Re: [CRISP@social.chass.ncsu.edu: online National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections]

["HAMBURGER, SUSAN" <SXH@PSULIAS.PSU.EDU>]

According to Harriet Ostroff in an e-mail message to me in September 1993,
"The records being downloaded into OCLC are all those NUCMC records which
have been input into RLIN since 1987.  They represent cataloging done by
the NUCMC staff from 1986 to the present [9/93].  The Library of Congress
sells the RLIN NUCMC tapes as one part of its MARC Distribution Service.
The subscription includes quarterly tapes which consist of all the new
NUCMC records and any earlier ones which have been updated during that
quarter."

Pam Kircher at OCLC reported in July 1993 that OCLC loaded more than 12,000
NUCMC records and will load the quarterly files of corrected and new
records.

It is my understanding from various postings and conversations that the
Library of Congress is generally loading NUCMC records from institutions
without OCLC or RLIN access.  Some records from the 1980s from OCLC- and/or
RLIN-accessible institutions did make it through the sieve.  The last I heard,
LC was concentrating on reporting currently-received collections.
Circumstances change as budgets and priorities are reallocated.  For the
latest scoop, Harriet Ostroff (ostroff@mail.loc.gov) should have an update.

In the overview, not all NUCMC records are in RLIN and/or OCLC.  We still
need to consult the older printed guides.

Sue Hamburger
Manuscripts Librarian
Special Collections Dept.
W342 Pattee Library
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
814/865-2967
e-mail:  sxh@psulias.psu.edu