Competition for Discovery: The evolving role of the local catalog in light of OCLC's new approach to Local Bibliographic Data

Abstract

The purpose of OCLC's Institution Records was to have a place where additional, local cataloging data could be contained, and easily accessed by other OCLC users. We were assured the public could search data in our IRs through WorldCat, and catalogers using the Connexion client could make use of IRs that were fuller than the MR. OCLC’s new approach to LBD has changed access to our data in WorldCat. Although our own access through our local database will remain the same, the idea of a one-search model across other institutions’ data in OCLC will cease. Yale decided to delete the IRs, and rely on our local catalog as our database-of-record for special collections information. Throughout our decision-making process we discussed the impact of other discovery tools on our local catalog, and the reality that the data in our local catalog will need to be discoverable using other new navigation tools. This paper will address these changes, and the new tools.