just as li~
brarians attest to the OCLC System's hav~
ing broken down the barriers between
technical and public services in their librar~
ies. "SC 350, MICROCON and other
developments like it are really not about
local versus centralized systems, but
removing barriers to access to informa~
tion,'' said Mr. Brown.
Microcomputer-based
Retrospective Conversion
Service Now Available
OCLC has introduced MICROCON, a
microcomputer~based batch retrospective
conversion service.
MICROCON offers an alternative to
OCLC's established retrospective conver~
sion service, RETROCON, which has pro~
vided customized conversion services to
libraries since 1976.
MICROCON libraries use their own staff
to enter search keys and local data onto
diskettes, using rent-free M300 Worksta~
tions provided by OCLC. The diskettes are
returned to OCLC, where the data are
transferred to tape and compared with the
Online Union Catalog for matching rec­ords.
Studies conducted at OCLC indicate
that hit rates can exceed 91%. The con­tracting
library's holding symbol and local
data are then added to those records for
which matches are found.
OCLC staff then produce an OCLC­MARC
tape containing the modified
matching records. These tapes provide a
foundation for use of the OCLC Interli­brary
Loan, Serials Control, and Acquisi­tions
Subsystems.
Both MICROCON and RETROCON rely
on the record~matching potential of the
OCLC Online Union Catalog, the world's
largest bibliographic database with nearly
12 million bibliographic records in 300
languages.
User manuals, M300 Workstations,
diskettes, and tapes are all provided free
of charge. Libraries are charged only for
those search keys that result in a single hit.
And, because library staff provide most of
·the labor, out~of-pocket costs are kept to
a minimum.
Other MICROCON features include:
• conversion of headings to AACR2 or
compatible form at no extra charge;
• conversion of records for eight types of
materials from roman-alphabet col~
lections;
• full OCLC-MARC records, not abbre­viated
records;
• holding symbols added to records in the
Online Union Catalog.
• IBM PC~compatible software.
For details about MICROCON, librar­ies
should contact participating network
offices or Maureen Finn at OCLC. Call
(800) 848-5878 (outside Ohio) or (800)
848-8286 (in Ohio).
(
(
\
the Local Level
(
( OCLC Introduces SC350-A
Microcomputer-based
Serials Control System
In January OCLC introduced Serials Con­trol
350, a microcomputer-based system
that provides librarians with a powerful
local serials control as well as access to the
OCLC Online Union Catalog which con­tains
over 500,000 serials bibliographic
records.
Serials Control 350 (SC350) has been
developed for use with the OCLC M300
Workstation, a modified IBM Personal Com­puter.
It supports a full range of techni­cal
services needs, including bibliographic
record selection and transfer, automatic
check-in and claiming, routing, binding,
financial control, report generation, as
well as a public searching capability.
Changing Environment
OCLC created SC350 in response to a
changing technological environment and
the expressed needs of many libraries. In
addition to its many advantages as a micro­computer-
based service, SC350 maintains
links to the OCLC Online System that en­able
users to benefit from access to serv­ices
provided by a centralized system.
These services include transfer of biblio­graphic
data to the local site and transfer
of union list holdings from the local site
to the central and ·national database of
union list holdings.
Interactive Local Link
LS/2000, OCLC's local library system,
will be providing an interactive link with
SC350. The link will allow libraries to
transfer summary and detailed holdings in­formation
into the LS/2000 Online Cata­log
and Circulation system in order to
maintain a truly integrated local library
system.
Use of the M300 Workstation for local­ized
serials control allows libraries greater
flexibility and increased processing op­tions,
including operation during hours
when the OCLC Online System is unavail­able.
SC350 users can access local serials
records 24 hours a day, seven days a week
from their M300 \Vorkstations.
Options
SC350 offers a full range of capabilities
that will let libraries select options best
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 13
suited for their needs. Expandable storage
accommodates small as well as larger serials
collections and special collections.
Through participating network offices,
OCLC will offer SC350 users the same high
level of support provided to all Online
Systems users. OCLC's microcomputer ex­perience,
combined with that of networks,
provides SC350 users with the expertise
required to maintain and enhance SC350.
Eligibility
Any interested OCLC member library is
eligible to use SC350. Equipment needs
will vary, but basics include the M300
Workstation, a hard disk storage device, a
printer, and the software needed to sup­port
the service. SC350 is based on soft­ware
developed for OCLC by MetaMicro
Library Systems, San Antonio, Texas.
For details about Serials Control350, li­braries
should contact participating net­work
offices or OCLC. Call 800-848-5878
(outside Ohio), 800-848-8286 (inside Ohio).
14 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Survey Results
Over Half of OCLC Members Own Micros
Which libraries own what microcom­puters,
and what do they do with them?
OCLC conducted a telephone survey last
May and June to determine the pattern of
microcomputer ownership, usage of
microcomputers, and decision points for
selecting microcomputers and software. In
total, 365 OCLC members and 148 non­OCLC
members who were randomly se­lected
to participate were interviewed.
Data for OCLC members were compared
with those from a similar study in 1983.
This was the first survey of non-OCLC
members on microcomputer usage.
The following is a partial summary of
the survey results:
Ownership
Ownership of microcomputers has
grown since 1983. The level of ownership
grew from 35 percent of OCLC members
owning microcomputers in 1983 to 57
percent of OCLC members owning
microcomputers in 1984. Academic Re­search
and Academic libraries have had the
largest growth in ownership since 1983.
By Diane Cellentani
Twenty percent of the non-OCLC mem­bers
own microcomputers. Non-OCLC
members were not interviewed in 1983,
so no comparisons can be made.
Number Owned
The number of microcomputers owned
by a library has increased since 1983.
OCLC members' ownership has shifted
from owning just one microcomputer to
owning between two to four microcom­puters.
The shift is attributed to Academic
and "other" libraries. Non-members are
likely to own only one microcomputer.
Brand Owned
The leading microcomputer in libraries
thus far is Apple, with 40 percent of librar­ies
surveyed reporting ownership of that
brand. IBM, however, showed a dramatic
increase from 19 to 32 percent of those
micros owned by libraries; this growth was
at the expense of the TRS-80 and "other"
microcomputers.
OCLC to Publish
Microcomputer Magazine
This spring OCLC plans to publish a
magazine for users of its M300 Worksta­tion
and the IBM PC.
Each issue of OCLC Micro will feature
articles, tips from OCLC and network staff,
users' comments, small programs, solu­tions
to problems, hardware and software
reviews, and article abstracts. Some issues
will have diskettes containing helpful pro­grams
that Users can take advantage of im­mediately.
OCLC Micro was created to share infor­mation
among M300 Workstation and IBM
PC users, but some articles will be geared
toward other popular microcomputers,
such as the Apple II and the Macintosh.
Hints & Tips
According to Tom Harnish, Manager of
the OCLC MicroSystems Department,
OCLC Micro ~:ill be a useful tool for mi­cro
users in libraries. "We think it's the
most direct, and therefore best, way to
communicate with library microcomputer
users to provide a convenient source of
support," says Mr. Harnish. "We'll be
bringing together the little hints and tips
that make using micros easier on a day-to-day
basis. Every issue will have something
important in it to help the person at or in
charge of the microcomputer in a library
save time, money, or both."
Diskettes
Ginni Voedisch, of OCLC's Documenta­tion
Department and the Editor of OCLC
Micro, describes the magazine's format as
"Small-six by nine inches-just the right
size to fit in a slipcase or binder like those
for the M300 manuals. We chose those
dimensions so users could keep the issues
handy, right near the computer where
they'll be using it." Ms. Voedisch adds,
''The diskettes that will accompany some
issues wjll be timesavers in themselves be­cause
readers won't have to key in pro­grams
as they do with programs printed
in some computer magazines."
Beginning with the premiere issue in
March, OCLC Micro will be published
every other month, with monthly issues
during November and December. The sub­scription
cost is 530 per year.
Libraries interested in contributing ar­ticles
to or subscribing to OCLC Micro
should contact their network offices or
Ginni Voedisch at OCLC.
Microcomputer Usage
The most often mentioned purposes for
purchasing microcomputers for libraries
are:
1. word processing
2 . spreadsheets (accounting,
scheduling, and statistical
reports)
3 . accessing an offsite database
4 . acquisitions (bookkeeping)
5 . cataloging
The libraries stated they use the
microcomputers to perform the same type
of tasks as they did when the machines
were first purchased.
Future Purchases and Uses
Of the libraries who currently do not
own microcomputers, the OCLC members
are almost twice as likely as nonmembers
to buy microcomputers. IBM is the most
popular brand among both OCLC members
and nonmembers for future purchases.
These future microcomputer owners plan
to perform the same activities as current
owners, except for a slight decrease in
word processing and slight increases in ac­quisitions
(fund accounting), serials con­trol
and interlibrary loan.
For a complete summary of the results
of this survey, contact your network of­fice.
-Diane Cellentani is a Marketing
Analyst at OCLC.
(
c
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"
OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 15
Acquisitions Direct Transmission Operational
What's faster than a
speeding bullet? More
powerful than a post­age
meter? Able to
leap mailrooms in a
single bound? No, it's
not the Man (or
But, if you said Direct
Transmission (DX), you were right.
DX is the new service that OCLC is pro­viding
to users of its Acquisitions Subsystem.
By preparing ACQ records for electronic
transmission, OCLC is working in coopera­tion
with library suppliers and vendors. Par­ticipating
vendors can dial into the OCLC
system and pick up their orders via phone
lines, without waiting for the mail.
DX became operational on Monday, Oc­tober
29, 1984, with the Coutts Library
Senrice as the ftrst participating vendor. One
of the original test sites, Coutts receives their
orders in the print image format, which in­cludes
all the information of a regular
printed form. Since then, they have been
joined by seven other vendors: Black­well
North America (another test vendor),
Yankee Book Peddler, Research Micropub­lishers
Service, Midwest Library Service,
RSC Books & Periodicals, John Menzies Li­brary
Service, and James Bennett Group.
Other vendors have expressed interest and
are in the process of profiling and testing.
BISAC
The DX system can actually bypass the
by Linda Gabel
postal service. Depending on the request and
the vendor, an order placed before 10 p.m.
of one day can be picked up by that vendor
any time after 6 a.m. the next day. DX is
operational during the same hours as the
Online System (6 a.m. to 10 p.m., E.T., Mon­day
through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
E.T., Saturday). Orders can be transmitted
either in a print image format, or in the
BISAC (Book Industry Systems Advisory
Committee) fiXed length format. And if the
vendor never picks up the order, all is not
lost. The order is automatically printed and
sent to the vendor if three days have elapsed
without vendor action.
Participation
All libraries participating in the ACQ Sub­system
can use OX. Orders will be routed
to DX if!) the vendor is a DX participant;
2) the status of the record is "ordered" (no
claims or requests for information are han­dled
via DX); 3) the item being ordered is
a monograph; and 4) the item is in a print
medium (e.g., not AV or a sound recording).
If any of these conditions are not met, the
request will be sent through the print pro­duction
channel. If a user decides that a
paper order form must be produced for the
vendor, he or she can request that the order
not go through DX. Otherwise, the system
will default to "ship best way" transmission.
Transparent
. The DX process is transparent to the user.
The terminal operator can continue to use
Eight Vendors Become
DX Participants
Blackwell North America, Coutts Library
Service, James Bennett Group, John Men­zies
Library Service, Midwest Library Serv­ice,
Research Micropublishers, RSC Books
& Periodicals and Yankee Book Peddler
have agreed to take part in OCLC's Direct
Transmission (DX) service for users of the
OCLC Acquistions Subsystem.
DX became operational on October 29.
Coutts Library Service and Blackwell
North America were among the first to test
the DX service last summer.
In addition to the five vendors already
participating, others have expressed inter­est
in DX and are in the process of profil­ing
and training.
Electronic
The DX service enables OCLC Acquisi­tions
Subsystem users to place orders elec­tronically
rather than through the mail.
Orders are generated at the library, then
forwarded via OCLC terminals to OCLC,
where participating vendors retrieve their
·orders by dialing into OCLC's computer.
The Acquisitions Subsystem streamlines
ordering for libraries by reducing the need
for manual record keeping, and DX serv­ice
further expedites the process by
decreasing reliance on the postal service.
Vendors benefit from DX because they get
orders faster, reducing their reliance on
manual processes and enabling them to re­spond
more effectively.
BISAC
For example, an order placed by 10 p.m.
one day may be retrieved by the desig­nated
vendor any time after 6 a.m. the
following day. OCLC's DX service is avail­able
92 hours per week, the same hours the
Online System is available. Orders can be
transmitted in either of two formats, a
print image format or in the BISAC (Book
Industry Systems Advisory Committee)
fixed length format. Should a vendor not
''pick up'' orders during the 72-hour wait­ing
period, the DX service automatically
prints and mails them.
the same Name Address Control Number
(NACN) from the Name Address Directory
(NAD) as before. The library will continue
to get conf1m1ation copies of the action
forms if they are requested. The library's ac­tion
forms will indicate that the order went
DX by the addition of the letters "DX" to
the order number on the form. What the li­brary
should see is quicker turnaround time
for order fulfillment, reduced postage
charges, and less reliance on a paper
product.
DataCom
Two new fields were added to the NAD
record to make DX operational-the
DataCom and the DX Xref fields. The
DataCom is found on the NAD record that
acts as the chief receiving location for the
vendor. The DX Xref field will be found on
other NAD records for addresses within the
vendor's organizatio~ that are participating
in DX, but not direl::tly. The NAD Help
screens now include1 both fields.
OCLC will announce new vendors join­ing
DX in various ways. Libraries can always
check the NAD record to see if a favorite
vendor now has a DataCom field for DX.
The logon message and Online System Con­dition
Report will also announce when new
vendors come on. A comprehensive listing
of DX vendors will be published regularly
in the OCLC Newsletter and in other OCLC
communica~ions .
Librarians who know of vendors that may
be interested can direct them to the DX
Coordinator for more information. OCLC
staff will work with vendors to assist in
determining if DX can help them. In addi­tion,
OCLC can send information explain­ing
what the system can do, and what equip­ment
will be needed. Linda Gabel is DX
Coordinator at OCLC.
2114
16 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
AMIGOS, SOLINET to Integrate Retrospective
Conversion Records with OCLC Database (
DUBLIN, Ohio, Dec. 20-0CLC has en­tered
into agreements with AMIGOS and
SOLINET so that bibliographic records
converted to machine-readable form by
these retrospective conversion services of
these regional networks will be tapeloaded
into the OCLC Online Union Catalog.
Tapeloading will consist of records previ­ously
converted by AMIGOS and SOLINET
as well as those from ongoing projects.
"The addition of holdings from the
AMIGOS and SOLINET retrospective con­version
services will enhance the value of
OCLC 's national Online Union Catalog for
all OCLC members," says Kenneth Harris,
OCLC Senior Vice President, Marketing
and Field Operations. ''Tapeloading pro­vides
expanded access to information at
minimal costs to, the participating net­works."
An estimated minimum of 250,000 hold­ings
will be added by tape in the next year.
AMIGOS
AMIGOS began its retrospective conver­sion
service in 1978 and has developed its
SHARES database especially for conversion
of non-current cataloging to machine­readable
form.
''The addition of retrospective holdings
information from libraries using the
AMIGOS SHARES database for retrospec­tive
conversion will facilitate resource­sharing
throughout the OCLC com­munity,"
says Louella Wetherbee, Ex-ecutive
Director of AMIGOS. ''Many of
these libraries have special collections
whose availability will become more
widely known through this new
tapeloading agreement.''
SOLINET
The SOLINET retrospective conversion
service has converted over 1.1 million rec­ords
since its establishment in February
1983. SOLINET uses both its own com­puter
system and database and the OCLC
Online System for retrospective catalog­ing.
With a conversion staff of 55 persons
using 25 terminals and the 1.7 million rec­ords
in the Southeastern database,
SOLINET has 44 conversion projects com­pleted
or in progress. According to Frank
Grisham, Executive Director of SOLINET,
''The sharing of retrospective cataloging
infermation by tapeload underscores the
long-standing commitment of AMIGOS,
SOLINET and OCLC to cooperate in ways
that will increase availability of library re­sources
while reducing library costs.
OCLC, the networks and most impor­tantly,
libraries, will all benefit from this
agreement.''
OCLC Control Number
The bibliographic records on tape pro­vided
to OCLC by AMIGOS and SOLINET
will have OCLC control numbers (each
record that enters the OCLC database is
assigned a unique number) that will be
matched with records in the OCLC
database. When a match occurs, the hold­ing
symbol of the library will be attached
~o the bibliographic record in the OCLC
database. ''We anticipate a 100 percent suc­cess
ratio in the matching," says Mr.
Harris. ''This tapeloading endeavor will be
conducted at minimum cost to libraries,
networks, and OCLC."
OCLC is scheduled to begin processing
previously-converted records from the
two networks as soon as they are available.
OCLC Retrospective Conversion
The tapeloading agreement adds another
dimension to retrospective conversion ac­tivity
in the OCLC community. Member li­braries
can do their own retrospective con­version
online to OCLC at reduced costs
\
for authorized projects. The OCLC Retro­spective
Conversion Service, with its two
shifts of 75 terminal operators, has con­verted
over 10 million records since 1976.
Recently, OCLC also has introduced MI­CROCON,
a microcomputer-based batch
retrospective conversion service that en­ables
library staffs to enter search keys and
local data onto diskettes using rent-free ,/
M300 Workstations provided by OCLC. \.
The diskettes are returned to OCLC, where
the data are transferred to tape and com­pared
with the OCLC Online Union Cata-log
for matching records.
SUNY University Centers to Tapeload
Albany, NY, December 20-The State
University of New York and OCLC Online
Computer Library Center have entered
into an agreement to strengthen library re­source
sharing in New York through the
statewide database that is maintained in
the Center's national online union catalog.
The agreement allows the four SUNY
University Centers at Albany, Binghamton,
Buffalo and Stony Brook to become
tapeloading members of OCLC by loading
all of their "current cataloging" into the
OCLC database by tape.
''This agreement,'' said SUNY Assistant
Vice Chancellor for Library Service Glyn
Evans, ''completes the longstanding SUNY
plan for resource sharing among all of its
library components." Binghamton was the
first of the University Centers to become
an OCLC tapeloading member.
New York Database
According to Clifton R. Wharton, Jr.,
Chancellor of SUNY, the agreement will
"keep intact the New York State database"
to which 570 libraries in the state con­tribute
and share information.
''The New York library database repre­sents
a signal investment in education by
the citizens of New York and by the State
University in particular,'' said Chancellor
Wharton. "Without this agreement librar­ies
in New York that opt to participate in
non-OCLC bibliographic networks would
find themselves precluded from sharing li­brary
resources with the rest of the State.
These major institutions can continue to
participate in this significant sharing effort
along with the other 570 libraries that con­tribute
to the SUNY/OCLC database."
Under the arrangement, the four SUNY
institutions will contribute cataloging data
by tape, participate in the serials union list
(New York Serials Database) program, and
use the Interlibrary Loan subsystem to
communicate with their sister institutions
in New York State.
System of Choice
Rowland Brown, President of OCLC,
said: "We are pleased that the SUNY sys­tem
has recognized OCLC as the system of
choice. OCLC and SUNY have a long
history of cooperation, and the implemen­tation
of this deCision by SUNY should be
welcome news for educators and other li­brary
users in the State of New York."
''OCLC is vital to higher education in the
State of New York," said Chancellor
Wharton. "It provides a cost-effective way
to share library resources and to make in­formation
available to the scholarly com­munity
rapidly and effectively."
''The continued contribution of biblio­graphic
data by the SUNY University
Centers to the OCLC database, and the
availability of that data to other libraries
in New York-and elsewhere-is right­fully
regarded as critical to the information
chain.''
'
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OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985 17
Union Listing:
A Reference Perspective
Editor,s note:
The following paper was presented last
spring at the Pittsburgh Regional Library
Center conference.
It was during the summer of 1978 and
1979 when I was assigned to cover the
serials department at Indiana University of
Pennsylvania (IUP) that a union list proj­ect
was just getting under way in the Pitts­burgh
Regional Library Center (PRLC). The
decision had followed that IUP would par­ticipate
in this project, and it would be my
responsibility to develop the necessary
procedures to accomplish the work.
Shortly, I was invited to join the Ad Hoc
Union List of Serials Committee. The
primary purpose of the committee was to
provide for continuing union list activities
by PRLC libraries. This included participa­tion
by PRLC libraries in the Pennsylvania
Union List of Serials (PaULS). My involve­ment
in the PaULS Project has continued
as part of my responsibilities as librarian
at the Armstrong Campus of IUP.
As the project Proceeded, I soon noticed
how a computerized union list would re­late
to and enhance reference and interli­brary
loan services. However, like so many
other libraries, a shortage of terminals,
staff, and time restricted the development
of any major plan of action for participa­tion
in PaULS at IUP. The utilization of
dial-access from the Armstrong Campus
eventually offered a viable short-term solu­tion
to our immediate problem. However,
larger issues were before the advisory com­mittee.
Local Maintenance
Even in the first year of PaULS, the com­mittee
under the leadership of Ms. Ruth
Carter, began to address the question of
future maintenance. Although the project
had been initiated by participating librar­ies
submitting union list report forms
(known as "blue slips') of specific holdings
which were input at a central location, the
time would come when each institution
would have to assume local maintenance.
There was general agreement that local
maintenance would be the key for keep­ing
PaULS viable, however, there were
questions regarding its feasibility for some
institutions. In order to better ascertain an
answer to this, IUP was targeted to be an
experimental site for local maintenance in
order to provide some observable data
which would address two main questions:
Was local maintenance feasible? If so, in
what manner would it most likely occur?
Would dial access be adequate fOr union
list inputting?
by James Hooks
-
The IUP experience demonstrated that
local union list maintenance was possible
with existing staff but with some modifica­tion,
especially if little additional staff time
could be provided. In most instances, local
maintenance could be absorbed into the
normal work flow. Each participating in­stitution
would decide which manner of
maintenance best suited its situation. In­putting
might be selective rather than com­prehensive,
and selectivity might be based
upon unique holdings, indexed titles, or
other special criteria. Also, it was deter­mined
that dial access inputting (follow­ing
OCLC's conversion to the union list
format) was both possible and adequate.
Easy Transition
Because union listing requires only a few
basic OCLC Commands, terminal operators
are able to learn or make the transition to
dial access with reasonable ease. Dial ac­cess
users soon become both machine con­fident
and machine competent - confident
that dial access is reliable and competent
in the use of OCLC equivalent commands.
The most notable advantage of dial access
is its versatility. It may be used to access
other computer systems and databases
such as DIALOG.
At Indiana University of Pennsylvania no
major problems were encountered in up­dating
holdings in PaULS via dial access.
The one notable inconvenience is that
there is no insert capability to add or
change one or a few characters in a field.
Rather, the whole filed must be rekeyed.
Except for complicated holdings
statements this was hardly noticed. Dur­ing
most months an average of 200 IUP
local data records are reviewed. Some re­quire
change of data or need to be deleted.
Others were verified as accurate. Verifica-tion
of existing records has been con­sidered
important at IUP because of the
different tape loads and machine conver­sions
involved in the initial creation of
PaULS. This step will not be required for
existing records on an ongoing basis.
Noteworthy
Although the Reference Department is
rarely the first to receive an OCLC ter­minal,
the use of OCLC in reference I inter­library
loan service is reasonably well es­tablished
at this time. Union list access
enhances reference/interlibrary loan serv­ice
by making ''copy specific'' information
available for patron referral or interlibrary
loan transaction. Interlibrary loan requests
at IUP are about three to one in favor of
periodicals making the potential of a
broad-based and well-maintained union list
indeed noteworthy. Also, the union list
concept has significantly improved ILL
service by provi~g accurate lending loca­tions
and ultimately decreasing the tur­naround
time. Patrons in or near to
metropolitan areas may have the option to
use other institutions where referral is
clearly more satisfying for the patron when
copy specific information is avail.lble. Be­cause
of the usefulness of the union list,
the PRLC Serials Management Advisory
Committee urges all participating libraries
to actively share in local maintenance.
The online union lists are most valuable
when the records are updated on a current
basis. The experiences at IUP indicate that
even dial-up users of OCLC can provide
local maintenante on a timely basis and
with ease.
Dr. james Hooks is Librarian at the
Armstrong Campus Library of Indiana
University of Pennsylvania.
18 OCLC NEWSLETTER February 1985
Advisory Commitee on Public Libraries Meets
The newly-formed OCLC Advisory
Committee on Public Libraries met for the
first time on Nov. 30 at OCLC. Nine per­sons
representing small, medium and large
public libraries attended the day-long
meeting.
"This Committee will play a crucial
policy-advisory role on beP,alf of the more
than 600 public libraries that are members
of OCLC,'' says OCLC President Rowland
Brown. ''Public libraries comprise a large
and diverse constituency in the OCLC
community. Within OCLC there are huge
public libraries, one having more than 80
branches, and there are small one-or-two­person
public libraries serving towns and
villages. Irrespective of size and location,
American public libraries face similar prob­lems
in the public, tax-supported arena,
namely the continuing necessity to provide
better services with less tax dollars. OCLC
is committed to helping public libraries
thrive in a rapidly changing technological
environment.''
COS LA
PUBLIC LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. Seated, left to right: William Garner, Sonia Dom­bourian,
and Mary Ann Stewart. Standing, left to right: Francis Buckley, Wayne Bower, Sigrid
Reddy, Linda Saferite, and Ed Szynaka. Not pictured: Kevin Hegarty.
According to Jeanne Isacco, Program
Director for State and Public Libraries at
OCLC, the Advisory Committee will facil­itate
two-way communication between
public libraries and OCLC management
and will act as a liaison with such groups
as the Public Library Association, Chief Of­ficers
of State Library Agencies, and the
Association of Specialized and Cooperative
Library Agencies.
Coast to Coast
"The Advisory Committee is comprised
of people with broad experience in public
libraries operating in a variety of settings,''
says Ms. Isacco. "Representation is from
coast to coast, from small rural to large ur­ban
public libraries."
Planning
The Committee discussed OCLC's plan­ning
with respect to public libraries, new
membership alternatives and their effects
on public libraries, impact of new pricing
concepts on public libraries and process­ing
centers, and the evolving complicated
relationships in which OCLC, the Net­works
and libraries exist.
Members
Members of the OCLC Advisory Com­mittee
on Public Libraries are:
Wayne Bower, Associate Director,
Alburquerque (NM) Public Library
Francis Buckley, Assistant Director
for Technical Services and Collection
Development, Detroit (MI) Public
Library
Sona Dombourian, Assistant Director,
Lafayette (LA) Public Library
William Garner, Assistant Director,
Louisville (KY) Public Library
Kevin Hegarty, Director, Tacoma
(W A) Public Library
Sigrid Reddy, Director, Watertown
(MA) Free Public Library
Linda Saferite, Director, Scottsdale
(AZ) Public Library
Mary Ann Stewart, Head of Technical
Services, Riverbend Library System,
Coal Valley, lL
Ed Szynaka, Director, Pasadena (CA)
Public Library
OCLC Honors Lyle Wright Participants at ALA Midwinter
OCLC honored 13 research libraries for their participation
in the Lyle Wright American Fiction Series Cooperative Catalog­ing
project at a reception for research libraries at ALA Midwinter
in Washington, D.C. on January 7.
Participants were: University of Arizona, University of Utah,
University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, Florida State
University, New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State Univer­sity,
Texas A & M University, University of Georgia, University
of Illinois, University of Notre Dame, University of Southern
California, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Also involved in the project were Jeffrey Heynen, Director
of the Association of Research Libraries' Microform Project Clear­inghouse
on Cataloging Microform Sets, and staff members from
Research Publications, Inc. and OCLC.
Thanks to the efforts of these research libraries OCLC mem­bers
will be able to obtain cataloging copy for the large micro­film
set, the Lyle Wright American Fiction Series, without search­ing
each title individually. Member libraries also will be able to
Dr. Donald E. Riggs, Librarian, Arizona State University Library
Susan K. Phillips, Assistant Director for Bibliographic Control '
(l~ft) and Linda Williams, Head, Automated Cataloging Depart- "'
ment, of the University of Texas at Austin.
have their local call numbers attached to each title. The 13 re­search
libraries accomplished this important project without out­side
funding.
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Mary Ellen jacob
and
Michael McGill
Named OCLC
Vice Presidents
OCLC President Rowland C. W. Brown
has announced the appointments of Mary
Ellen Jacob and Michael McGill as Vice­Presidents
at the Dublin-based library com­puter
service and research organization.
Mary Ellen ] a cob has been named Vice
President, Library Planning. Ms. Jacob
joined OCLC in 1977 as Director, User
Services Division. In 1982 she was named
Director for Library Planning. Previously
she was Associate Librarian for Technica~
Services at the University of Sydney Li­brary,
Sydney, Australia, which she joined
in 1969. From 1964 to 1969 she was ref­erence
librarian at Sandia Corporation.
National Liaison
1980 to 1981 he was Senior Computer and
Information Science Advisor, Office of
Toxic Substances, U.S. Environmental Pro­tection
Agency, where he .. helped to de­velop
the Chemical Substances Informa­tion
Network to support regulatory,
industrial, and academic organizations and
state and foreign governments in their ac­tivities
relating to chemical substances.
Textbook Author
Dr. McGill has had published numerous
articles on information science. He is
coauthor, with Gerard Salton, of a 1983
textbook, Introduction to Modern Infor­mation
Retrieval. He is also the recipient
of five awards from the System Develop­ment
Foundation, National Science Foun-dation,
and New York State Research
Council. He served as Chairman of the
Sixth International Information Retrieval
Conference in Washington, D.C. in 1983,
and was U.S. National Chairman for the
Third and Fifth International Information
Retrieval Conferences in the United
Kingdom in 1980 and Berlin, West Ger­many
in 1982. He has also served as editor
and reviewer for various journals in library
and information science. From 1974 to
1980 Dr. McGill was on the faculty and an
Assistant Dean of the School of Informa­tion
Studies, Syracuse University. He
received the B.A. from Michigan State Uni­versity,
the M.A. from Syracuse University,
and the Ph.D. in Computer and Informa­tion
Science from Syracuse University. He
is a resident of Worthington, Ohio.
Ms. Jacob is responsible for OCLC's
strategic planning activities and liaison on
national level programs including CONSER
(Conversion of Serials), the National En­dowment
for the Humanities U.S. News­papers
Program, the Association for Re­search
Libraries Microform Advisory
Committee, the National Information Stan­dards
Organization (NISO, formerly the
American National Standards Organiza­tion)
Institute Committee Z39, the Library
of Congress, the National Agricultural Li­brary
and the National Library of Medicine.
She is Chairperson of the Standards Com­mittee
of the American Society for Infor­m3.
tion Science and also a member of that
group's Networking Committee. She is a
member of the Public Libraries Associa­tion's
Networking Committee and the Pro­gram
Committee and Futures Committee
of NISO. She is also a Councilor for Librar­ies,
National Information Standards Organ­ization
(NISO) Z39. Ms. Jacob is editor of
the CONSER Newsletter and the author of
numerous papers on library and informa­tion
science.
Noreault Named OCLC
Visiting Distinguished Scholar
She received a B.S. in Mechanical Engi­neering,
and an M.A. in Library Science
from the University of Michigan, and an
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Oper­ations
Research from the University of
New South Wales. She is a resident of Up­per
Arlington, Ohio.
Michael]. McGill has been named Vice
President, Research and Technical Plan­ning.
Before joining OCLC in December
1983 as Director for Technical Planning he
was Director for Information Science at
the National Science Foundation. From
Terry Noreault, Assistant Professor ofln­formation
Science at the University of
Pittsburgh, has been named Visiting
Distinguished Scholar in OCLC' s Office of
Research.
Dr. Noreault will study expert systems
and natural language access to online
systems. He will be in residence at OCLC
for six months beginning in January 1985.
Casual User
"My research will be directed toward a
system that will provide assistance to the
casual user who is formulating a search
query," says Dr. Noreault. "The software
would be microcomputer-based and
would perform some of the duties that an
intermediary might carry out in an online
search on behalf of an end user of the in­formation.''
The OCLC Visiting Distinguished
Scholar Program brings scientists, scholars,
and practitioners to OCLC's Office of Re­search
to conduct research in such fields
as library science, computer science, ap­plied
mathematics and industrial
psychology.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Noreault is Assistant Professor in the
School of Library and Information Science
at the University of Pittsburgh. He received
the B.S. degree in computer science from
The State University of New York and the
Ph.D in information transfer from Syracuse
University.
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