ICPSR and MARC

ICPSR has recently added a number of export functions for study-level metadata. On the search results page, you can now export results as either MARC21 XML or comma-delimited files (with a maximum of 500 results). This export feature appears at the base of the right-hand column on the search results page. From the study home page, you can now export a study-level metadata record in a variety of formats, including DDI, Dublin Core, and MARC21 XML.

These export options replace ICPSR's previous method of disseminating MARC records. The changes are:

We now provide MARC21 XML, not true MARC.
The new MARC21 XML doesn't include all fields previously indexed; it's a concise metadata record.
We no longer submit our MARC to OCLC.
We no longer have our MARC reviewed/corrected by library staff at the University of Michigan.
Users can easily build custom sets of MARC21 XML, rather than having to re-import all ICPSR metadata.
Users can obtain updated XML at will, rather than waiting for an annual batch from ICPSR.

At the beginning of 2011, our staff will generate two large XML files:

a file containing all ICPSR metadata as MARC21 XML
a file containing all studies added or updated in 2010 as MARC21 XML

We'll link those files from the OR site, so that the 500 result limit doesn't prevent users from obtaining the full metadata. In the meantime, please consider taking a moment to look over the MARC21 XML, which is linked from the study search results page and from each study home page. If you see any flaws with the XML, please don't hesitate to let us know. The new setup makes it very easy for ICPSR to globally update our XML, and we'd like to ensure that the XML is suitable for our institutions' library catalogs.

If you have any questions/concerns, please email web-support@icpsr.umich.edu.

Persistent URL: http://icpsr.blogspot.com/2010/11/icpsr-and-marc.html

2010-11-15