Follett VERSION 6.00 Manuale Utente

Chapter 6 Building your union

A union catalog can mean something very different from one district to the next.

While one district might process and distribute all records from a central location,

the next may rely on catalogers at each member site. No matter what your

situation, this version of Follett's Union Catalog Plus with or without Follett

Data Exchange Server is the most flexible district solution ever. The instructions

in this chapter assume that you have already decided on the type of union

catalog your district needs.

Who should read this?

Building a union catalog is a cooperative effort. No matter what type of union

catalog you're setting up, you'll need to be familiar with the members in your

district. For sites that won't be using Data Exchange (DX, for short), you'll need a

general idea of the quality of each member's MARC records so you can import

the highest quality records first. Setting up DX members not only requires

knowledge of your members' cataloging practices you'll also need to know

their participation preferences. DX members also require some additional, rather

technical, setup tasks, which are explained in the Follett Data Exchange Guide

(fscdx.pdf).

Important:

We strongly recommend that you enlist the aid of your technology

coordinator or arrange to have Follett Software Company help you set

up the Follett Data Exchange Server.

Where do we begin?

To help you build your union catalog, we have included the following checklist

to guide you through the process:

Steps for building your union catalog

1. Before you begin, make sure you have all the information you'll need:

If you'll be doing original cataloging at the union catalog, you'll want a list of the

nonDewey call number prefixes used in your district.

If you'll be setting up any nonDX members, make sure you have the current setup

information for each, including the barcode symbology they use for library materials

and any circulation types or categories they use. If you haven't already, this would

also be a good time to request that they export their collections (MARC 21/852 hold

ings format) and send you the files for import. See page 112 for more information.

If you'll be setting up any DX members, make certain each has installed and set up

Circulation Plus/Catalog Plus. The Union Catalog Plus, Follett Data Exchange Server,

and member applications must all be the same version for a new union/DX

installation (currently, v5.0). Determine each member's level of participation (see page

93), and any material types, categories, call number prefixes, or circulation types the

member wants to exclude from the union catalog database (see page 94).

Important: It is critical that all sites (member and union catalog, DX or not) have a full and

short version of their site name and a unique MARC Organization Code.