----------(1)
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 16:23:02 -0500
From: Jean L Hirons <jhir@LOC.GOV>
Subject: 510 field

I wanted to respond to Steve Black's questions regarding 510 data in
OCLC records.  The 510 fields were added to CONSER records many years
ago (mid 1980's) through the CONSER Abstracting and Indexing Coverage
Project.  The plan was that several national libraries, NSDP, and A&I
services that joined CONSER at the affiliate level would maintain the
data.  Over the years, for a variety of reasons, much of the data has
not been maintained and we know that there are new services out there
that are not listed on the CONSER records.  Several years ago, a CONSER
task force was formed under the direction of Cindy Hepfer which surveyed
the community about the 510 fields.  The results were inconclusive: half
wanted them removed from CONSER records, half wanted them retained!
Those wanting them removed cited the length of records and the clutter
of numerous 510 fields; those wanting them retained noted their
usefulness for collection development and reference.

In the meantime, there have been many commercial products designed to
provide this information and this may be the better solution.  Whether
the 510 data should be retained in CONSER records will once again be
examined during the coming year, but it is safe to say that we won't be
able to update it.

When we began working on the issue of providing access to journal
titles in aggregators, we examined the use of the 510 field.  But we
realized that, like the A&I data, this information would become out of
date and would have to be edited by every library to show only those
services available in-house.

Locally, of course, libraries are free to do whatever they would like
with 510 fields.  They may be added or deleted as a library sees fit.
However, adding a link to whatever online database you subscribe to,
such as Ulrich's or EBSCO's Serials Directory, might be a better
approach as the link would not have to be maintained.

Jean Hirons
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20540-4160
voice: 202-707-5947
fax: 202-707-1778
email: jhir@loc.gov

----------(2)
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 07:13:00 EST
From: Marlehurst@aol.com
Subject: 510 Records

Good Morning, Anne, Marcia, Steve, Carol, Sally, Alice...

A friend has sent a copy of your e-mail discussion regarding the 510
records, which are so out-of-date.  One alternative is to subscribe to
the Serials MasterFile database: www.serialsmasterfile.com.  It now
contains over 32,000 titles from over 80 commercial indexes from Poole's
to the currently published ones.  Included are indexes that have ceased
(Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, Cumulated Magazine Subject
Index, Abridged Index Medicus) as well.  The coverage dates are included
whenever available.  For the coverage not available from the index
publishers, the SMF editors make matrixes from the title-list front pages
of the published indexes and develop the coverage dates from that
information...i.e. British Education Index.

It is also possible to create individualized comparison reports with the
Custom Reports capability....making purchase and purging decisions
possible at a very low cost.

If you have and questions, just let us know.

Best,
Marlene

Marlene Hurst, Senior Editor
www.serialsmasterfile.com
Tel:  248-788-0106
Fax:  248-788-2206