---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 16:57:08 -0500
From: "Jean L. Hirons" <jhir@LOC.GOV>
Subject: CONSER Experiment

Dear Colleagues,

Sally Sinn and I have received a number of messages expressing interest in
the CONSER publication patterns experiment and there have been a number of
questions.  I'd like to answer a few of those questions and tell you  to
the best of my ability  what I think participation will mean.

First, of all, you do not have to be a CONSER member or qualify for
regular CONSER membership.  You do not have to be a NACO member, since
this does not involve maintenance of name headings. This is a special use
of the CONSER Enhance membership level that is restricted to publication
patterns and associated bibliographic data only. There is no minimum
number of records that we are requiring be added to or updated.  You can
basically decide what your participation will entail.  It could mean
supplying good pattern data for us to seed' CONSER records.  You might
want to add pattern data as you are converting to a predictive check-in
system.  Or you might want to limit it to new titles and frequency
changes.

What you DO need is the ability to create publication patterns (field 853)
using the MARC Holdings Format, either directly, or via output from your
system, and to add/update those patterns on OCLC.  It is also advisable
that a serials librarian or serials cataloger oversee the work, if not
actually inputting the data themselves.

The purpose of the experiment is to determine how we can share this data
among various systems.  We will be including a representative from each
major system on the task force and as a participant you will work with
your system liaison to identify problems and suggest improvements.  You
will also be included on a discussion list for all participants where you
can relate the challenges and successes you are experiencing.  Feedback is
essential and perhaps the most important part of the project.

Together we will be building a new set of guidelines, similar to the
development of the CONSER guidelines for bibliographic records that have
been developed over the past 25 years. The product of this work could be
an addition to the CONSER Editing Guide or a stand-alone manual/online
resource.  A small group of the task force members has begun this work by
sharing various policy decisions agreed to locally to determine what is
broad enough for general application.  It is not always easy to decipher
where the problem lies: in the system, in the format, or in the serial
itself.

Since LC's implementation of Voyager, I've been working with my colleagues
on the creation of publication patterns and I realize all too well how
many decisions have to be made.  I kept thinking that someone else MUST
have made these decisions!  Perhaps someone has but they aren't documented
anywhere and we are all doing this locally.  We should at least find ways
to share the decision-making within the systems, but must also aim for a
greater ability to share across systems using the MFHD as the common
language.  I am also very aware that most of the people who create this
data are not those who normally deal with the cataloging record. Workflow
issues are going to be a key issue for our participation at LC and will be
an issue for study by a subgroup of the task force.

Our aim is to have participation from at least 2-3 libraries from each of
the major system vendors.  At this point we have very good coverage of
SIRSI, but need participants from all other systems.

I hope this answers some of the questions and that your institution will
consider applying.  I will be out of the office until Monday Nov. 22, then
out of the office for the rest of that week. But I'll be happy to talk
with you when I'm here.

Jean Hirons
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
jhir@loc.gov
202-707-5947
fax 202-707-6333