It finally has arrived -- on March 3rd, OCLC implemented Phase 2 of the format integration. I attended one of the first workshops offered by our regional affiliate, SOLINET, so the chages in the fixed field were no surprise to me. One thing I noticed right away, though, is that I am very much a creature of habit. My fingers automatically moved the cursor to the accustomed places in the fixed field, and, when searching titles, I still used the old qualifiers. Needless to say, the first thing I did was to update the cheat sheets. Overall, I am very pleased with the changes, because unlike the 007 field, the 006 field can be extremely helpful in searching.
Phase 1, you remember, made all variable fields valid in all formats. Phase 2 focuses on changes; here we work with new rules and commands which make it quite different from Phase 1. Most affected are the control fields and the fixed field. Some changes occur in the variable fields. A reminder: Technical Bulletin 206 had extensive changes that are available only on the OCLC Web site:
This will also be true for changes to Technical Bulletin 212. And speaking of the Technical Bulletin, OCLC, and I'm quoting Linda Gabel, Product Manager, FI2, stresses, "... [t]he guidelines given in TB #212 are just that: guidelines. They are not edicts, proscriptions, or mandates. We included them as a way to help catalogers choose the appropriate format, when that choice is not obvious." This statement was included in OCLC's response to clarify the roles OCLC and LC have in respect to format integration. The whole statement and a lot more information about format integration is available at
http://oclcgate.ucsd.edu/news/html
Because it vaguely resembles the old AMC format, the new Mixed Materials format might cause confusion. This new format is solely used for collections; galley and page proofs fit here and also microforms of manuscript language materials. It has nothing to do with archival control. This information, for all formats, is coded in the 008 field. The material type for Mixed Materials is "p" and the search qualifier is "mix." This format is used only when no one type of material predominates. Also, as was pointed out in the workshop I took, "mix" is not used for Instructional Kits. These are cataloged as Visual Materials, material type "o."
One thing to remember is that an 006 field does not have to be added to our records; it is not mandatory. However, since it does provide better access to the collection -- one person may consider a computer disk in a monograph more important than the text and search under "com" rather than "bks" -- the 006 field should be added to records whenever appropriate.
Anyone can add an 006 field to a local record. The basic steps are:
T006: m Audn: File: u GPub:
(line number) 006 [m f m ]
The 006 information varies with each format; books and serials utilize a great number of fixed field elements whereas mixed materials only use two.
Until a revised version of Bibliographic Formats and Standards is published, I use the "Fixed Field Mnemonic Conversion Tables," a handout from the workshop I mentioned above. I have asked for permission to duplicate this table for anyone who might want it.
This year, the OBS OCLC Committee Meeting is listed in the Annual Meeting program as an OPEN DISCUSSION. I do think that this is a great idea. Since by popular request, we will have a speaker from OCLC, who can give expert answers to quality control questions and has the technological wherewithal to field other questions, a mixed audience tends to generate a wider variety of questions from which all of us can benefit.
As of right now, I do not have the meeting place, but it will be Monday, 22 July 1996, 7:00 am. Yes, we will have coffee, soft drinks, and breakfast snacks. At the end of the program, there will be a short business meeting to elect a new Chair to serve for the next two years. The workload is manageable. I check OCLC News once a week for items of interest for the quarterly column. OCLC's web site has also been a great help. As for the Committee meeting, our liaison at OCLC, Clarence Walters, has been tremendously helpful, and the OCLC reps have, in my opinion, done a great job in keeping the membership informed.