Availability of bibliographic records for the UK imprint
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007135 |
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| Pages | 6-15 |
| Author | Ann Chapman |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
AVAILABILITY OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS FOR THE
UK IMPRINT
ANN CHAPMAN
a.d.chapman@ukoln.ac.uk
UK Office for Library and Information Networking, University of Bath
Bath BA2 7AY
Various measures exist to determine the quality, however defined, of
records in a database or catalogue but there has been less work in
developing quality measures for catalogues or databases. UKOLN
has carried out work on record quality and catalogue/database
performance measurement since 1980. Recently UKOLN has
extended its work on the currency of records in the BNB files on the
British Library database to a number of other sources of biblio-
graphic records. The results of the Multi-Source Currency survey
presented here have highlighted a number of issues relating to the
bibliographic record coverage of the UK imprint.
INTRODUCTION
In the last few years the library and information world, along with services and
organisations in other areas, has been required to become more accountable to its
users. Consequently much attention has been focused on the concept of perfor-
mance measurement and the definition of quality for services. In addition, cuts in
funding for libraries in all sectors have resulted in the examination of all areas of
library service provision in order to preserve, where possible, book funds and
length of opening hours. Bibliographic records in some form are a necessity for a
library but today fewer and fewer libraries choose to create these records them-
selves, relying instead on record purchase. In turn the record purchase option
chosen has to be cost effective.
Bibliographic records are only one component of a library and information
service, but are required at all stages from acquisitions, through catalogue pro-
vision, enquiries and inter-library lending, to withdrawal of stock. Currency is
important – a library considering purchase of bibliographic records from an out-
side source wants a good quality record at the time it is required. Unavailable
records lead to library services having to duplicate effort in creating the record
locally for stock additions. A library purchasing bibliographic records therefore
wants to find a source that can provide the largest number of records of acceptable
data quality for its stock at the time required.
Research in this area is limited. Some work has been carried out, from the
1970s to the present, on the currency and coverage of records in databases, while
in recent years attempts have been made to define quality of bibliographic records
and catalogues/bibliographic databases as part of a wider set of library perfor-
mance indicators.
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Journal of Documentation, Vol. 55, No. 1, January 1999
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Journal of Documentation, vol. 55, no. 1, January 1999, pp. 6–15
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