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Columbia University Libraries Signed Unique Agreement with Serials Solutions to Provide Full Cataloging and Holdings Data
April 11, 2002 Columbia University Libraries has signed a unique
agreement with Serials Solutions to provide full
cataloging and holdings data, with regular updates, for e-journals
acquired through aggregators and packages. Although Serials
Solutions has been providing part of this service to several
hundred libraries for some time, this is the first agreement that
provides full catalog records as opposed to abbreviated listings.
Robert Wolven, Director of Library Systems and
Bibliographic Control at Columbia Libraries, said "I believe
this model holds the promise of becoming the dominant mode of
e-journal cataloging rather quickly. It offers a single solution to
the problems of tracking the frequent changes in large e-journal
sets, providing high-quality cataloging, and consolidating access
to holdings information for multiple versions."
Columbia, an institutional member of the CONSER
(Cooperative Online Serials) Program, met with Serials Solutions
and Jean Hirons, CONSER Coordinator, at ALA
mid-winter to discuss the details and come up with standards that
will not only meet Columbia's requirements but be generalizable
to other customers.
Hirons noted that "it is in CONSER's interest to form
partnerships with companies, such as Serials Solutions, that are
providing alternatives to traditional cataloging. By working with
such companies we can assure that the quality of the product is
sound while saving time for everyone."
"The collaboration with Columbia University Libraries and
CONSER has been tremendous," commented Peter McCracken,
Co-Founder and Director of Product Development for Serials
Solutions. "They played a crucial role in helping us develop
this service to the highest standards."
Serials Solutions is beta-testing this service with other
institutions around the country and is planning to offer the
service at the ALA conference in Atlanta.
Serials Solutions LLC is the premier provider of comprehensive
e-journal tracking services. Founded by a librarian for librarians,
Serials Solutions helps librarians find and use all of the
electronic journals that are available at their library.
http://www.serialssolutions.com
Columbia University Libraries is the nation's eighth largest
academic library system, with 7.5 million volumes, 84,000 serials,
as well as extensive collections of electronic resources,
manuscripts, rare books, microforms and other non-print formats.
The collections are particularly strong in humanities and history,
architecture, East Asian and other Area Studies materials, oral
history, theater, and original materials in English and American
literature and history.
The collections and services are organized into 22 libraries,
supporting specific academic or professional disciplines. The
Library's web site at
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/ is a
gateway to the print and electronic collections and services.
| For information: |
Robert Wolven |
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Director of Library Systems and Bibliographic
Control |
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Columbia University Libraries
212 854-5585 |
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