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Cataloging Maintenance Priority OC6: OCLC Record Number Formatting

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OCLC numbers are the foundation of bibliographic matching and de-duplication. Non-Standard formatting of the OCLC number issues may contribute to discards or false overlays in the I-Share union catalog. Fixing formatting issues can have a large effect for a relatively small amount of one time labor.

I-Share library catalogers may address OCLC number formatting issues by reviewing the queries for maintenance priority OC6, and then finding and correcting the format of OCLC control numbers. This priority includes ten subcategories involving different formatting issues. Many libraries have some incidences of one or more of these issues, as the attached spreadsheet will show. Libraries with only a few affected records may correct the records by hand. For libraries with larger numbers of problem records, they may use CARLI’s shared MacroExpress macros. Users of MarcEdit may also find correction options available.

Because these issues involve changes to the 035, CARLI strongly recommends that catalogers follow the Safe Bibliographic Record Replacement Routines when correcting or replacing records. Following these procedures should ensure that your corrected record appears properly in both your local catalog and the union catalog, and that your holdings appear correctly as well.

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Descriptions of Different OCLC Record Number Issues

In the current I-Share environment, OCLC control numbers should be formatted in one of three ways:

(OCoLC)ocm01234567   (when the number of digits is less than 8, with leading zeroes so that the number of digits equals 8)

(OCoLC)ocm12345678   (when the number of digits is 8)

(OCoLC)ocn123456789   (when the number of digits is 9)

(OCoLC)on1023456789   (when the number of digits is 10 or more)

OCLC numbers that vary from these formats are often normalized by Voyager in such as way as to cause the normalized 035 field data to not match a corresponding properly formatted OCLC number during duplicate detection.  This can result in duplicate records, discards, or false overlays in both the local databases as well as in the I-Share union catalog.  It is also unknown how future systems may normalize OCLC numbers, so having consistency in OCLC number formatting is highly desirable.

This project consists of eleven queries to identify various inconsistencies in OCLC number formatting.  Some of the records found by these queries will need to be corrected manually, but many can be fixed using macros. 

Some of the queries can retrieve the same bib record, so it is assumed the queries will be run in the order listed below, and that the appropriate records will be fixed before the next query in the series is run.

Because all of these queries will find records that have an 035 field that should be edited, staff should follow the safe bibliographic replacement workflow (a.k.a., the “suppress/replace routine”) when correcting the OCLC number. More information about this workflow is available from the document Safe Bibliographic Record Replacement Routines.

Priority Problem and Query Name Description and Cleanup Options
OC6a Bib record 035 $a begins OCoLC but has no digits

This query looks for 035 fields that contain the (OCoLC)ocm, (OCoLC)ocn, or (OCoLC)on prefix, but no digits following the prefix. Unsuppressed records with this problem will be concatenated together in the I-Share union catalog, even though the titles of the works vary in the local databases, presenting very misleading information to patrons. 
Library staff will need to fix records manually by adding the full OCLC number to the bib record.

Revised January 2018 to include the (OCoLC)on prefix.
OC6b Bib record 035 $a begins OCoLC but has invalid characters

This query looks for 035 fields that begin with the (OCoLC) prefix, but that contain invalid characters such as periods, pound signs, commas, and blank spaces. 
Records retrieved by this query will need to be fixed manually.

Revised January 2018 to include additional characters found in union catalog records.
OC6c Bib record 035 $a has malformed OCoLC prefix

This query looks for 035 fields that begin with variations on the (OCoLC) prefix, such as (OCLC), (OC<zero>LC), OCoLC(ocm, and (OCoCL).  Many of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro.
Changebib_035afixOCoLC.mex
This macro can be used with the output from the query above.  Most of the records with a mismatch between the number of digits in the OCLC number and the (OCoLC)ocm prefix can be corrected with this macro.  Record IDs for bibs that can’t be fixed by the macro are written to a separate output file, for subsequent manual correction.

Revised January 2018 to include additional malformed prefixes found in the union catalog.
OC6d Bib record 035 $a begins OCoLCocm but has more than 8 digits This query looks for 035 fields that have the (OCoLC)ocm prefix, but should probably contain the (OCoLC)ocn prefix, due to the number of digits. Many of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro. It is recommended that the results of this query be spot-checked for obvious errors in the OCLC numbers before running the macro.
Changebib_035afixocm.mex
This macro can be used with the output from the query above.  Most of the records with a mismatch between the number of digits in the OCLC number and the (OCoLC)ocm prefix can be corrected with this macro.  Record IDs for bibs that can’t be fixed by the macro are written to a separate output file, for subsequent manual correction.
OC6e Bib record 035 $a begins OCoLCocm but lacks leading zeroes This query looks for 035 fields that have the (OCoLC)ocm prefix, but the number of digits is less than 8, and the 035 field lacks leading zeroes.  Many of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro. It is recommended that the results of this query be spot-checked for obvious errors in the OCLC numbers before running the macro.
Changebib_035afixocm.mex
OC6f Bib record 035 $a begins OCoLCocn but less than 9 digits This query looks for 035 fields that have the (OCoLC)ocn prefix, but should probably contain the (OCoLC)ocm prefix, due to the number of digits.  Many of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro. It is recommended that the results of this query be spot-checked for obvious errors in the OCLC numbers before running the macro.
Changebib_035afixocm.mex
OC6g Bib record 035 $a begins ocmocm

This query looks for 035 fields that begin with the text ocmocm, or variants of that text.  Records retrieved by this query will need to be fixed manually.

Revised January 2018 to include combinations involving the "on" prefix and possible repetitions of (OCoLC) within an 035$a field.
OC6h Bib record 035 $a contains second OCLC number

This is a series of two queries.  Query 1 finds all bib records with an 035 field in the format (OCoLC)<number> (i.e., it does not contain the ocm, ocn, or on prefix).  Query 2 limits the results of query 1 to bib records that also contain a properly formatted OCLC number.  The records found by this query usually represent cases of the “second 035”, due to changes made in 2006 by OCLC in how they output their control numbers.  Most of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro.
Delbib_second035a.mex
This macro can be used with the output from query 2, to delete the field that represents a second 035. Record IDs for bibs that can’t be fixed by the macro are written to a separate output file, for subsequent manual correction.

Revised January 2018 to include the "on" prefix.

Note: In Voyager 9.1.1 and later, this query set will only identify records with multiple OCLC 035s that do not normalize to the same value. These will mainly be records containing OCLC numbers shorter than 8 digits that have no leading zeroes.
  There is also an optional third query that will identify the operator ID associated with the Create or Replace transaction that introduced the second 035 into the local database. A very common cause of second 035s is records exported from OCLC without the PC’s Connexion preferences set to prevent them.  By default, this query limits results to bib history tab entries since January 1, 2012 in order to target only recent instances of the problem.  This query may be helpful to identify staff workstations that need their OCLC Export preferences changed to match consortial recommendations.
For more information about the second 035 issue in I-Share libraries, including information about Connexion’s Export preference settings, see Effect of OCLC Number Changes in the I-Share Environment
OC6i Bib record 035 $a lacks ocm or ocn prefix

This query looks for 035 fields that begin with (OCoLC) but do not contain the ocm or ocn prefix. This query will often have considerable overlap with the results of OC6h above. We recommend that you correct records for that priority before addressing this one. Once OC6h lists are resolved (i.e., after all of the instances of the second 035s identified with the query above have been deleted), you may run this query. Most of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro.
Changebib_035ainsertocm.mex
This macro can be used with the output from the query above.  Most of the records that lack the ocm/ocn prefix and that do not represent cases of the second 035 can be corrected with this macro.  Record IDs for bibs that can’t be fixed by the macro are written to a separate output file, for subsequent manual correction.
OC6j Bib record 035 $a lacks OCoLC prefix

This query looks for 035 fields that begin with the ocm, ocn, or on prefix but lack the (OCoLC) text.  Bib records found with this query normalize properly within Voyager, so they don’t usually cause the same kinds of problems as the records found by the previous queries.  However, it is unknown how future systems will normalize the OCLC number, so correcting the records found by this query is recommended.  Most of the records retrieved by this query can be fixed with a macro.
Changebib_035ainsertOCoLC.mex
This macro can be used with the output from the query above.  Most of the records that lack the OCoLC prefix can be corrected with this macro.  Record IDs for bibs that can’t be fixed by the macro are written to a separate output file, for subsequent manual correction.

Revised January 2018 to include the on prefix.

OC6k

Bib Record 035$a begins OCoLCon but has less than 10 digits

New Jan. 2018

OCLC established the "on" record number prefix for OCLC control numbers of 10 digits or larger. This query will locate records where the control number has fewer than 10 digits. Most, if not all, of the records found by this query should have used the "ocn" prefix.
OC6l

Bib Record 035$a begins OCoLCocn but has more than 9 digits

New Jan. 2018

 This query looks for 035 fields that have the (OCoLC)ocn prefix, but should probably contain the (OCoLC)on prefix, due to the number of digits. Records found by this query may also contain erroneous data in the 035$a, including ISBN data or typographical errors in the OCLC record number.

Record Counts

OC6 Incidence Counts as of January 17, 2019

OC6 Incidence Counts as of January 3, 2018

OC6 Incidence Counts as of July 27, 2016

This file lists the total count of bib records for each library, along with a column for each of the above issues indicating how many records are affected.

Related Maintenance Performed by CARLI Staff

At the beginning of each month, CARLI staff members identify problem records in the I-Share union catalog where an 035 tag that begins with (OCoLC)oc lacks digits. This situation often results in the replacement of bib records representing completely different works. The most effective approach for CARLI staff is to delete these records from the union catalog.

TUTORIALS

Editing OCLC Numbers to Fix Errors Discovered by Maintenance Priority OC6 by Denise Green, CARLI