OCLC Union List Users Group [OULUG] Minutes
                  American Library Association Annual Meeting
                        Monday, June 26, 1995, 4:30-6pm
                          McCormick Place, Room E253C

I. Laurie S. Linsley, Chair, called the meeting to order and greeted attendees.
Approximately 28 people were present.  Each person introduced herself/himself
and indicated involvement with union lists.

II. Selection of 1996 OULUG Vice-Chair (1997 Chair). Linsley asked for a
volunteer and indicated that it is a good way to get more involved at a
national level. If you are currently participating in union listing either at a
union listing library or as an agent, and are interested in chairing the OULUG,
please contact 1996 OULUG Chair David Iversen (iversen@genius.rider.edu).

III. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Use of Union List Data, by Margaret Ellingson,
Interlibrary Services Coordinator, Emory University. Ellingson stated that
union lists are a critical part of the ILL process. Unfortunately, not all
libraries do union listing, and this hurts the ILL process. It takes quite a
bit of time for a potential lender to determine that the item cannot be
supplied. We will have reached REAL resource-sharing when we know what everyone
owns. It is important to keep union list information up-to-date as the demand
for information increases. The impact of not participating in union listing has
a direct negative impact on document delivery, ILL fill rates, and turnaround
time. Ellingson suggested that OCLC investigate arranging union list
information in customized groups.

IV. Z39.71 Update, by Ellen Rappaport, Technical Services Librarian, Albany Law
School. Rappaport is co-chair of the NISO Subcommittee AL, which is working on
NISO Z39.71-199x.  The committee has met twice this spring. Rappaport reported
that the need for standards is increasing. NISO standards aim toward consensus;
100% approval is needed from all NISO members for a standard to pass.
Interoperability, the ability of systems to talk to one another, is a current
issue. Information will be put on listserves for feedback. Please participate,
because this will affect you every day in union listing.

V. Update on OCLC's investigation into automated updating of Local Data
Records, by Collette Mak, Product Planing/Library Resources and Management
Division, OCLC. Mak stated that automated updating is top priority with OCLC.
It is a complex problem because of the different output capabilities of local
systems and, the variety of library practices, e.g. all copies on a single
bibliographic record or a separate record for each copy.  Mak distributed a one
page questionnaire and asked all present to complete it (time was allowed for
this).  Attendees were invited to participate in a longer survey.

VI. Serials Union List Offline Products (SULOP) update, by Myrtle Myers,
Product Manager, Library Resources and Management Division, OCLC. Myers
discussed enhancements to the offline products. Priority one is order system
problems and these have been completed. Priority two is filing errors; these
are now being corrected.
    o    Apostrophe prints as a space and will be ignored in the future.
    o    US and USA will both read as United State of America, and will be
         restricted to fields 110, 111, 710, and 711.
    o    Filing indicators: second indicator will be used. E.g., "The Journal"
         files as "Journal." Foreign titles could present problems.
    o    GMD (general material designation) will be ignored in filing.
    o    Ampersand will be translated to "and" and used in filing.

Future enhancements under investigation:  4 character code; different
bibliographic formats, such as monographs and audiovisuals; limited
bibliographic information.  User input is desired by OCLC:  Who uses the
current products?  What changes do you see over the next 5 years?  What
product changes are needed to meet new demands and uses?  How would you
simplify the order form.

 Send comments and suggestions to Myrtle Myers (myrtle_myers@oclc.org).

VII. General Discussion:   Some libraries want to catalog serials titles that
are found in full-text databases such as InfoTrac. Discussion followed of why a
library would want to create Local Data Records (LDRs) for these titles. The
reason is for resource-sharing and collection development purposes. If a
library wishes to create LDRs for these titles, it is recommended that a note
be added: Library Use Only or In-house Use Only. Licensing generally forbids
copying for ILL purposes from these databases.  Serials in this format could be
identified as CD-ROM or as Infotrac in the LDR.

Many thanks to Dave Iversen for taking notes at this meeting.

     Laurie S. Linsley                  David Iversen
     1995 OULUG Chair                   1996 OULUG Chair
     Seminole Comm. Coll., FL           Rider University, NJ
     LLINSLEY@ipo.seminole.cc.fl.us     iversen@genius.rider.edu

     Collette Mak
     OULUG Liaison
     collette_mak@oclc.org