MARC 21
The library catalogue is one of the key places a user will go to find an e-book, therefore it is essential that the MARC record is included.
During the project, JISC Collections has learnt about the many issues associated with e-books metadata. JISC Collections is now looking to work collaboratively with publishers, e-book aggregators and key bibliographic agencies to improve the quality of e-books metadata and to avoid the current unnecessary duplication of effort.
The JISC National E-books Observatory Catalogue Records (NEOCaR)
NEOCaR provides HE librarians with a single download process for the MARC 21 records for all the e-books licensed as part of the National e-book observatory project. To access NEOCaR please visit the NEOCaR page at EDINA.
Why NEOCaR?
NEOCaR holds all the MARC records for the e-books licensed as part of the project. The records have been checked by Rightscom to see if they hold data in all the required fields. Some records are missing an e-ISBN for reasons outside of our control despite requesting e-ISBNs for all the titles.
To access the MARC 21 records please visit the NEOCaR page at EDINA, and follow the instructions to download the records into your library catalogue. JISC Collections would recommend that all libraries incorporate the MARC 21 records into their catalogues and provide direct links from the catalogue and VLE as it has been shown in several studies that this is essential in raising awareness of the availability of the e-books and encouraging use by students.
Whats happening to NEOCaR now?
JISC Collections received further funding to explore whether NEOCaR should be further developed or whether collaboration with key agencies will be a more effective route to improving the quality of metadata received for e-books. It was agreed that collaboration between current agencies would be a more effective route to the delivery of quality metadata for libraries.