Bib utilities WAS: RE: [Web4lib] Getting catalog software vendors to make more useablesoftware choices

[Karen Coyle]

K.G. Schneider wrote:

>The three things I miss when I'm into heavy research mode:
>
>MARC output for Open Worldcat, which I also use heavily in my "finding mode"
>
>  
>
You realize, of course, that it's a conscious choice of OCLC's not to 
offer that, because it would then compete with their cataloging revenue? 
The first Worldcat records that we got at UC, either through Z39.50 or 
the OpenURL, I can't remember which, were horribly mangled and grossly 
dumbed down, to the point of being useless. We insisted on better 
quality and the quality did improve some, but OCLC can't start giving 
away what it sells elsewhere. The "old" MELVYL catalog had a way to get 
a true MARC-formatted record in a download, but most "MARC" output or 
displays are the display format, not the exchange format. It's rather 
pathetic that we still have to resort to screen scraping in many cases.

NISO worked on a standard format for delivery of bib data to the 
bibliographic software programs, but it never got ballotted. Having a 
standard might help get vendor support.

kc

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Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
kcoyle at kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
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