OCLC Resources for Local Holdings Records
OCLC provides a number of useful resources that can help our participating libraries with
Local Holdings work. All of these resources include online information available through
the OCLC website.
Documents for Local Holdings Maintenance
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Local Holdings
Maintenance Quick Reference
This quick reference gives brief descriptions of the commands and fields used in maintaining
Local Holdings Records (LHRs). It includes sections on searching for and displaying Local
Holdings, as well as the commands for editing, creating, and deleting LHRs. This document is also
available
in PDF format.
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Create
and Maintain Local Holdings Records
This site provides detailed descriptions of the procedures for creating, editing, and deleting
local holdings records in OCLC.
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OCLC
Holdings Primer
This 32-page PDF discusses Local Holdings in OCLC in general terms and the application of both the
ANSI/NISO Z39.71 holdings display standard and the MARC21 Format for Holdings Data in OCLC Local
Holdings Records. It includes examples of different holdings records and a glossary of terms.
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OCLC Local Holdings Format and Standards
This online summary of the MARC fields used in OCLC LHRs contains basic information about the fields
and subfields most commonly used. It focuses on the Leader, 0xx, 5xx, and 8xx fields. Libraries that
want more complete information on the MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data may want to consult the
Library of Congress MARC website.
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Online Tutorials for Local Holdings Maintenance
OCLC provides a set of
online tutorials to help library staff members maintain their library's Local Holdings Records (LHRs)
through the Connexion Browser. They run automatically through a series of demonstrations, but playback
controls allow viewers to pause, go back, or skip ahead through the screens at their own pace.
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Local Holdings Batch Updating Service
OCLC provides a batch
updating service that allows output from libraries' local systems to be used as the basis for a batch
update of Local Holdings Records in OCLC. If your local library system can produce a file of summary holdings
information that meets certain specifications, that data can be used to update and create LHRs for your library
in WorldCat.
Libraries in Minnesota which are part of the MnPALS group can also take
advantage of the work PALS has done to make it easier to extract a file of Local Holdings data from the Aleph
ILS to use as a source for batch Updating projects. Consult the
PALS document (PDF)
describing the process for more information.
Other libraries using Aleph as their ILS may wish to consult this document for guidance, but it may require some
work with your IT staff to adapt the process to successfully create a batch update source file that meets OCLC
requirements.
Libraries that maintain holdings in the NNLM DOCLINE/SERHOLD system can take advantage of an established batch
process that uploads holdings data from SERHOLD to OCLC. Learn more about SERHOLD
resources for Local Holdings Records.
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OCLC Local Holdings Offline Products
OCLC has created a Local
Holdings Offline Product (LHOP) which allows libraries to export their Local Holdings Records (LHRs) in OCLC
into an electronic file. There is no charge for this product, and it can be ordered at any time
(or multiple times) throughout the year.
This product is the successor to the old Serials Union List Offline Product (SULOP)—what some libraries referred
to as their "MULS printouts"—that many of our libraries used to monitor their holdings in OCLC or to provide
printed lists of periodical holdings info to their staff and patrons.
A Quick
Reference guide is available on the OCLC website and covers the order process, how to download the file, and
information on how to import the file into Microsoft Excel. Libraries can order LHOP at any time during the year.
Individual libraries can order a file of their own holdings
in WorldCat from the OCLC website. (The LHOP process does not create either partial lists or multiple
library lists of holdings.) The file will be current up to the day it is run, and you will be notified when the
file is ready.
Once produced, the tab-delimited file will be available for download from the Product
Services Web and can be downloaded to the library's computer system. OCLC gives
instructions
on how to convert the file to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. A utility on the Minitex website can
import the file to MS Access and output the data in
different standardized reports. Exact procedures may vary depending on your local software and operating system.
Additional LHOP Details
The LHOP product is a standard, electronic, tab-delimited file of holdings data for a library.
Each library can decide how to arrange, format, and present their holdings data in whatever form it wishes. The
same file could be used to create a printed table, a webpage, or a searchable online database.
There are some other differences between the old SULOP output and the new LHOP file. In the past, a library could
select certain fields to be included in the SULOP output. Now all LHOP files will have the same data elements, but
it will be up to the libraries to decide whether and how to use or display each element. Because of this increased
flexibility, additional support from the library's IT staff may be required to manipulate the file into a form that
is most useful to the library.
Also, some libraries used to create combined lists showing all the holdings for a group of libraries; the LHOP is
currently limited to providing the holdings of a single library. Creating a shared list now would be a project for
the libraries' IT staff involving multiple LHOP files.
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Additional Help
The MULS unit staff can answer questions related to Local Holdings Records (LHRs) and the process of Local Holdings
Maintenance (LHM). For questions related to other OCLC products and services, staff in the
Digitization, Cataloging & Metadata Education unit may be more helpful, or you can contact
OCLC customer support.
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