Task Group on Vendor-Supplied Bibliographic Records

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BNA 

General Information  Name of Vendor  Contact Information  Description  Records Availability  Test Records Availability  Methodology for Creation of Records  Customization  Evaluation  Review Status  Authority Control  Fixed Fields  Variable-Length Fields  Subject Headings/Classification   Other Additional Comments

 

General Information 

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Name of Vendor 

BNA (Bureau of National Affairs)

 

Contact Information 

LeChi Gallagher  (BNA Cataloger) 

 

Description 

Records were created for the following electronic resources: BNA ALL Package, Core Package, Core PLUS Package, and Core PLUS with Tax Management Package. 

 

Records Availability 

Records are available for free from the BNA website. New and revised records are added once or twice a month. Records are also available individually on OCLC. There are 659 records on the BNA All file as of March 6, 2008.    

 

Test Records Availability 

Since the records are free, test records can be loaded at will. 

 

Methodology for Creation of Records 

Records are derived from the OCLC records for the print versions. When no print records available, new records for the electronic versions are created from scratch. 

 

Customization 

N/A 

 

Evaluation 

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Review Status 

All records have been reviewed (as of March 6, 2008). 

 

Authority Control 

All headings are controlled on OCLC at point of cataloging.  

 

Fixed Fields 

All seem correct. All records have 006 and 007 fields for the electronic format.  

 

Variable-Length Fields 

Records include all required fields.

 

The 043 geographic area code is inconsistently included. Many of the records examined warranted the inclusion of 043 n-us---, but were missing that field. 

 

Most records have a 530 note for the print version, but only 12% have a corresponding 776 field.

 

Note: Keep in mind that both 043 and 776 fields are OPTIONAL.

 

UPDATE 6/10/08: In response to our feedback, LeChi Gallagher has been adding 043 and 776 fields to all appropriate records. 

 

Subject Headings/Classification  

All records have valid LC Subject Headings. Very few records include LC Classification numbers. 

 

Other

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Additional Comments 

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 ym (3/6/08): The records are of very good quality. LeChi Gallagher, the wonderful BNA cataloger, has been extremely responsive to comments and suggestions. She updated the website to facilitate easier record loading, and swiftly resolves any cataloging issues that are brought to her attention.