May/June  2003  vol.9  no.3 issn 1082-4383  

 

 

 

 

Highlights in this Issue

NEBASE Annual Meeting - West 2003 Gering

On April 17, forty-two Panhandle librarians and media specialists gathered for the 2003 NEBASE Annual Meeting West at the Gering Civic Center.

Best Practices for Nebraska Digitization Projects

Thinking of scanning those old postcards donated to your library? Nebraska libraries considering digitization projects have some new resources available to help them "do it right" using established best practices.

NEBASE Workshop Calendar

NEBASE workshops have been scheduled for Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha, Scottsbluff and Kearney.

SIRS Pricing for Small Public Libraries

SIRS is offering Nebraska public libraries with population served under 7,500 special discount pricing. If libraries place new orders by May 23, they will also receive the month of June free.

OCLC to Hold Prices at Current Levels Through June 2004

In recognition of the current economic realities facing libraries during the continued downturn in the global economy, OCLC will hold prices at current levels next year, implement a number of business restructuring actions to control and reduce operating costs, and continue to invest in the future for libraries.

Update Your Serials Holdings Data in WorldCat for Free with OCLC Local Data Record Updating

Libraries wishing to update their local data records can do so through OCLC Local Data Record Updating at no charge through June 30, 2003 for data compliant with the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data. Data submitted in non-MARC formats can be updated for a fee.

 

Table of Contents

 

  NEBASE     
   
  NEBASE Annual Meeting - West 2003 Gering
  Network Services Exhibits at NETA
  NEBASE Advisory Council Meeting
  Best Practices for Nebraska Digitization Projects
   
  TRAINING     
   
  Database Training Materials For You
  NEBASE Workshop Calendar
   
  DATABASES     
   
  Database Tips & Tricks: Searching WorldCat for titles containing the words AND, OR, NOT, WITH, and NEAR
  Database Renewals Underway
  Database Trial Feedback
  SIRS Pricing for Small Public Libraries
  What's New at Wilson
  Books In Print Partners with Ebrary
   
  OCLC NEWS     
   
  OCLC to Hold Prices at Current Levels Through June 2004
  OCLC Pricing 2003/2004 Available on NEBASE Web Page
  OCLC Product of the Month: Digital and Preservation Resources
  OCLC CatExpress Offer: 13 Months for the Price of 12
  Great News for Medical Libraries from OCLC
  Subscribe to OCLC Abstracts
  OCLC WorldCat: Did You Know?
  OCLC Web Information Sessions
  Report from February OCLC Members Council Meeting
   
REFERENCE     
   
  OCLC FirstSearch Service Enhancements
   
RESOURCE SHARING  
   
  OCLC ILL Custom Holdings Enhancements
  OCLC ILL Policies Directory News
  OCLC ILL Policies Directory Technical Bulletin Available
 
  CATALOGING      
   
  OCLC CatExpress Tutorial Revised
  OCLC Connexion: Windows Client Interface for Cataloging: Release Date and NEBASE Workshops
  OCLC Connexion Monthly Maintenance Installations
  Setup Worksheet for Connexion Browser Available
  OCLC-MARC Format Update 2003 Technical Bulletin Available
  Update Your Serials Holdings Data in WorldCat for Free with OCLC Local Data Record Updating
   
TECH NOTES      
 
OCLC Technical Bulletin Series, Printed Edition, Discontinued
  OCLC - Windows 98 AND NT Support to End
   

Past issues of N3

 

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NEBASE   

NEBASE ANNUAL MEETING - WEST 2003 GERING
On April 17, forty-two Panhandle librarians and media specialists gathered for the 2003 NEBASE Annual Meeting West at the Gering Civic Center. A full-day of informative sessions and hands-on training were on the agenda. Attendees heard about the latest OCLC news and services as well as updates to the two new database interfaces in the Nebraska Statewide Database Program, bigchalk eLibrary and Wilson Web. The lunch break featured four lively roundtable discussions on the PATRIOT Act, Library Web Pages, OCLC, and Database Resources in K12 schools. Three afternoon sessions provided hands-on experience with netLibrary, Book Repair and the new OCLC Connexion cataloging service.

Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services/NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission

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NETWORK SERVICES EXHIBITS AT NETA

During the last week of April, Network Services set up camp for two days during the 2003 Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) Conference in Omaha. This was the first time we have been able to exhibit the Nebraska Library Commission Statewide Database Program at the NETA Conference. It was a success. We were able to speak with a wide variety of educators including school administrators, teachers, media specialists, students, and technology coordinators from around the state. We plan to set up exhibits at future conferences to promote the databases and we hope to see you there.

Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services/NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission

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NEBASE Advisory Council Meeting

The next meeting of the NEBASE Advisory Council is scheduled for May 29 at the Nebraska Library Commission offices in Lincoln.  The Advisory Council is made up of seven librarians representing public, academic, school and special/institutional libraries. The Council serves as a channel for two-way communication between NEBASE and its members. For more information on the Council and a list of the delegates visit: </netserv/nebase/nac.html>

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BEST PRACTICES FOR NEBRASKA DIGITIZATION PROJECTS

Thinking of scanning those old postcards donated to your library? Nebraska libraries considering digitization projects have some new resources available to help them "do it right" using established best practices. They are linked from the Nebraska Western Trails Web site </westerntrails/> in the Standards and Other Resources category.

In the fall of 2001 the University of Denver was awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to develop a multi-state collaborative to create a virtual collection of digital images called Western Trails. Twenty-three institutions in four western states (Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, and Colorado) were awarded mini-grants to create digital content and metadata. One of the expected outcomes is that all museums, libraries, and archives in the four states will have best practices available to use for future digital projects. Representatives from the Western Trails grant states plus several other western states worked on the Digital Imaging and Metadata (cataloging) documents, which were finalized in January 2003. In Nebraska a metadata group created a record entry template, an editing form, and revised the Metadata document to be used with a template for submitting records to the Nebraska Western Trails database.

Due to Nebraska's participation in the project these resources are available to all libraries in the state. Below are brief examples of information included in them:

Digital Imaging Best Practices
Western States Digital Imaging Best Practices is NOT an instruction manual for a scanner, but a 41-page summary of technical factors to consider before starting a scanning project. It is based on these general principles:
  1. Scan at the highest resolution appropriate to the nature of the source material
  2. Scan at an appropriate level of quality to avoid rescanning and re-handling of the originals in the future - scan once
  3. Create and store a master image file that can be used to produce derivative image files and serve a variety of current and future user needs
  4. Use system components that are non-proprietary
  5. Use image file formats and compression techniques that conform to standards within the cultural heritage community
  6. Create backup copies of all files on a stable medium
  7. Create meaningful metadata for image files or collections
  8. Store media in an appropriate environment
  9. Monitor and recopy data as necessary
  10. Document a migration strategy for transferring data across generations of technology
  11. Anticipate and plan for future technological developments
  12. Scan an original or first generation (i.e., negative rather than print) of the source material to achieve the best quality image possible
Evaluating equipment before purchase, understanding scanning terminology (pixels per inch, dots per inch, bit depth, etc.), staffing, setting up a work area, costs, image storage, sustainability, and much more are included. Several charts outline minimum guidelines for creating archival, Internet access and thumbnail images of text, photographs, maps and graphic materials.

Metadata Best Practices
What is metadata and why should you care? It could be called "cataloging by another name", and is most commonly the term applied to descriptive information about Internet resources. Important work has been done for the Western Trails project that can be adapted by other libraries and museums to create records for items in their digital collections.

Dublin Core is a set of metadata elements used to describe electronic resources that have been developed internationally by library, museum, publishing and computer science professionals. The goal is to provide standardized, easy-to-use, commonly accepted terminology that can be used by each group to create databases that are potentially searchable in a collaborative network. The Western States group has adopted 13 basic Dublin Core elements (e.g., title, creator, subject, rights) and added three more for describing digital resources (date.original, format.creation, and holding.institution). Western States Dublin Core Metadata Best Practices is a detailed guide to entering each element.

Metadata Guidelines for Nebraska Participants
In Nebraska Western Trails participants will be using an online template created for the project. Western Trails Digitization Project Metadata Guidelines for Nebraska Participants is an edited and condensed version of the multi-state document. It provides detailed instructions for using the Nebraska template. Searching the Nebraska Western Trails database will bring up metadata records and thumbnail images that link to larger images. Separate state databases will also be simultaneously searchable via a single Western Trails interface.

Are You Looking for Training Before Starting a Digitization Project?
A special training event will be offered this summer to Nebraska library staff considering digitization projects. Two one-day workshops, Introduction to Digitization and Introduction to Scanning are tentatively scheduled for August 26 and 27 at the Nebraska Library Commission. The trainer will be from the Colorado Digitization Program. Workshop content will be similar to what is outlined at the CDP Web site <http://www.cdpheritage.org/resource/introduction/index.html>.

For more information about the training contact Beth Goble or Pam Scott at the Library Commission: 800-307-2665. For more information about the Metadata Best Practices contact Devra Dragos at the Library Commission or Margaret Mering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Love Library, 402-472-3545, e-mail <mmering1@unl.edu>.

Beth Goble
Government Information Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission

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Training    

DATABASE TRAINING MATERIALS FOR YOU

Do you need materials to help teach the databases from the Statewide Database Program to other library staff, teachers in your school, students or patrons? You can now access a number of training materials developed by the Network Services staff to assist you in your own training. We encourage library staff and media specialists to train others including: library staff, teachers, faculty, administrators, local officials, patrons and students on the database resources. You can view and download the training materials at
</netserv/Trainingmaterials.html>.

Included on the new Web page is a downloadable PowerPoint presentation that includes lecture notes that can be customized for your own audience. Also included are several handouts, hands-on questions, and flyers.

Don't forget the training we provide to library staff and media specialists. To view all the options visit </netserv/NetServTraining.html>.

Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services/NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission

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NEBASE WORKSHOP CALENDAR

NEBASE workshops have been scheduled for Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha, Scottsbluff and Kearney.

The location and date, as well as a description of each of the workshops below, can be found at </netserv/nebase/oclcworkshopsdesc.html>. To register for any of the workshops, please complete the online registration form at </netserv/nebase/oclcworkshops.html#reg>. The workshop fee for NEBASE libraries is $10. If you are not a NEBASE library*, please check the registration form for your workshop fee. If you have any questions, please email Jeannette Powell or phone 402-471-7740 or 800-307-2665 for registration fee.

*NEBASE libraries are Nebraska libraries who use OCLC cataloging or interlibrary loan services or who subscribe to FirstSearch. Although libraries who subscribe only to FirstSearch are eligible to pay the $10 workshop fee, they must pay by check.

Databases

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Databases  
DATABASE TIPS & TRICKS

Searching WorldCat for titles containing the words AND, OR, NOT, WITH, and NEAR

Have you ever had this experience? You perform a Title search in WorldCat, but fail to retrieve the book you're looking for. Because you're sure the book exists, and you're sure it should be included in WorldCat, you assume you must not have remembered the title correctly. You try a variety of other search strategies, such as keywords from title and/or author's name, and you eventually pull up your book. In perusing the record, however, you notice that the title is exactly the same as what you typed in during your original search. You try searching by title again, assuming maybe you made a typo the first time around, but again you fail to retrieve the book, even though you now know you're typing in the title exactly as it appears in the record!

At this point, depending on your temperament, you may: a) swear; b) assume there's something wrong with you and your database searching skills; or c) assume there's something wrong with the database. If you chose option "a" it hopefully made you feel better. If you chose option "b" or "c" let me reassure you that neither is probably true. In reality, when you experience the problem described above, it's probably because one of the words contained in the title is acting as a Boolean or proximity operator rather than as a word.

The proximity operators WITH and NEAR, and the Boolean operator NOT are the most problematic. If these words appear in the title you are searching for, they operate in such a way that they actually eliminate the title you are looking for from your result list. If the Boolean operators AND or OR appear in the title you are searching for they don't preclude you retrieving your title, but because of the instructions they provide to the system about how to process your search, your search may be less efficient than you intended.

Below are some illustrations of how Title searches work when titles contain Boolean or proximity operators:

1. Conversations With God (by Neale Donald Walsch) - A Title search for Conversations with God retrieves no records. The word with acts as a proximity operator and tells the system to search the title fields of all records and retrieve those in which the word conversations is followed by the word God with no intervening words. The title Conversations With God doesn't meet these criteria because there is one intervening word-with.

2. Somewhere Near Paradise (by Marjorie Everitt) - A Title search for Somewhere near paradise retrieves no records. The word near acts as a proximity operator and tells the system to search the title fields of all records and retrieve those in which the words somewhere and paradise appear next to each other, in any order, but with no intervening words. The title Somewhere Near Paradise doesn't meet these criteria because there is one intervening word-near.

3. I Am Not Going to Get Up Today (by Dr. Seuss) - A Title search for I am not going to get up today retrieves over 19,000 records, but none of them describes the item being searched for. The word not acts as a Boolean operator and tells the system to search the title fields of all records and retrieve those containing the words I and am, but not the words going, to, get, up, and today. Many titles (e.g., I Am the Cheese and Just As I Am: the Autobiography of Billy Graham) meet these criteria because they contain the words I and am but not the words going, to, get, up, and today. Unfortunately, the desired Dr. Seuss title doesn't meet these criteria because it contains the five excluded words-going, to, get, up, and today.

4. Truth or Dare (by R.L. Stine) - A Title search for Truth or dare retrieves over 37,000 records. The R.L. Stine title is included in this result list, but it appears as record number 246. The reason this search retrieved so many records is that the word or acts as a Boolean operator and tells the system to search the title fields of all records and retrieve those containing the word truth or the word dare or both the word truth and the word dare. The title Truth or dare meets these criteria, but so do all titles containing just the word truth or just the word dare.

5. Sugar and Spice (by William Gill) - A Title search for Sugar and spice retrieves 248 records, including several that describe the William Gill novel. The word and acts as a Boolean operator and tells the system to search the title fields of all records and retrieve those containing both the word sugar and the word spice.

As you can see, the presence of the Boolean operator AND in a title is the least problematic of the scenarios outlined above. In all cases, however, there are steps you can take to prevent title words from being treated as Boolean or proximity operators, thereby improving your search results.

One way to force the system to treat the words AND, OR, NOT, WITH, and NEAR as words, not operators, when they are part of a title is to enclose the words in quotation marks. For example, a title search for Conversations "with" God retrieves just over 200 records, all of which contain all three search terms-conversations, with, and God. A number of these records describe books by Neale Donald Walsch.

Another strategy you can use to overcome the "word as operator" problem is to search for your title as a phrase by enclosing it in quotation marks. By doing this you are telling the system to search the title fields of all records and retrieve those containing the exact phrase you typed in. This will retrieve titles that exactly match what you typed in, as well as longer titles that include your phrase (e.g., a Title search for "Truth or dare" retrieves Truth or dare by R.L. Stine, but also The Truth or dare trap by Nancy Hopper).

Finally, if you are positive that the title you are typing in is exactly correct, you can perform a Title Phrase search instead of a Title search. Quotation marks aren't required when performing a Title Phrase search, and the system only retrieves titles that exactly match what you type in. This eliminates the problem of retrieving longer titles that include your phrase (e.g., The Truth or dare trap in the previous example).

Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission

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DATABASE RENEWALS UNDERWAY

Renewals and new orders for database products through the Nebraska Library Commission's Discount Program are currently underway for the July 2003-June 2004 subscription term. Renewal information, pricing and deadlines can all be found on our web site at: </netserv/pricing.html>. Please take a look to make sure your libraries subscriptions will continue uninterrupted for the 2003-2004 year. Renewals and ordering currently available are shown with their deadlines.

May 12
    McGraw-Hill's AccessScience

May 23
    LexisNexis (new orders only)

June 1
    Oxford University Press which now includes The Grove Dictionary of Art Online and The Grove Dictionary of Music Online

June 6
    EBSCO (new orders only)

June 13
     netLibrary

June 15
    Columbia University Press
    CQ Press
    EDRS E*Subscribe
    Gale
    HeritageQuest Online
    Nature Publishing Group (Encyclopedia of Life Sciences and Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics)
    Polling the Nations
    Roth Publishing (Poem Finder, etc.)
    Scientific American Archive Online
    Serials Solutions
    SIRS
    SYBWorld

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DATABASE TRIAL FEEDBACK

This spring Network Services featured the following trials for Nebraska libraries.  Notices of the trials were sent out over the TRIAL mailing list.

CQ Press
EBSCO databases
FactsforLearning
FirstSearch
Gale K12 resources
ProQuest Sanborn Maps and Heritage Quest
Roth Publishing-Litfinder
SIRS
World & I Educational Resource and Archive
Hoover's Online
Goldrush

We would like to hear feedback from any of the libraries that trialed the products over the past few months. If you are interested in having the Nebraska Library Commission negotiate Nebraska pricing for a product please email us at Network Services or phone 800-307-2665.

To view current trials visit: </netserv/trial.html>.

Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services/NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission

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SIRS PRICING FOR SMALL PUBLIC LIBRARIES

SIRS is offering Nebraska public libraries with population served under 7,500 special discount pricing. Libraries falling in this range can purchase SIRS products at the following prices for the 2003-04 year. If libraries place new orders by May 23, they will also receive the month of June free. This offer applies to libraries ordering a specific new SIRS product for which they did not subscribe in the 02-03 year. For online ordering go to </netserv/pricing.html#sirs>  

 

NLC Pricing for Public Libraries
Database Price for Libraries with
Pop Served under 7,500
SIRS Researcher $300
SIRS Discoverer Deluxe $250
SIRS Government Reporter

Discount for  libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only.  Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $850 each.

 $200
SIRS Renaissance

Discount for libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only.  Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $850 each.

 $200
SIRS WebSelect  (previously NetSelect)

Discount for libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only.  Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $850 each.

 $200
SIRS Interactive Citizenship: What Citizens Need to Know About-Government

Discount for  libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only. Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $500.

 $200
SIRS Interactive Citizenship: What Citizens Need to Know About-World Affairs

Discount for libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only. Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $500.

 $200
SIRS Interactive Citizenship: What Citizens Need to Know About-Economics

Discount for libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only. Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $500.

 $200
SIRS Discoverer WebFind

Discount for  libraries with a population served over 7,500 applies to SIRS Researcher licensees only. Purchase price for customers without SIRS Researcher: $400. [Correction: The previous two sentences should read "Discount . . . applies to SIRS Discoverer licensees only.  Purchase price for customers without SIRS Discoverer: $400.]

 $150

Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services/NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission

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WHAT'S NEW AT WILSON

Read all about Wilson enhancements, releases and updates to their new interface at:
<http://www.hwwilson.com/news/tecfaq2.html>.
 

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BOOKS IN PRINT PARTNERS WITH EBRARY

Books In Print (BIP) announced a partnership with the Ebrary company earlier this year. The Ebrary company provides users with access to the full text of books online using a special downloadable reader. Users can read a number of pages from the book online however, there is a charge if you want to print or copy any part of the book. The cost to copy and print is determined by the publisher. Several of the titles I browsed charge 25 cents to copy or print a page. In order to copy or print information users must set up their own account with Ebrary. A credit card is required to open an account along with a minimum balance of $5.00.

You can locate Ebrary titles that are included in BIP by using the Advanced Search screen. Access the search screen by clicking on the Advanced Search button located on the top navigational toolbar. To limit your search to just Ebrary titles select ebrary from the Full Text Partner box. It is located in the bottom right hand corner of the Advanced Search box.

After you retrieve a result list, click on the book title. On the Full Description tab there is a field labeled: "Full Text". Click on the link labeled "Full Text from Ebrary". The first time you view an Ebrary title you will need to download the viewer. Follow the directions on the screen to download the viewer.

Users are limited to the number of pages they can browse without having their own Ebrary account. There are also features in the Ebrary Reader that will only work if you have set up your own Ebrary account. As I mentioned before, users can create their own account as long as they have a credit card. When an account is created a $5.00 minimum balance is required. After a user has their own account set up they can copy or print pages from a book. The cost of these actions will be deducted from their account.
 

 


 

                
  

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