Centralized automated cataloging of health science materials in the MLC/SUNY/OCLC shared cataloging service

Since February 1976, The Medical Library Center of New York, with the assistance of the SUNY/OCLC Network, has offered, on a subscription basis, a centralized automated cataloging service to health science libraries in the greater metropolitan New York area. By using workforms and prints of OCLC record (amended by the subscribing participants), technical services personnel at the center have fed cataloging data, via a CRT terminal, into the OCLC system, which provides (1) catalog cards, received in computer filing order; (2) book card, spine, and pocket labels; (3) accessions lists; and (4) data for eventual production of book catalogs and union catalogs. The experience of the center in the development, implementation, operation, and budgeting of its shared cataloging service is discussed.

Subject cataloging practices in North American medical school libraries

A survey of North American medical school libraries was made to determine current trends in subject cataloging practices. First, responses from 114 of these libraries are recorded and analyzed in the following areas: subject heading authority lists employed; use of the divided versus the dictionary catalog; and the form in which local subject authority files are kept. Then, focusing on 78 libraries that use MeSH in combination with a divided catalog, a further analysis of responses is made concerning issues relating to subject cataloging practices: updating the subject catalog to conform to annual MeSH changes; use of guide cards in the catalog; use of MeSH subheadings; filing conventions; and related issues. An attempt is made to analyze the extent to which these libraries vary from NLM practices. Suggestions are offered for formulating subject cataloging practices for an individual library. Finally, while it is concluded that MeSH and the Current Catalog are useful tools, a more detailed explication of the use of MeSH and NLM cataloging practices would be beneficial.

Computer-stored faculty publication file using the MT/ST in a medium-sized medical center library

The Bowman Gray School of Medicine Library has implemented a computerized faculty publication file adapted from an existing system that utilized a Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter for catalog card production and computer storage. The faculty publication file has provided printouts for the school's annual report and monthly faculty bulletins. After the data for all faculty bibliographies have been stored in the file, it will be possible to retrieve complete author and departmental listings. The file will be continuously updated by adding current citations and the bibliographies of new faculty members and by deleting data when faculty members leave the staff.

Automated cataloging: the state of the art

The art of cataloging is in a state of constant dynamic change. The capabilities of automation are causing changes in the tools we have at our disposal, the education and training we need to work with these tools, the caliber of staff we use at various stages of the cataloging process, and the physical form of the end product of the efforts of the catalog department. But perhaps of more importance is the cooperation and sharing between libraries on both the national and international level that become possible as the result of automated systems.

Evolution of a processing system in a large biomedical library

The processing system used in the UCLA Biomedical Library is modest in size and still under development. Its origins date back to a batch mode serials control system begun in the mid-1960s. This was converted to an on-line system which currently has modules for check-in, updating and retrieval, claims, bindery preparation, and invoice information. Titles can be retrieved at the terminal by search of any word in the title, by subject heading, language, country of publication, and type of publication. The system is adaptable to network use and at present is shared with one other library. To the serials system has been added a computer-assisted cataloging and card production system. The latter utilizes serials nucleus software as well as design for data input and data storage. In-house listings and coding procedures overlap in a general way. Work is under way on further integration of the two processing subsystems and a feasibility study has been completed for addition of a subsystem for acquisitions which will combine and adapt features of the other two; for example, information retrieval characteristics from both, catalog coding and programs for acceptance of data, serials programs for claims, and other output programs. Cost benefits of the subsystems are described and discussed.

Cataloging audiovisual materials: a new dimension

A new more comprehensive system for cataloging audiovisual materials is described. Existing audiovisual cataloging systems contain mostly descriptive information, publishers' or producers' summaries, and order information. This paper discusses the addition of measurable learning objectives to this standard information, thereby enabling the potential user to determine what can be learned from a particular audiovisual unit. The project included media in nursing only. A committee of faculty and students from the University of Alabama in Birmingham School of Nursing reviewed the materials. The system was field-tested at nursing schools throughout Alabama; the schools offered four different types of programs. The system and its sample product, the AVLOC catalog, were also evaluated by medical librarians, media specialists, and other nursing instructors throughout the United States.

A description of the catalog division project at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia Library

This paper describes the procedures used at the Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia to divide its ninety-year-old dictionary card catalog. The division was necessitated by overcrowding, obsolete subject headings, and lack of a complete authority list which resulted in like materials being scattered throughout the catalog under several headings. Two catalogs were created: the historical-biographical catalog, representing all works published before 1950 and all works of historical or biographical nature; and the current catalog, containing all works published from 1950 on, excepting historical or biographical materials. The 1950- catalog was further divided into name and subject catalogs, and the subject section was revised according to MeSH. The project was completed in about two years. As a result, searching time has been much reduced, and the library is able to take advantage of the annual revisions of MeSH to update the subject catalog.

Computer-assisted cataloging: experiences at the UCLA Biomedical Library

The computer-assisted procedures developed in the UCLA Biomedical Library Cataloging Division have been in effect for approximately three years. The system utilizes a Delta Data System cathode ray tube terminal and cassette attachment for on or off-line input of data. Products of the system include catalog card sets arranged in filing order, a monthly Recent Acquisitions List, and computer-generated book catalogs. Planning, personnel, and equipment requirements are discussed, and preliminary cost figures for various parts of the system are given. Potential applications of the automated system on a regional level and in terms of the library's future automation plans are considered.

The SUNY biomedical communication network: six years of progress in on-line bibiographic retrieval

The SUNY Biomedical Communication Network became operational in 1968 as the first on-line bibliograhpic retrieval service for biomedical literature. Since 1968, the SUNY/BCN has grown in size from nine to thirty-two medical and university libraries and has expanded its data base coverage to include the ERIC and Psychological Abstracts data bases in addition to the full ten-year retrospective MEDLARS data base. Aside from the continuous provision of an on-line searching system, the SUNY experience over the last six years has yielded valuable information in the following areas of: (1) monograph indexing and retrieval, (2) shared cataloging, (3) user interaction and education in on-line systems, and (4) member participation in Network policy-making processes. The continued success of the SUNY/BCN is evidence that it is possible to provide a high quality on-line bibliographic retrieval system at cost to academic institutions. SUNY's success in this effort is the result of centralized resource sharing and effective regional networking, combined with thoughtful planning by user advisory committees.

Cost-performance analysis of cataloging and card production in a medical center library

The unit cost of cataloging current English language monographs was studies and compared with the cost of purchasing catalog cards from a commercial source. Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) in-library costs for cataloging and card production are higher than those for the purchased-card method; (2) throughput time is faster for the in-library method. In addition, the data can be used to develop an analytical cost-performance model for administrative purposes. The data presented support the hypotheses. The model developed provides a mechanism for arriving at a cost for different levels of service and can be used to measure the performance of other alternative methods of cataloging. Implications for the use of CATLINE are discussed and suggestions for further studies are described.

Library cooperation: wave of the future or ripple?

Little of the literature in library cooperation applies specifically to library service for the health sciences. Based on experience in and observations of the cooperation of health science libraries, this short lecture reviews aspects of general library cooperation, networks, and consortia. The effects on library operation of several cooperative activities are enumerated and cooperation management is discussed briefly.

Building a medical history collection

The importance of a clearly defined policy for building a medical historical collection is stressed in relation to the type of library and to the financial possibilities for building the collection and for the proper housing, preservation, servicing, and bibliographic control of such a collection.

Computer information project for monographs at the Medical Research Library of Brooklyn

The article describes a resource library's computer-based project that provides cataloging and other bibliographic services and promotes greater use of the book collection. A few studies are cited to show the significance of monographic literature in medical libraries. The educational role of the Medical Research Library of Brooklyn is discussed, both with regard to the parent institution and to smaller medical libraries in the same geographic area. Types of aid given to smaller libraries are enumerated. Information is given on methods for providing machine-produced catalog cards, current awareness notes, and bibliographic lists. Actualities and potentialities of the computer project are discussed.