10/6/2018,1,Searching the Bibliographic Utilities,Best Practices Working Smarter,10/6/2018,2,Working Smarter: A Searching Best Practice is,Cheap Efficient Simple Appropriate for the Material,10/6/2018,3,Why Now?,New OCLC/RLIN Interface=New Rate Structure OCLC Connexion = $0.xx per search RLIN21 = $0.xx per search Number of annual searches impacts on our ability to negotiate the best deal with the utilities,10/6/2018,4,LCDB: No Charge!,First stop for recently published monographs (publication cutoff date: 1990) First stop for serials Skip LCDB for videos LCDB is weak in some subject areas; skip if you are sure; search if in doubt,10/6/2018,5,LCDB, CIP & Workflow,Member libraries will complete CIP long before LC updates to full-level in LCDB Pre-Order Searching: full record not necessary; search in LCDB for U.S. imprints Cataloging on Receipt (Fastcat): search LCDB or OCLC, whichever is more efficient Items from the Backlogs: search LCDB first; LC should have had time to complete the record,10/6/2018,6,No Record in LCDB? Search OCLC,If you have a choice, search Connexion OK to search RLIN if you know the database is richer in a subject area or for some area publications If the percentage of usable cataloging records is about the same, prefer Connexion Work smart: keep track of utility strengths learn from experience,10/6/2018,7,Avoid Re-Searching! (1),If a usable record is found in one utility, dont re-search it in the other utility in hopes of finding something better If the in-process record in Voyager is usable, dont search for something “better” on the utilities,10/6/2018,8,Avoid Re-Searching! (2),If searching by one index is unsuccessful in a utility, generally dont re-search the same item with another index in the same utility Both utilities charge for unsuccessful searches, so scan for typos before you SEND Be sure you can identify the acceptable encoding levels in the OCLC/RLIN displays (as well as Voyagers),10/6/2018,9,Standard Cataloging Levels,10/6/2018,10,Effective Searching: Connexion,Number searches are the most efficient if a number is available Use keyword searches if a number search is not possible (no difference in price) Keyword searching: combine multiple search terms and use qualifiers like date & format Connexion is generally the better utility for searching serials,10/6/2018,11,Connexion: Avoid SCA TI=, charge for the sca ti= search Additional search charge for every browse line you open You cant qualify the search by format, date, etc. Compare keyword search: charged once for the initial search; no additional charge to look at any of the records retrieved,10/6/2018,12,Effective Searching: RLIN21,Unless you catalog directly on RLIN21, it should be your 2nd choice Number searches are the most efficient if available No charge if you search by record ID number; there is a full charge for all other number searches All charged searches cost the same; no discount for number searches (change from old RLIN) To determine the best record, be able to interpret effectively the new RLIN21 cluster tables,10/6/2018,13,RLIN21: No Number? Use Title Browse,Click on the Title button to enable Title Browse No charge if you dont display any of the records retrieved on a Title Browse search No additional charge if you open more than one line on the Browse display Use the Limit options if the browse line has too many records (no extra charge for limiting),10/6/2018,14,If You Catalog Directly on RLIN21,Authority searching has the same charges as bibliographic searching. Use LCDB or the LC Online Authority File unless youre doing NACO work No charge for “fin st s” searches If number searches are unreliable, use Title Browse,QUESTIONS?,10/6/2018,16,