Cornell

1
Cornells Participation in CORC

• A Description and Demonstration

2
What Is CORC?

• An effort to improve access to quality Web
  resources
• A research project
• 86 libraries and other public organizations
• OCLC Office of Research
• A framework for cooperative creation and sharing
  of metadata
• A database of records for Web resources
• Access by title, name, subject, URL, publisher,
  etc.

3
What Makes CORC Different?

• Integrates MARC and Dublin Core metadata in a
  single system
• Permits record display, editing, creation and
  exchange in various metadata formats
• Not just for catalogers

• Requires only a Web browser to use (no special
  software)
• Offers computer-assisted record creation and
  subject analysis
• Provides framework and database for sharing
  pathfinders

4
Whats a Pathfinder?

• A guide (usually with links) to resources that
  have something in common (usually a topic)
• Example
• the Management Librarys Business Internet Index
  (BII)
• the Engineering Librarys Internet Connections
  for Engineering (ICE)

5
Why Is CUL Involved in CORC?

• Learn about Dublin Core, automated tools for
  metadata creation
• Explore the feasibility of new workflows (without
  needing to build a system ourselves)
• Share what we know with other CORC participants
  and learn from them
• Create records (and some pathfinders) for
  selected Internet resources
• Gain free access to the CORC database for the CUL
  community

6
The Cornell CORC Team

• Selectors
• Bill Walters (Mann)
• Martha Hsu (Olin)
• Don Schnedeker (Management)
• Reference librarian
• Jill Powell (Engineering)

• Catalogers
• Yumin Jiang (Mann)
• Pam Stansbury (CTS)
• Project coordinator
• Karen Calhoun (CTS)

7
What We Are Doing

• Selecting resources
• Creating resource descriptions (a.k.a. catalog
  records or metadata)
• Transferring records to the NOTIS catalog and the
  Library Gateway
• Experimenting with pathfinders
• Learning, experimenting and talking

8
How? A Demonstration ...
9
Suppose a selector has chosen the Web
resource Ithacas Online Village for CULs
collection. S/he would then search the CORC
database for a record.
This is the CORC welcome screen.
10
This is a search input screen. Drop down lists on
the right provide various ways to search. The
selector has chosen to search all indexed fields
for Ithacas Online Village.
The frame on the left is the navigation bar. It
lists CORC menus and actions, and it appears on
all CORC screens except the login and home pages.
11
This is the Dublin Core view of the record for
Ithacas online village. If s/he wants, the
selector can use the View drop-down list at
the top right to display the record in MARC,
HTML, or RDF/XML.
The Actions drop-down list at the top left lets
the selector choose to display, edit, or
export the record to use this record as the
basis for a new one or to take various other
actions on the record.
At this point, the CUL selector chooses to edit
the record. This will create a copy of the
record for CULs catalog and the Library Gateway.
12
At the same time as CORC displays a record, it
opens the Web site. We have our CORC options set
to open Web pages in a new window.
13
On taking another look at the site, the selector
decides to add some fields to the existing
record--an alternative title, a note to the
cataloger, and two fields to indicate the
organizations responsible for the Web site.
CUL CORC team members have been using Diane
Hillmanns User Guide for Simple Dublin Core, a
product of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative,
to guide their use of DC elements.
The Dublin Core metadata standard defines a
simple yet effective element set to allow a
non-specialist to create descriptive records
easily and inexpen- sively.
14
The selector then submits the record to a
review file, which is a space provided in CORC
for CULs work in progress. The final step
here is for the selector to say yes.
15
As a next step, a cataloger calls the record up,
switches to MARC view, and finishes the work on
the record. In doing so, s/he follows CULs
cataloging guidelines for networked resources.
Note that the Dublin Core element
Title.Alternative has been mapped to MARC field
246. The other fields that the selector added
have also been mapped to MARC. Mappings need
cataloger review but save time.
The final steps are for the cataloger to submit
the record to CORC again, this time setting the
status to complete, then to export the MARC
record from CORC to CULs NOTIS catalog and the
Gateway.
16
Suppose there is no record in CORC for the
Taoist Tai Chi Society, and the selector
wants to create one.
17
The selector specifies that CORC should create a
Dublin Core record. S/he pastes the URL into
the search box and tells CORC to search for
existing CORC records using this URL. S/he also
asks CORC to attempt to generate Dewey
classification numbers, possible subject terms,
and constant data--a set of CUL-defined fields
that go into every record for a networked
resource.
18
This is the record CORC generates. The
system attempts to populate the blank record
with as much data as possible from the Tai Chi
Web site. The initial automated record creation
is intended to reduce typing and provide a place
to start with class- ification and subject
analysis.
Its clear the automated record generation
tools wont replace humans for some time, but
some reasonable keywords are suggested along with
one potentially useful DDC number.
19
If the user clicks on a link to a suggested DDC
number, a screen like this one displays. The
table at the end of the screen can be used as a
source of LC subject headings. The abbreviations
in the last five columns of the table
indicate the strength of the association
between the DDC number and the LCSH heading. In
this case, Tai chi chuan appears to be an
appropriate LC subject heading to use.
20
S/he makes some changes to the record and submits
it to the in-review file so a cataloger can
finish it.
21
c
Next, suppose (for the purpose of this demo) that
a CUL librarian wants to create a pathfinder to
online resources about therapeutics and
alternative medicine. S/he has selected some
sources, including the Tai Chi site, and uses
CORC to create the pathfinder.
22
After gathering the records s/he wants to
include in the guide, s/he creates a CORC
pathfinder for the topic. S/he doesnt need to
know HTML. The pathfinder can be then be
exported to a CUL Web site.
23
This Ends the Demonstration. In Conclusion ...
24
What Are Our Research Objectives?

• Compare record editing/creation to existing
  process
• Assess level, education, training needed for
  Internet resource description
• Explore new workflow with selectors and public
  service librarians
• Evaluate CORC pathfinder functions

25
Milestones and Time Line

• May Received CORC training and documentation
• June Configured workstations, further defined
  project tasks, began describing resources,
  developed a workflow, began weekly team meetings
• July-September Create CORC at Cornell Web
  site, continue creating records and pathfinders,
  work on research objectives
• October-November Compile and discuss findings
  and recommendations, prepare reports for CUL and
  OCLC