Enhancing Cataloging Records with Links to Online Content
from the Fall, 2007, FDLC
Chris Brown, a very hard-working, techie-oriented, depository librarian from Denver University, gave a presentation showing how he has added 856 fields to thousands of NASA and GAO records in DU's catalog. He developed a macro which transfers the URL information from an Access database that he compiled to the records in their III Millennium system, so that this part of the process happens automatically and quickly. The development of the database, however, required cutting and pasting from the NASA and GPO websites URLs for the reports in question.
The software Chris uses is: MarcEdit for transforming raw data into fielded records that can be loaded into the catalog; Notetab for writing the macro; and, of course, Access. MarcEdit and Notetab are freeware. He doesn't believe that GPO will be adding URLs to these records in the Catalog of Government Publications because of the number involved (24,000 NASA technical report records), but it's possible that Marcive might take this data, massage it, and make it available to its customers.
Chris will also, very generously, send you the Access files so that you can use this data either to emulate his procedure, or, what I plan to do, to insert URLs manually for reports that you have into your catalog's records for the reports. Since we do not have a complete GAO or NASA collection, this works best for me. Email Kathy if you're interested in getting these files and I can forward you the files Chris sent me, in zipped format. [KA]
