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Our library automation Newsletters Some of of our favorite places on the Web
A great new way to start library automation A low-cost answer to getting MARC records from the Internet Should you do a do-it-yourself recon? Hardware Headaches in the library Who's Your Tech Support?
How full is a Full MARC Record? Barcodes – Smart and Dumb Peace of mind in closing for the summer What's Coming in Library Automation Your Library on the Web Some of our favorite library places on the Web
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#5 Library Automation Q & A - an independent view *
New * A low-cost answer to getting MARC records from the Internet Robert Rowen is an independent library automation consultant and president of Library Automation Management Q: We like to do our own cataloging. Is there a fast and easy way to get pre-done MARC records without having to pay for CD-ROM subscriptions? And we don’t want to retype catalog card records from the Web. A: The answer is called "Z39.50" – not a very friendly name but it is something pretty wonderful. It is a standard means of output that allows you to both search other libraries’ catalogs on the Web AND to download their MARC records, too. Z39.50 engines were recently expensive modules of the higher-priced automation systems. But now, software from Canada called BookWhere breaks the ice for smaller libraries. You have to see it to believe it. You go online and open BookWhere. You enter a title, click on their GO icon, and the software sweeps your choice of 100+ libraries, including the Library of Congress. The MARC records pile up on the screen. You choose the record you like best. (BookWhere has lots of ways to refine or limit the search and sort or filter the results.) After you accumulate a batch of these records, you can take them by floppy, network, or email to your library management software’s import function and batch it in. The next step is to add your local call numbers and bar code numbers to the exported records. (Now, BookWhere's add-on, MARC Notepad, let's you do this, and to edit the records, also.) Even MAC users can take those MARC records from a PC and batch them into most current MAC library systems In retrieving usable MARC records, our clients have gotten 99% hit-rates, even on tough-to-match non-print sections of the collection. As you use BookWhere, you’ll refine the libraries you’ll have it search: you’ll probably keep Library of Congress on the list; Cleveland Public Library and Melvyl (the University of California system) are often good bets, too.
BookWhere and MARC Notepad can be ordered directly from Library Automation Management. A full working version of Bookwhere that can be used for a 45-day trial can be downloaded off the Web at www.BookWhere.com. Both are available for purchase from Library Automation Management.
If you have questions about automation and your library, send them to 101 Clark St, 27C, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201 or email them to Q&A@libraryautomation.com
Robert
Rowen
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