FW: Electronic Resource Cataloging Policies

["Harvey, Suzanne" <sharvey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From:	Karen Selden [mailto:Karen.Selden@xxxxxxxxxx]
<mailto:[mailto:Karen.Selden@xxxxxxxxxx]> 
Sent:	Tuesday, August 15, 2000 10:19 AM
To:	sharvey@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:sharvey@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Subject:	Electronic Resource Cataloging Policies

Hi Suzanne,

I'll post an abbreviated version of this message to the list, but here's a
more detailed version for your eyes.
Here at the University of Colorado Law Library, we started documenting our
procedures for cataloging Internet resources in July 1998. The one thing
we've found is that this is a very fluid document! In order to keep up with
coding changes in the 856 field, changes in III's software, and adjustments
we've decided to make along the way, we've revised this document numerous
times. The most recent version is available at:
	http://www.Colorado.EDU/Law/lawlib/ts/man/intcat.htm
<http://www.Colorado.EDU/Law/lawlib/ts/man/intcat.htm> 
As far as link checking goes, a brief outline of our procedures appears in
the PowerPoint slides I prepared for a presentation on cataloging Internet
resources for the Southwestern Association of Law Libraries (SWALL) Annual
Meeting in April 2000. The slides and copies of my handout can be accessed
at:
	http://www.colorado.edu/Law/lawlib/ts/catinternet/
<http://www.colorado.edu/Law/lawlib/ts/catinternet/> 
An article I wrote based on my SWALL presentation is tentatively scheduled
to be published in the Fall 2000 issue of Law Library Journal. The pertinent
section of that manuscript follows. Unfortunately, the footnotes did not
translate to my e-mail program. If you'd like to see some specific cites,
let me know & I can provide them:

****************************************************************************
******************************
	Link Maintenance
Because URLs, and even PURLs, can and do change over time, committing to
providing hotllinks in a catalog also means committing to performing link
maintenance. The link checking and maintenance process consists of four
basic steps, and is not particularly complex, so trained support staff can
perform it. First, a list of URLs and PURLs in the catalog must be created.
The next step is to convert these URLs and PURLs to html, in order to create
hotlinked URLs and PURLs. A number of software programs can perform this
function, including Word, but the Law Library uses freeware called MarcXGen,
created by Tom Tyler of the University of Denver Library [footnote missing].
Next, the hotlinked URLs and PURLs must be run through link checking
software to find possible broken links. Again, a great number of software
programs exist to perform this function, including MS FrontPage and Xenu,
the Law Library's current choice. A great source to find and download
freeware for this purpose, however, is CNET.com [footnote missing], a
freeware source that reviews the products that are available.  Good news for
libraries using III software is that III now offers WAM (Web Access
Management) as part of its Millennium package. WAM includes a link verifying
system that condenses the first three steps of the link checking process
[footnote missing]. Finally, one must manually investigate and correct the
broken links that the link checking software reports. Depending upon the
number of URLs and PURLs listed in this report of possible broken links,
this "sleuthing" step is usually the most time consuming part of the entire
process. Since many of the Law Library's hotlinks are to GPO items, some of
GPO's web sites, such as Browse Electronic Titles [footnote missing],
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications [footnote missing], and GPO Access
[footnote missing] are used to aid this investigative work. Once the correct
URL or PURL is found, it must replace the faulty URL or PURL in subfield u
of MARC field 856 and in MARC field 530 or 538, as appropriate. 
In January 2000, the Cataloging Committee of the American Library
Association's Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) began their monthly
GPO PURL Alert [footnote missing] service. These monthly lists contain
information on titles for which GPO catalogers have added a PURL during the
previous month. The list is useful for libraries wishing to add PURLs to
bibliographic records already in their catalogs. In February 2000, the Law
Library amended its link checking procedures to make checking for new GPO
PURLs using GPO PURL Alert the final step in the monthly link checking
process. In general, the Law Library finds five to ten broken links per
month [out of 600+ URLs and PURLs in the catalog], and the entire process,
including checking GPO PURL Alert for new GPO PURLs, takes less than two
hours to complete.

****************************************************************************
*********************************

Mary Strouse & Tom Tyler made a presentation at the 2000 Innovative Users
Group (IUG) Annual Meeting in late April/early May 2000 about link checking
entitled "Maintaining Hyperlinks in the WebPac: Tools and Tradeoffs." Their
slides, handout, and resource list are available at:
	http://www.du.edu/~ttyler/iug2000/
<http://www.du.edu/~ttyler/iug2000/> 
Please feel free to ask any questions concerning the information I've
provided. I don't mind if you share the links that I've provided with
others, but I'd rather that you not share the exerpt from the article,
although mentioning it's forthcoming publication is fine. I say this because
I'm not sure of the "etiquette" involved with sharing part of manuscript on
a listserv after it's been accepted for publication-I don't know at what
point a publication considers a manuscript "theirs" rather than "mine" to do
with as I please. So if you want to share this message in the future, just
snip from "The pertinent section of ..." through the end of the exerpt.
	Thanks, and hope this helps!

							Karen
**************************************************************************
Karen Selden, Catalog Librarian
University of Colorado Law Library
Fleming Law Building Rm 190 CB 402
2405 Kittredge Loop Drive
Boulder, CO 80309

303/492-7535 (voice)    303/492-2707 (fax)
Karen.Selden@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:Karen.Selden@xxxxxxxxxx> 
The University of Colorado Law Library's Home Page is at:
http://www.colorado.edu/Law/lawlib/index.html
<http://www.colorado.edu/Law/lawlib/index.html> 

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