Single Record Approach for E-Materials

3/24/2008

Background:

Systems development of a generic e-loader for adding catalog records to Socrates brought focus onto the current policy of attempting to have a single bibliographic record for both a print and digital version of an identical item. Although perceived as a benefit to patrons, this policy is complex to maintain and can never be completely realized. In the context of the e-loader, the challenges it presents for the loading and maintenance of e-packages would cause lengthy delays.

The current version of the e-loader can load many packages of newer material as its matching algorithm is based on an ISXN match. By expanding its algorithm to other standard numbers (e.g., international standard music number), more can be loaded. However, because of their historical nature, hundreds of thousands of records contain no standard number of any type. To attempt to enhance the matching algorithm to successfully, and automatically, match these titles would be a costly and time-consuming effort with no guarantee of success. To delay the loading of these packages any further would put our patrons at a severe disadvantage as these valuable resources remain unavailable.

Policy:

Based on the above, the following guidelines will be followed:

1. E-packages will be loaded using the current version of the generic e-loader taking advantage of the single record approach when feasible.

2. E-packages that contain records with ISXNs will be loaded first. If some records in the packages lack ISXNs, they will be loaded without further analysis.

3. The e-loader will be expanded to incorporate other standard numbers but will not be developed further.

4. E-packages that contain records without any type of standard number will be loaded regardless of whether-or-not they create a duplicate record. A file of their control numbers will be maintained so that they can be removed from Socrates if necessary or reloaded if a more sophisticated matching algorithm is developed.

Last modified: April 1, 2008