MLC Blog

RDA Update

It looks like RDA (Resource Description and Access) has been delayed again.  Check out Karen Coyle’s blog post.

MLC member librarians heard an earlier update on RDA at our Technical Services Conference in April this year.  We’ll post further update information as available.

Add comment July 7th, 2008

NACO Training Scheduled for July 14-18

MLC is offering a five-day Name Authority (NACO) training program on July 14-18, 2008. This program will include a review of the MARC21 Authority Format, as well as in-depth, hands-on exercises involving Chapters 22 - 26.

To attend this training, your institution needs to become a participating member of NACO. For information on applying to become a NACO member, contact Heather Thomas at thomash@mlcnet.org.

For further information and to register online, go to MLC’s Registration page.

Add comment June 3rd, 2008

RDA Meeting Summary Online

The Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA has announced the Outcomes of their October meeting on their web site. RDA - Resource Description and Access - is a new standard that will replace AACR2, scheduled for release in 2009.

We at MLC are excited to announce that RDA expert, Chris Oliver of McGill University, will be a presenter on RDA at MLC’s Technical Services Conference in Lansing on April 15, 2008. Chris is the author of “Changing to RDA.”

To see the complete conference agenda and to register online, see Technical Services Conference on MLC’s workshop registration page.

1 comment November 26th, 2007

New Logo for OCLC

OCLC has a new look and a new tag line. Click here for the full press release from OCLC.

1 comment October 25th, 2007

April 15 date set for Tech Services Conference

Mark your calendars for April 15, 2008, for the MLC Technical Services Conference to be held in Lansing! Our keynote speakers will be Karen Calhoun of OCLC and Tim Spalding of Library Thing.

Karen Calhoun is the author of the Library of Congress report, The Changing Nature of the Catalog and its Integration with Other Discovery Tools. Tim Spalding is the Founder and Developer of Library Thing.

We’re currently working on putting together the rest of the conference speaker line-up. Is there a speaker or topic you’d especially like to see? If you have suggestions for tech services breakout sessions, please contact Evette Atkin (atkine@mlcnet.org or ext. 152) or Heather Thomas (thomash@mlcnet.org or ext. 133).

Thanks!

1 comment August 2nd, 2007

Getting out of the cataloging business?

Jeff Trzeciak, director of the McMaster University Library, announced on his blog on Monday that his library is “getting out of the cataloging business.”  Jeff wrote:

“I know this will not come as a shock to many who have paid attention to the changing library landscape!  However, McMaster has been slow to change!  Original catalogers will be moving to “tiered reference”.  Copy cataloging will cease.  We hope to do this as soon as possible and are offering separation incentives to staff.”

It’s a bold move to outsource cataloging entirely.  Are any Michigan libraries are going this route as well?  What are the implications?
Jeff’s blog post also outlines seven new positions at his library, including Digital Strategies Librarian.

Add comment December 6th, 2006

Dewey Decimal System Helpless To Categorize New Jim Belushi Book

The Onion reported:

Members of the OCLC Online Computer Library Center’s Editorial Policy Committee, which oversees the Dewey Decimal System library classification system, were no closer Monday to assigning a definitive call number to the recently published Jim Belushi book Real Men Don’t Apologize.

“With all due respect to the author, we remain unsure how to categorize this particular work,” said committee chair Leslie Buncombe, who, despite repeated readings, still wasn’t sure if Real Men… was “an actual book.”

“What is it? Autobiography? Self-help? We can’t even tell if it’s fiction or nonfiction,” Added Buncombe: “Too bad it can’t be shelved by its ISBN number. Maybe it’s Fantasy Biography? I don’t even think there’s a code for that.” If no decision is reached within the week, librarians may be forced to shelve it in the “phantom zone” between Jenny McCarthy’s book of marriage tips and novels in which a cat helps solve a mystery.

1 comment August 22nd, 2006

New MLC Communique Blog Debuts!

Please visit our brand new MLC Communique Blog! Aaron Smith, our OCLC guru, has been busy all day adding OCLC articles to the new blog. Yay Aaron - welcome to the blogosphere!

I think folks will like the new Communique format. You can now read articles on the blog as soon as MLC receives them, and you’ll no longer need to wait until the end of the month for OCLC updates.

For further information on the MLC Communique Blog and how to set up RSS Feeds, check out our news item on MLC News & Announcements.

1 comment January 24th, 2006

OCLC Updates the Top 1000 Title List

OCLC has updated its Top 1000 for 2005. Top 1000 lists the works most widely held by OCLC member libraries. Each entry includes thematic sub-lists, sample cover art, “Find in a Library” links, comparisons to other lists and download files.

Add comment November 8th, 2005