HIT: MARC records

[Peg Klinkhammer <AHSlib@wctc.net>]

Thanks to the many who responded.  Below are various options for acquiring
MARC records.

If you don't have Athena's z-marc or the equivalent, you can look books up
here and get the full cataloging.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/

When I first automated my K-8 library collection, I used as
many records as possible from the Follette CD, Alliance.
Materials that had no records on the CD had to be
laboriously catalogued by me with a lot of time consuming
consultation of the MARC cataloguing guide.  All this
changed when WISCAT went public.  Now I just call up
WISCAT's website and enter in the format and title of
whatever I need original cataloguing for, and print out the
results.  I take the hard copy and can quite quickly type in
the information.  So, I heartily recommend WISCAT.

There are a couple of ways to do this.  The cheapest (ie, no cost) is to
check into the on-line catalogs of libraries.  Many of them allow you to
get into the marc record.

Another free method is to use the library of congress experimental site at
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/resdev/ess/

A third way, which will cost, is to purchase software such as Alliance.
This software, which we purchase through Follett, our circ people, gives
you a disk with old stuff on it as well as several yearly updates of new
records.  I am not sure of the cost, since it is purchased as a district
item, but do not think it is unreasonable.

I cheat by going to the Library of Congress site and clicking on Word
Search and entering the title. Then when the book shows up, click on
More On This Record, and then Tagged Record.

I use Ezcat.  The software is quick, easy, and realiable.  I personally
automated our 7,000 volume library by myself using EZCat.  We purchased
it last May, and I input over 5000 records over the summer.  I completed
the retrospective conversion in March.  The downer is that over the past
month access to the Library of Congress  database has been slow to
impossible.  I called my tech support and was told that it is a problem
with cutbacks in access at LC, but I could also connect to cataloging
available at major libraries.  I haven't tried this yet as I was busy
with those "last week of school actiities.."

I had a very high hit rate with EZCat, even though our little parochial
school had many "ancient titles".
I didn't have a shelf list to work from so I had to put the books on
carts and take them over to the computer. This is going to be a problem
with any collection without a shelf list.

Try www.marcive.com.  Takes about two weeks to get account established.
Then you search their MARC records online and select the ones you want.
You can download the next day or they'll print cards and spine labels for
you.  My cataloging backlog is dwindling as I download records instead of
doing original cataloging.  Cost of downloads is 10 cents per record for
books and 60 cents for AV items.

Try going to the SUNLINK database at http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu/  .You can
print out their records for the books. You can search for books by author,
title, subject, anyword, etc. You can't download the records unless you're
in FL and a member of SUNLINK, but downloading the MARC records and then
typing them in is the next best thing.

We use Follett's Alliance Plus CD-ROM product.  It satisfies about 85% of
our "donated titles" and other non-CIP acquisitions.

if you have the internet, go to the Library of Congress catalog site
and you can save the record with the tags listed and then enter onto your
computer. Alternatives are the Library of Congress EZSearch page if your
using Dewey, the Los Angeles Public Library or any of the library catalogs
on the Web and use them.  But, please, always remember the time involved to
catalog etc., so be judicious in your weeding as the items are considered.


I check them against the Library of Congress website
and our county public library online catalog
and sources like HWWIlson's Sr Hi Cat.
If all else fails,
I go with doing it myself!

Peg Klinkhammer, Librarian
Assumption High School
445 Chestnut Street
Wisconsin Rapids, WI  54494
715 423-2920
715 423-2527 (FAX)
ahslib@wctc.net



Peg Klinkhammer, Librarian
Assumption High School
445 Chestnut Street
Wisconsin Rapids, WI  54494
715 423-2920
715 423-2527 (FAX)
ahslib@wctc.net

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
    All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
 listserv@listserv.syr.edu         In the message write EITHER:
 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
 3) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv
 For LM_NET Help & Archives see:  http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=