In this issue--
We have set the date for our 2003 NOAA Librarians' Workshop for the week of March 25-29. We have some tentative agenda items but haven't compiled them into a coherent schedule as yet. It is not too late for you to suggest topics you would like to see covered. I would suggest posting your ideas to the noaalinc e-mail list so we can all see. We will prepare an agenda and mail it out soon.
You may have noticed a recent change to NOAALINC. We contracted with Sirsi Corporation to perform authority control work on our database and Sirsi recently completed their work. Sirsi copied our database, matched the headings in the records against the Library of Congress name and subject headings, corrected headings as necessary, and loaded authorized and provisional authority control records for these headings on our server.
The users will notice that--for browse searches--NOAALINC will display "see" and "see also" references in addition to the regular headings. Clicking on these references takes you to a list of broader, narrower, and related terms. Users of the Workflows software will notice the same changes in their searches.
For example, if you enter the term "Meteorology", click the "Browse" radio button, then click "Subject", you will get a browse list with the following heading listed:
2) METEOROLOGY [1294] You will see this heading immediately below:
3) see related headings for: METEOROLOGY
When you click on that link you will get a long list (abbreviated here) of broader, narrower, and related terms ("see also" references):
For topical and geographic subject terms from all sources METEOROLOGY
1) search also under the broader term: EARTH SCIENCES
2) search also under the narrower term: AERONAUTICS IN METEOROLOGY
3) search also under the narrower term: ASTRONAUTICS IN METEOROLOGY
4) search also under the narrower term: ATMOSPHERE UPPER ROCKET OBSERVATIONS
...
10) search also under the narrower term: DUST-FALL
11) search also under the narrower term: DYNAMIC METEOROLOGY
12) search also under the narrower term: ENGINEERING METEOROLOGY
...
34) search also under: ATMOSPHERE
When you click on one of the links from the list, the system will perform a browse of that term in NOAALINC. You get similar results when you browse author, title, series, and periodical title.
The "see" references work like this: When you search on a term not used, it will point you to the authorized term (if the unauthorized term is in the authority record). For example, when you perform a browse search for "Aerology" you get the following result:
2) AEROLOGY [5] 3) see related headings for: AEROLOGY
When you click on the link on the line "see related headings for: AEROLOGY" the system will show you that the authorized heading for this subject is "Meteorology". You then click on that link and it performs the browse shown above.
You probably also noticed that you see a line that says "2) AEROLOGY". This happened because we have five records with a local subject heading of "Aerology". We will eventually correct these headings in these records to "Meteorology". Many such incorrect headings exist in NOAALINC. It will take probably several lifetimes to correct all of them, so prepare to find these inconsistencies in the database for years to come.
Sirsi has provided us with a list of headings that we will need to correct manually. We will not finish these anytime soon. In the meantime, though, we will add new authority control records to the database as needed, so expect to see new references when you search the catalog in the future.
I will further explain the process of how we will maintain this authority control database in a future note. And expect to hear more about your role in contributing to the authority control database at the spring meeting and in future notes.
Several NOAALINC libraries have begun barcoding their collections. You can do this by inputting barcodes into your OCLC-produced records or adding the barcodes to your records after loading through use of the Workflows software. You could also contract with a vendor to supply you with smart barcodes if you like, but the size of most databases in NOAALINC do not warrant the cost of doing that.
Our Unicorn system uses 14-digit code-39 barcode numbers. The first 5 digits serve to identify the library; the last digit is a check digit. The middle 8 digits provide the "actual" unique number within a library for an item. Essentially you have 99,999,999 numbers available.
For the barcode number 38398000607832 ...
...38398 stands for the NOAA Central Library,
...00060783 represents item number 60,783, and
...2 is the check digit
If you do plan to barcode your collection you must choose barcode numbers that will not conflict with those already chosen by other libraries. The system will not accept duplicate barcode numbers. If you attempt to add a barcode number that already exists in the system, the system will return an error message.
So that we don't do that, I compiled this list of the first five digits in barcode numbers already in use by libraries in NOAALINC:
You simply have to choose barcode numbers that begin with a different sequence of five numbers than the ones above to stay out of trouble. If you have chosen barcodes numbers and I don't know about it, please let me know so I can add it to the list.
In my last note I told about the OCLC recommendations for software to use Connexion. Those requirements have changed. OCLC now recommends a computer with at least a 450 MHz Pentium II processor, 64MB RAM, and a monitor with a display resolution of 1024x768. They also recommend Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, or Netscape Navigator 4.7x or 6.01 or 6.1 or 7 (but not 6.0). You can still read their complete recommendations (including settings for your software, navigation tips, etc.) at http://corc.oclc.org/html/corc/gs_login_sysreq_hardware_software.html.
Please note that, although this page still shows that they support Netscape 4.7x, they have stated recently that they will end support for all versions of Netscape 4.x by the end of this calendar year.
As of November 26, 2002 the NOAALINC database ...
If you need similar statistics for your library, or any kind of listing or count for things for your library, just let me know. If I can get it for you, I will.
Direct your questions, comments, and suggestions to me at:
Stanley Elswick
NOAA Central Library
1315 East-West Highway, Suite 2000
Silver Spring MD 20910
Phone: (301) 713-2607 x138
FAX: (301) 713-4599
Email: Stanley.Elswick@noaa.gov