PERIODICALS CATALOGUING ON LS/2000 AT NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Introduction A machine‐readable file of periodical records was first created at Newcastle in 1977, and held on the University's IBM 370/178. By 1985 the file consisted of about 12,000 records of which 3,400 were for current titles. The output was in microfiche, produced once a year, with one print‐out for staff use, which was amended regularly to keep it up‐to‐date. The microfiche was an alphabetical title listing but access was also provided by corporate bodies and different forms of title; for example, Journal of the American Medical Association appeared as Journal‐American Medical Association and American Medical Association‐Journal. Use of OCLC for cataloguing began in 1982, and cataloguing on LS/2000 (OCLC's local system) started in April 1985. OPAC terminals were made available at the same time and with the majority of the bookstock accessible through the OPAC it was obviously desirable to include periodical records as well. Two main options emerged, either to use the existing file or to catalogue all the periodicals from scratch, using records taken from the OCLC Union Catalogue. Periodical records on OCLC are fuller and more complex than we require and the size of the database means some difficulty in searching for the correct record. It was felt that to use OCLC records in a retroconversion project would take more time and staff effort than to load and edit our existing file. The latter option also meant that the records, albeit un‐edited, were all available on the OPAC from one date, rather than being added gradually.