This document discusses tools for managing e-book metadata from multiple vendors. It describes the challenges of varying workflows and record quality across vendors. It recommends MarcEdit and other tools for processing records and spreadsheets. The document also presents the benefits of using the OCLC WorldShare Metadata Collection Manager, which retrieves new, updated, and deleted records through a knowledge base to streamline the workflow. While more coverage is still needed, the Collection Manager creates efficiencies over manually handling records from different sources.

1. TIME SAVING TOOLS FOR E-BOOK
METADATA MANAGEMENT
ER&L 2013
Holly Tomren
@htomren

2. INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
• III catalog, Summon discovery layer
• About 150,000 ebooks
• About 20 ebook providers, multiple collections
• Small staff
• Individual cataloging for most packages not feasible; look for
batch solutions
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3. EBOOK METADATA
• Different providers = different workflows
• Different frequencies
• Notifications are rare
• Not all vendors provide MARC records
• Quality of vendor MARC records varies
• Not all vendors provide information about changed records
(UPD, DEL)
• Not all vendors provide OCLC numbers/holdings
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4. WORKFLOW: VARIES BY VENDOR
• Example A: WorldCat Collection Set. Monthly email
notification, retrieve via FTP. NEW only, no UPD or DEL.
• Example B: Generate files on demand from web interface;
separate NEW and DEL files; not OCLC records.
• Example C: Provides records through multiple
sources, including OCLC, but coverage different in each source;
lots of cleanup, bad links
• Example D: Updates collection constantly, but MARC records
only once a year
• Example E: OCLC numbers are not in records but provided in
separate spreadsheet.
• Example F: No MARC records; title spreadsheet available
• Example G: No MARC records, no title list; check website
manually.
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5. SOMETIMES IT LOOKS LIKE THIS…
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6. TOOLS FOR METADATA MANAGEMENT
• MarcEdit
• Evaluate records
• Extract records from a file
• Merge files
• Split files
• Batch edit records (add, delete, modify fields)
• De-duplicate records
• Generate call numbers
• Generate control numbers
• Convert non-MARC to MARC and vice versa
• Generate MARC records from a title list
• Verify URLs
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7. TOOLS FOR METADATA MANAGEMENT
More tools:
• Excel spreadsheets
• Open Refine
• Local scripts
• Load profiles (III)
• Global Update (III)
• Listservs
• MARCEDIT-L
• BATCH-L
And electronic resource knowledge bases…
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8. WORLDSHARE METADATA
COLLECTION MANAGER
• Uses the OCLC WorldCat Knowledge Base (WCKB)
• Drexel currently only using for ebooks, not ejournals
• 3 phase approach to implementation:
• 1: Collections that have no MARC record source – replace
manual workflows
• 2: Collections with especially “challenging” MARC record
workflows
• 3: Collections with reliable MARC records, but want to
consolidate sources
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9. COLLECTION MANAGER WORKFLOW
• Select collections in WorldCat Knowledge Base (WCKB)
• Set up MARC customization options (one time)
• Daily record notifications via email
• Download files via FTP
• Clearly identified NEW, UPD, DEL files
• Separate with MarcEdit if necessary
• Load records without editing
• Minimal spot checking, quality control
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10. COLLECTION MANAGER BENEFITS
• Retrieve records for all providers in one place, including NEW,
UPD, DEL, in a regular, timely manner
• Notification – no more elaborate schedules
• Customizable records – less in-house editing
• URLs are correct and customized per institution
• Efficient way to manage provider neutral records (multiple
providers on one record)
• OCLC holdings set, OCLC numbers included
• Greater discoverability (WorldCat.org, WorldCat Local, anything
powered by WorldCat API)
• Free with OCLC cataloging subscription
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11. COLLECTION MANAGER WISHLIST
• Improved record matching
• More ebook collections in the WCKB, better coverage
• “Expert Community” functionality
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12. CONCLUSION
• Using a knowledge base can create a more efficient ebook
metadata workflow
• By using Collection Manager, we have more thorough and
accurate access to ebooks in our catalog & discovery tools
• We are still using a combination of Collection Manager and
other methods for now, but will continue moving more ebooks to
Collection Manager over time
• This is good preparation for a time in which all ebook
management can be done via knowledge bases, and MARC
records for the local catalog may not be necessary
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13. THANK YOU!
Holly Tomren
Head, Metadata Services
Drexel University Libraries
holly.tomren@drexel.edu
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