SUNCAT: the Central Source of Serials Information in the UK

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SUNCAT the Central Source of Serials Information
in the UK

• SUNCAT the Serials Union Catalogue for the UK
• www.edina.ac.uk/suncat

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Background

• UKNUC Feasibility Study - 2001
• Serials Report Tony Kidd, Rob Bull
• SUNCAT Scoping Study - 2002
• Information Power Ltd.
• JISC RSLP funded
• Purpose - to develop a UK Serials Union
  Catalogue
• Phase 1 February 2003-December 2004
• Phase 2 January 2005-December 2006
• Partnership between the University of Edinburgh,
  through EDINA, Ex Libris
• Associate Partners - Cambridge, Glasgow, National
  Library of Scotland, Oxford

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Project Management

• EDINA
• Co-directors of SUNCAT Project
• Peter Burnhill
• Christine Rees
• Ex Libris
• Julie Booth
• Dominic Nast
• Steering Group (Chair Derek Law)
• Advisory Group (Chair Peter Burnett)
• Bibliographic Quality Advisory Group (BQAG)

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Work Packages

• Project Manager
• Fred Guy
• Systems Librarian
• Morag Macgregor (EDINA)
• Bibliographic Work Package
• Natasha Aburrow-Jones (EDINA)
• Moira Whitson (EDINA)
• User Requirements Work Package
• Zena Mulligan (EDINA)
• Liz Stevenson (Edinburgh University Library)
• Advisor Tony Kidd (Glasgow University Library)

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SUNCAT aims

• SUNCAT primary aims
• Location of serials, including information about
  access
• Source of high quality bibliographic records for
  downloading to local catalogues
• Additionally - to raise consciousness of the
  importance of quality serials information among
  UK researchers and librarians

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Contributing Libraries Phase 1

• British Library
• National Library of Scotland
• National Library of Wales
• Imperial College, London
• London School of Economics
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Queens University, Belfast
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• University College, London

• University of Durham
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Glasgow
• University of Leeds
• University of Manchester
• University of Newcastle
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• University of Southampton
• University of Wales, Cardiff
• University of Warwick

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SUNCAT How does it work?

• Centralised union catalogue
• Records stored in one large database
• Records deduplicated to view using Aleph
  functionality
• Records merged on the fly
• Complex matching algorithm
• Preferred record displayed
• Matching above format

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How does SUNCAT obtain records?

• Dialogue between library and SUNCAT project team
• Contributing library ftps a file to SUNCAT
• Data specification is drawn up by the team, and
  approved by the contributing library
• Data is converted according to data specification
• Data is loaded into SUNCAT

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SUNCAT Phase 1 contributing libraries LMS

• Aleph
• Endeavor Voyager
• GEAC Advance
• Innopac
• Innovative
• Talis
• Unicorn

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SUNCAT standards

• Entry standard
• Upgrading standard

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User requirements - interface

• User requirements display and functionality
• Accessibility and Usability
• Aleph 500 already deployed for other union
  catalogues
• Dialogue with California Digital Library, and
  review of other Union Catalogue OPACs
• User testing
• Focus group - Librarians
• Individual sessions - Researchers Academic
  staff
• Extended testing Phase 1 Libraries

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Electronic journals

• Increasing proportion of holdings are electronic
• Growing archives of back files
• Preliminary survey of current practice
• Single or separate records
• Access and holdings subscription information
• Research undertaken

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SUNCAT Phase 2

• Pilot service launched January 2005
• Coverage extended to include a further 60
  libraries
• Range of library types extended to include
  special libraries, research collections
• Research and development work ejournals
• Testing and development of interface
• Librarians interface

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SUNCAT The Librarians Interface

• Download
• Assisted matching

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SUNCAT Other developments

• Updates
• Notifications

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SUNCAT Conclusions

• One-stop shop for researchers and librarians
• Researchers single tool for location of serials
• Librarians central source of high-quality
  bibliographic records available for download
  locate function for ILL

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SUNCAT

• SUNCAT Pilot Service
• www.edina.ac.uk/suncat
• SUNCAT Project Website
• www.suncat.ac.uk
• Zena Mulligan
• zena.mulligan_at_ed.ac.uk