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CUL and the DLF/OCLC Digital Registry

Greg Nehler

CUL in the digital age is among the forerunners in many new developments in library services and technology. One notable sign that this trend is continuing is CUL’s contribution of records—its first but by no means last—to the DLF/OCLC Digital Registry in September 2005. The registry serves as a central location of MARC records that coordinates efforts to digitize resources, including making known the intent to digitize. It enables library staff to identify and evaluate digital versions and makes registry records available for extraction and re-use.

The DLF/OCLC Registry of Digital Masters was initiated by the Digital Library Federation (DLF). Its initial draft of specifications for the registry was completed in April 2001. Later that year OCLC became a full-fledged partner of DLF. As such, it not only provided input into successive versions of specifications, but also assumed the indispensable role of storing and maintaining the registry. Even before the current version of specifications was established, CUL had pledged to contribute early and often. Indeed, it was among the first to submit records to the registry. It is also easily the single greatest contributor to date, having submitted 2,638 records out of a total 2,919.

The initial contribution comprises the records of two digital collections: Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA) and Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History (HEARTH). CHLA gathers together a relatively small but representative sample of agricultural texts published in the last two hundred years or so. HEARTH is a core collection of monographs and serials in home economics and related disciplines spanning essentially the same period. Both have been preserved and made available by Mann Library.

Before cataloged records for CHLA and HEARTH resources could be submitted to the registry, they had to be slightly massaged. Originally each record described the digital version. So far so good. However, to comply with registry guidelines, each record needed to be enhanced with additional information. One such field was the Action Note, which contains information about processing, reference, and preservation actions.

Cornell intends to go on contributing to the registry. Mann Library is now digitizing print resources grouped together under the rubric “Hive and Honeybee.” The digital collection “Southeast Asia Visions” is also in development. MARC records of both will be submitted to the registry. With CUL leading the way, other libraries are likely to follow suit, and the registry will grow and become the useful and powerful tool it was conceived to be.

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