Next Generation Melvyl Pilot – Request Delayed; October Enhancements

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

Request Delayed
One of the most significant remaining challenges in the Next Generation Melvyl Pilot supported by WorldCat Local (WCL) is the integration with Request (ILL).  Request is dependent on a major re-architecture of WorldCat Local.  The development of that re-architecture has taken longer than expected and Request is now targeted for public release in spring 2009.

The Executive Team and University Librarians are evaluating the impact this delay will have on the timetable for making a decision about moving Next Generation Melvyl from pilot to production.

October Update
On Sunday, October 5, new functionality was brought into WCL.  The following notes, written by OCLC’s Bob Schulz, Laura Endress, and Bob Robertson-Boyd, describe these changes.

Enhancement:  Add format and language facets to editions pages to assist in discovering items in large edition sets.

Enhancement:  Improved material type handling and display

• Display literary form and literary text

• • Examples:

• • Literary form (bks):

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/166924679

• • Old Display: Book : Biography

• • New Display: Book :

Humor, satire, etc.

• • : Biography

Literary text (rec): http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58046168
Old Display: Audiobook on CD
New Display: Audiobook on CD: Comedy

• Suppress redundant types

• • For eTypes, do not show secondary type of com or Sound effect

• • For eBooks, do not show secondary type of bks

• • For eAudiobook or eMusic, do not show secondary type of rec or “Audio book, etc.” or “Music”

• • For eSerials, do not show secondary type of ser

• For eVideos, do not show secondary type of vis

• • Examples:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44955817

• • • Old Display: eBook : Computer file
    • New Display: eBook

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/73286931

• • • Old Display: Downloadable audiobook : Audio book, etc. : Sound effect  Computer File  Sound Recording
    • New Display: Downloadable audiobook

Enhancement:  Correct duplicate display of personal names, countries, and titles as subjects.  Instead of subfields 1-3 for 600 fields, display these: 1-4,13-20,22,24-26

• • Examples:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/63703974

• Old Display:

• New Display:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51959498

• • Old Display:

Canada.Canada.Canada.Canada.

• • New Display:

Canada. — Treaties, etc, — 1992 Oct. 7.Canada. — Treaties, etc, — 1993
Sept. 13.Canada. — Treaties, etc. — (1992 Oct. 7)Canada. — Treaties, etc. — (1993 Sept. 13)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57411409

• Old Display:

• New Display:

Enhancement:  Remove links to add or edit Notes and Tables of Contents from Details tab.

Much of what was being received through those mechanisms was “spam,” when they were used at all, and there were security concerns with being able to edit other user’s entries.  All data that has been contributed will be stored and displayed; only the option to edit or add more data has been removed.  There are plans to replace some of this content creation functionality with better services in future installs.