Collaboration in CORC. By Thomas B. Hickey, Director, CORC Project, OCLC Office of Research
Abstract. OCLC’s Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) brings collaboration of the type long practiced by libraries to the description of Internet resources.  Begun as a research project in 1998, it is now being developed into a full OCLC service.  CORC users share a centralized database of resource descriptions accessed and edited through Web browsers.  Collaboration within the project occurs on a number of levels to allow sharing of information within and among institutions around the world.  By working closely with an enthusiastic group of interested libraries and librarians we have concentrated on rapid interactive development while actually running a prototype service.  Specific features that facilitate collaboration in CORC include Unicode support, strong support for the entry and linking of authority records, and support of multiple metadata formats.  CORC is closely integrated with existing MARC21 systems, such as OCLC’s WorldCat, while also supporting newer metadata formats such as Dublin Core.  This integration has proven to be both one of the most attractive features of CORC, as well as a continuing challenge.

Keywords: Collaboration, Cooperation, CORC, Digital Libraries, Dublin Core, OCLC, Pathfinders, RDF, XML 

CORC and the Future of Libraries:  Two University Librarians’ Perspective. By Charlene Hurt, Georgia State University, and William Gray Potter, University of Georgia
Abstract:  Two University Librarians look at OCLC’s CORC project from the perspective of how it helps achieve the goals of the evolution of the virtual library as well as their individual library goal of creating an all-inclusive catalog of the information provided to library users.  They also examine the implications of the CORC process on library organizations, including the potential to involve a much wider range of participants in a CORC project.

Keywords:  CORC, OCLC, Virtual Library, Dublin Core, Cataloging, Internet, Web, Library Administrators, Library Organization

A Relationship between CORC and the PCC: Rationale and Possibilities. By John J. Riemer, University of Georgia
Abstract. The author examines the common purposes of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) and the Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) and offers opinions on the potential relationship and interaction that could exist between them.  The future of cooperative cataloging and potential improvements to efficiency are explored.  Reflections on the differing natures of the MARC and Dublin Core standards and the interrelationship between them are offered.  Finally, CORC-inspired ideas are presented on the leadership role the PCC can offer in the areas of standards, automation, and training.

Keywords: Cooperative Cataloging, CORC, Program for Cooperative Cataloging, Dublin Core, MARC

A Faceted Approach To Subject Data In The Dublin Core Metadata Record. By Lois Mai Chan (University of Kentucky), Eric Childress (OCLC), Rebecca Dean (OCLC), Edward T. O'Neill (Office of Research, OCLC), and Diane Vizine-Goetz (Office of Research, OCLC)
Abstract. The enormous volume and rapid growth of resources available on the World Wide Web and the emergence of numerous metadata schemes have spurred a re-examination of the way subject data is to be provided for web resources efficiently and effectively.  For the Dublin Core metadata record, a new approach to subject vocabulary is being investigated.  This new method, called FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology), is based on the existing vocabulary in Library of Congress Subject Headings (LC), but applied with a simpler syntax than that currently used by libraries according to Library Congress application policies.  In the FAST system, non-topical (i.e., geographic, chronological, and form) data are separated from topical data and placed in different elements provided in the Dublin Core metadata record.

Keywords: Dublin Core FAST (Faceted Approach to Subject Terminology) LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) Metadata Subject analysis

Terminology Identification in a Collection of Web Resources. By Carol Jean Godby (OCLC) and Ray Reighart (OCLC)
Abstract. The primary goal of the WordSmith project is to obtain subject terminology directly from raw text.  We are currently investigating the hypothesis that reliable subject terms can be automatically collected, re-used, and organized into thesaurus-like objects that enhance access to material that is unwieldy to classify by hand, such as the Web documents in the CORC database.  Baseline results of our work are already visible in the CORC project.  Catalogers who check the Generate possible subject terms button in the process of creating a description for a new item may retrieve novel subject terms such as animal genome databases, backcountry Web sites, digital communities, email viruses, and worldwide Internet music.  These terms are too new to appear in standard library classification schemes.  In later versions of CORC, we want to make automatic keyword assignment more responsive to the needs of catalogers and use this terminology in other ways to increase subject access to the CORC collection.  Our paper describes the current implementation of WordSmith in CORC, an evaluation of the results, and proposed future enhancements.

Keywords: WordSmith, automatic keyword assignment, terminology, subject analysis, CORC, computational linguistics

Dewey in CORC: Classification in Metadata and Pathfinders. By Diane Vizine-Goetz
Abstract. The Cooperative Online Resource Catalog project (CORC) is providing an opportunity for OCLC researchers and Dewey editors to explore the potential of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system for organizing electronic resources. Efforts to enrich the content of the DDC database through vocabulary mapping projects have improved the ability of CORC users to employ classification in metadata records and pathfinders. Mapped vocabulary is used in the following ways: 1) to improve access to Dewey by expanding the indexing vocabulary 2) to assist in the assignment of subject elements during metadata creation, 3) to provide supplemental terminology for automated classification, and 4) to provide alternative access mechanisms or views to resources in the CORC database.

KEYWORDS.  DDC, Dewey Decimal Classification, LCSH, Library of Congress Subject Headings, vocabulary mapping.

Crosswalking Metadata in the OCLC CORC service. By Eric Childress
Abstract: The new OCLC CORC service will offer users the ability to create, edit, or export metadata in several standard views, chiefly MARC and Dublin Core.  This is made possible by a crosswalk, a specification for converting metadata from one standard to another.  The article describes the philosophy and approach guiding the OCLC CORC service's implementation of its crosswalk capabilities.

Keywords:  OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., OCLC CORC service, Crosswalks, Metadata, MARC, Dublin Core

Cataloging in CORC: A Work in Progress. By Jeff Edmunds and Roger Brisson (The Pennsylvania State University)
Abstract In following a practice for developing software now common in the computing industry, OCLC has been developing CORC ‘live’, allowing its customers, primarily libraries, to act as beta testers. This has allowed testers to provide continuous feedback as they use and interact with system features as they are added. This has also given beta testers, who have been predominantly catalogers, the unique opportunity to experience the latest computing technologies in a cooperative cataloging environment. Two catalogers from a large ARL library give a ‘hands-on’ report from the field, and in so doing provide a glimpse of what it is like to catalog Internet resources in CORC.

Keywords: CORC (Cooperative Online Resource Catalog), Dublin Core, metadata, library catalogs and cataloging, organization and control of Internet resources

Utilizing CORC to Develop and Maintain Access to Biomedical Web Sites. By Norm Medeiros, Robert F. McDonald, and Paul Wrynn, New York University School of Medicine
Abstract.  The need for robust access to scholarly Internet-based information is great.  Existing search engines cannot filter the gems from the sand, nor do their algorithms provide adequate precision for retrieval¹.  OCLC’s Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) attempts to bring an OPAC-like standardization to the non-standard world that is the Internet.  Since the beginning of the CORC research project in January 1999, emphasis has necessarily been placed on technical development, such as the mapping between MARC and Dublin Core, the export function, and the META tag builder.

Never the Twain Shall Meet? Collaboration between Catalogers and Reference Librarians in the OCLC CORC Project at Brown University. Ann Caldwell, Dominique Coulombe, Ronald Fark, Michael Jackson, Brown University
Abstract.  In the spring of 1999 the Brown University Library became a participant in the CORC project.  The reference department had two goals that had been difficult to achieve due to time constraints and workloads.  One was the creation of subject pathfinders by reference librarians; the other goal was developing a mechanism for alerting our end users to quality web sites and print sources.  In addition, the catalog department had the goal of exposing more staff, both professional and paraprofessional, to cataloging Internet resources.  The ease of creating bibliographic records and the ability to develop pathfinders in the CORC Project has helped break down the reluctance of reference librarians to “catalog” records and has fostered collaboration between cataloging and reference staff.  A plan of implementation and training was put into place.  The plan involved the establishment of a small team of volunteers from cataloging and reference who developed procedures and guidelines for the project.  Workshops were set up to teach reference staff Dublin Core cataloging basics and pathfinder creation.  The reference staff met regularly to create CORC records with guidance and review by cataloging staff.  Reference staff is using their subject expertise to create pathfinders in this new medium without needing to learn the intricacies of HTML.  Efforts are now underway to export CORC records and pathfinders onto the Library’s local Webpac and library Web.  It is anticipated that this project will result in a greater number of subject pathfinders available for the end user; increased access to Web resources; and improved collaborative functionality between cataloging and reference staff.

Keywords: Reference, Cataloging of Internet Resources, Bibliographic Control, CORC, Pathfinders, Collaboration, Cross-training

CORC and Collaborative Internet Resource Description: A New Partnership for Technical Services, Collection Development and Public Services. By Karen Calhoun, Cornell University
Abstract. The author describes the “CORC at Cornell” project, undertaken by a small cross-functional team.  Using CORC and Dublin Core (DC) as a framework, the team explored a distributed model for Internet resource description, in which catalogers, selectors, and reference specialists participated in producing DC and MARC metadata for the library’s OPAC and gateway.  After describing the experimental workflow that was developed and tested in the project, the author employs systems analysis techniques to model and discuss the Internet resource description process.  The findings indicate that distributed resource description is both feasible and beneficial, and that staff from various functional areas can readily use DC and CORC.  The article concludes with a discussion of issues that warrant further research.

Keywords: CORC, electronic resources, Dublin Core metadata, MARC cataloging records, technical services workflow, systems analysis, cross-functional teams, library organization

Dublin Core and Serials. By Wayne Jones, MIT
Abstract: The article examines the adequacy of the Dublin Core element set (version 1.1) for describing serials, and finds that overall it works well, except for dates and the volume/date designation.

Keywords: serials; e-serials; Dublin Core; cataloging; metadata; CORC

Using the Dublin Core to Document Digital Art: A Case Study. By Ann Hanlon and Ann Copeland, University of Illinois 
Abstract. The @art gallery is a digital art gallery affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Art and Design.  The exhibits in the gallery consist entirely of digital art, often created exclusively for the web environment.  The authors, as part of a project conducted for the Digital Imaging and Media Technology Initiative at the University of Illinois, used the gallery for a case study to test the applicability of the Dublin Core metadata format for digital art.  In addition, they used the Arts and Humanities Data Service’s Discovering Online Resources Across the Humanities as a guide to best practice.  Several challenges were presented by this study, including how best to extend Dublin Core to accommodate the multiple access points necessary to discover a work of digital art, how best to encode the FORMAT element to effectively describe the tools needed to view works of digital art, and whether their use of Dublin Core would translate into a record in CORC.   The study indicates that Dublin Core elements must be qualified and repeated to clearly document the particular and unique characteristics of digital art, and that the Dublin Core implementation in CORC does not always accommodate this use of Dublin Core.

Keywords: digital art, visual art, metadata, Dublin Core, CORC, image retrieval

Using the Dublin Core with CORC to Catalog Digital Images of Maps. By David Yehling Allen, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Abstract.   This article deals with cataloging digital images of maps using the Dublin Core format in the CORC environment.  In spite of the essential simplicity of Dublin Core cataloging, there are a number of unresolved problems in its application to digital images of maps previously published on paper.  These problems are described, and suggestions are made concerning the best way to handle them.  Examples are provided of Dublin Core cataloging of varying degrees of complexity for images of historical maps.  In the long run, cataloging maps using the Dublin Core format in CORC should get easier as improvements are made in the CORC system and "best practice" guides are developed. 

KEYWORDS.  cartographic materials, cataloging, CORC, digital images, Dublin Core, historical maps, maps, metadata, OCLC, raster images