# Presentation: 504885

## CONSER’S Publication Pattern Initiative: why is it important and what’s in it for you?

## Today’s presentation

- Background on the CONSER initiative
- What is the problem and what is CONSER doing about it?
- What CONSER has achieved to date and still hopes to accomplish
- A brief review of MARC 21 holdings
- How patterns are added to CONSER records
- New initiatives
- Experience at my institution
- What’s in it for you and your library

**Notes:**
Speaker:  This is a good time to get a sense of the audience by asking:
	How many people are currently using an ILS that has implemented the MARC holdings format?  
	How many are involved with patterns or holdings creation?  	How many have heard of the CONSER initiative, etc.?
	Whether anyone in the institution is participating?
Speaker: Talk about your institution’s experience with patterns and holdings.

## The Challenge

- The MARC 21 Holdings Format was created in the 1980s as a means to communicate holdings data.
- It is now for the first time being widely used by integrated library systems (ILSs)
- Part of the holdings format is the inclusion of fields that include publication patterns that allow the ILS to predict the future issues of a serial
- This is a time-saver for check-in, but creation of the patterns is often time-consuming

## The Challenge

- However, most ILSs have not fully implemented the format
- Each ILS handles predictive pattern data differently forcing time-consuming and costly  pattern creation in many libraries
- Pattern data can be shared by ILS customers but not with users of other ILSs
- And sharing an initial load does not help with ongoing maintenance
- If a library decides to migrate to a new ILS down the road, the check-in data will have to be recreated

**Notes:**
1st bullet.  For example, an ILS may not allow for certain irregularities in a serial’s frequency.  This forces the pattern creator to use data that is not correct and is considered a work-around for that ILS.  However, another ILS might be able to handle the irregularity accurately and a pattern created for the first ILS would not be useful for the user of the other ILS.

## The Solution

- A pattern should be created once and shared with all others who own the serial (like bib records!)
- If each ILS would fully implement the MARC 21 Holdings Format, check-in data could be shared and migrated, just as we now do with bibliographic records

## CONSER’s Efforts

- Patterns and dates/numbers associated with the beginning pattern are being added to CONSER records on OCLC in field 891 (distributed to RLIN in fields 853/863)
- CONSER is sharing this data to:
- share the intellectual effort of pattern creation and
- to promote conformance with the standard

## CONSER Publication Pattern Initiative

- Began in 1999 to experiment with the addition of patterns to CONSER records on OCLC
- Experiment was determined a success in 2001 and declared an ongoing part of CONSER
- This has been the first group to really test the holdings format
- Task force members have contributed proposals to MARBI to enhance and improve the standard

## CONSER Initiative

- Key goal involves working with ILS vendors to promote improvements
- Pattern participants have partnered with different ILSs to propose changes and promote cooperation
- CONSER has also promoted documentation and training to spread awareness and increase skills
- Documentation on the CONSER Pub Pattern Web site http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/patthold.html
- SCCTP Holdings Workshop

## Accomplishments

- CONSER/OCLC database currently has over 50,000 patterns
- Many of these were created by Harvard and contain captions but not always pattern data
- Participants have input over 10,000 patterns
- Currently 19 participating institutions
- New participants continue to join
- Mentoring program developed for new institutions

## Accomplishments

- ILSs have responded
- VTLS has always been able to load patterns
- III has developed a pattern loader
- Endeavor has promised full compliance in the future
- Most major vendors send representatives to CONSER task force meetings at ALA
- But it’s slow going nonetheless!

## Accomplishments

- Other accomplishments include
- Improvements to the MARC 21 Holdings format
- Free availability of documentation
- Training opportunities
- Outreach via discussions at ALA and NASIG and meetings such as this
- Raising awareness that non-compliance with standards is unacceptable!

## A brief overview of the holdings format

- MFHD uses paired fields 853 and 863
- 853 carries the captions and patterns
- 863 carries the enumeration and chronology of the holdings that relate to that pattern
- Captions and patterns
- Caption: the word, phrase, or abbreviation that the publisher uses to indicate the issues or parts of a serials or multipart (e.g., volume, issue, number, jahrgang)
- Pattern: includes the frequency, regularity, and number of issues or parts; this is the part that makes prediction work

## Example of 853 fields

- Monthly serial des. by vol., no. year, and month
- 853   $a v. $b no. $u 12 $v r $i (year) $j (month) $w m $x 01
- $a and $b = 1st and 2nd levels of enumeration
- $u = numbers per volume (used to determine when 1st level will increase)
- $v = numbering repeats with each volume (1-12)
- $i and $j = 1st and 2nd levels of chronology
- $w = monthly frequency
- $x = calendar changes with the first month (January)

## Example of 863 field

- Serial begins with vol. 1, no. 1 in January 2002
-     863  $a 1 $b 1$i 01 $j 2002
- $a = 1st level of enumeration
- $b = 2nd level of enumeration
- $i = 1st level of chronology
- $j = 2nd level of chronology

## Pattern for this serial in a CONSER record on OCLC

- 853 and 863 fields are imbedded in 891 fields in $9
- Indicators apply to 853 and 863
- $8 links the 853 and 863 fields
-    891 20 $9 853 $8 1 $a v. $b no. $u 12 $v r $i (year) $j (month) $w m $x 01
-    891 41 $ 863 $8 1.1 $a 1 $b 1$i 01 $j 2002

## Pattern for this serial as it appears in RLIN

- Records are exported using MARC fields and 852 field with “universal pattern”
-    852 Universal pattern
-    853 20 $8 1 $a v. $b no. $u 12 $v r $i (year) $j (month) $w m $x 01
-    863 41 $8 1.1 $a 1 $b 1$i 01 $j 2002

**Notes:**
On RLIN, is it a universal pattern in 852 or information on call number and location?   --Lu

## Relation to Holdings

- These are the fields used locally to create detailed holdings statements
- The primary difference is in field 863
- In CONSER, only issues noted are first and last to which pattern apply
- Locally, more complete holdings statement is given, including gaps, non-published issues, etc.

## More on MFHD

- Fields 854/864 are used for supplements
- Fields 855/865 are used for indexes
- Fields 866/867/868 are used for textual data
- Usually used for back holdings
- Not used for predictive check-in
- For more information and examples, see: http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/patthold.html

## How are Patterns Added to CONSER Records?

- Participants use a macro designed by Robert Bremer (OCLC) on Passport and CatME
- The macro makes use of data in the bibliographic record to create a pattern in seconds
- For simple patterns, the macro works great
- For more complex patterns, additional data is added or corrected
- Works well for new patterns, but not subsequent patterns

## New Initiatives

## Universal Holdings Record

- Two CONSER task groups:
- Diane Hillmann (Cornell) is heading a CONSER task group on the definition and uses of a universal holdings record
- Linda Miller (LC) is chairing a group looking at the long-term storage of pattern data and the technical aspects of a universal holdings record

## Universal Holdings Record: what is it? What are its uses?

- The complete record of what has been published, not what is held by any one institution
- Could exist on OCLC (or RLIN?) in association with the bibliographic record
- Potential uses:
- Building local holdings records
- Collections development, digital archiving, preservation, etc.
- Supporting union listing
- Sharing creation of holdings data rather than each institution doing it locally

## Patterns and Electronic Serials?

- Yumin Jiang is chairing CONSER Task Force
- Charge is to explore current use of holdings data, explore potential uses for pattern data and role of ILSs, and consider needs for the future
- Recently issued and completed a survey

## Patterns and Electronic Serials

- Most responses say that this level of detail is not needed for electronic serials
- Most libraries currently use summary holdings only
- However, consider the following:
- Uses of pattern data for potential self-checkin of e-journals
- Uses for archiving and document delivery
- Need for more detailed data if print is discontinued
- Use for claiming broken links or undelivered issues

## Other activities

- Working with subscription agents to determine whether data from them could be used to create patterns
- OCLC is exploring a pattern subscription and notification service

## How does this affect me/my library?

- Your library may be able to use the patterns in CONSER records
- Are you using MARC holdings?
- Does your ILS have the capability to download this data?  (Talk to your vendor!)
- Look at the Publication Patterns Workflow FAQ document at http://lcweb.loc.gov/acq/conser/patthold.html

## How does this affect me/my library?

- If you are using MFHD, you will have new capabilities when ILSs implement new coding that has been approved by MARBI
- If you are using MFHD, CONSER’s documentation and training will be useful to you in better understanding the standard you are using

## How might this affect me/my library in the future?

- Hopefully your ILS will have fully implemented MFHD
- You will then have the capability of downloading patterns from CONSER records
- This will save time from in-house pattern creation
- Pattern data related to electronic serials could enable automatic check-in by the journals themselves!

## How will this affect me/my library in the future?

- When your library decides it is time to go to a new ILS, you won’t have to recreate all of your check-in data!

## My institution’s experience

**Notes:**
Slides will be added here, right, to show NYU’s experience?--Lu

## Can I participate?

- Yes!  Requirements are:
- Ability to work directly on OCLC
- Ability to contribute a minimum of 75 new or revised patterns a year
- CONSER is recruiting more libraries to contribute pattern data as CONSER Enhance libraries
- CONSER Enhance libraries receive credits from OCLC and are mentored by an existing participant
- Interested?  Contact Les Hawkins (_[lhaw](mailto:lhaw@loc.gov)__[@loc.](mailto:lhaw@loc.gov)__[gov](mailto:lhaw@loc.gov)_)

## Where Can I Learn More?

- CONSER Publication Pattern Web page:
-      _[http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/patthold.html](http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/patthold.html)_
- Or contact:
- Carlen Ruschoff, Chair, CONSER Publication Pattern Task Force (_[ruschoff@deans.umd.edu](mailto:ruschoff@deans.umd.edu)_)
- Les Hawkins, CONSER Coordinator (lhaw@loc.gov)