“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” – Mark Van Doren 

Beyond community centers and wifi providers, at their core, libraries are centers of knowledge and learning. Patrons, students, and community members use a library’s resources to expand their horizons, deepen their understanding of topics, or simply get reacquainted with their favorite characters from a book series they’ve loved for years.

But none of this can happen without good data. There cannot be discovery in a modern library without good data. Patrons and students cannot be expected to find a library’s resources independently and/or remotely without good data. This is where TLC Data Services steps in:

• Curated metadata records
• Robust eBook records
• RDAification of a database
• Authority control

These are some of the many ways TLC Data Services can assist you, so you can better assist your community’s discovery.

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Easy Access
ITS•MARC offers catalogers easy access to 77 million MARC records, using the fastest search technology in the library industry. ITS•MARC offers these access methods: ITS•MARC.com, Z39.50, and integration with TLC’s LS2 Cataloging. At one low, fixed price per year, you can search and find high-quality bibliographic and authority records.

Enhanced Content
Book jacket images, tables of contents (ToCs), and reviews are included with the Web service. Jacket art can be viewed with properly equipped Z39.50 cataloging software, such as TLC’s BiblioFile. The images enable you to quickly verify a record match, while ToCs and reviews help with classification and subject assignment.

If You Need Cataloging Software
BiblioFile, our standalone MARC editor, is available with an ITS•MARC subscription.   BiblioFile features multi-lingual cataloging, result set filtering, Z39.50 client, local authority verification, label printing, and other advanced features. For those who require the functionality of a web-based, Integrated Library System, ITS•MARC access is fully integrated with TLC’s new, powerful, and user-friendly LS2 Cataloging.

Updated Daily
ITS•MARC is updated daily with records from the Library of Congress. Other databases are updated weekly, monthly, or quarterly with records from the National Library of Medicine, National Library of Canada, U.S. Government agencies, and contributing TLC customers.

ITS•MARC Databases
TLC offers these databases via ITS•MARC.com, Z39.50, and DVD.

• British MARC – Enhanced British Library records, with many new categories added like Humanities, Social Sciences, Maps, British Library Catalog, and others.
• LC MARC English – Complete Library of Congress English language MARC database.
• LC MARC Foreign – MARC database of non-English holdings cataloged by the Library of Congress.
• Canadian MARC – Records cataloged by the National Library of Canada.
• Contributed School and Public Libraries – Records from TLC users in public libraries and school systems.
• Contributed Research and Academic Libraries – Records from TLC users in research and academic institutions. Includes over 600,000 pre-1968 records.
• French MARC – French language titles cataloged by the Library of Congress, other national libraries, and TLC libraries.
• Docufile – Government documents database, including publications of U.S. state, U.S. federal, and foreign governments, as well as the United Nations.
• MedMARC – Medical and related bibliographic records from the National Library of Medicine and other national libraries.
• MetaMARC – The MetaMARC database contains MARC records generated and enriched algorithmically from non-MARC metadata, providing access to a basic title record when there are no others available. MetaMARC records are more than a template but are minimal level encoding.
• NewPubMARC – Contains records of materials with publication or MARC creation dates of two or fewer years ago.
• Spanish MARC – Distinctive MARC database with Spanish language titles cataloged by the Library of Congress, other national libraries, and TLC libraries.
• TheoMARC – Records from theological and national libraries.
• Authorities: LC Names and Subjects, Sears subjects, and Medical Subject Headings (MESH). TLC Authorities are only available via Z39.50.

Additional Premium Databases
TLC offers premium databases (at additional cost) to expand your copy cataloging resources.

• A/V Access – Records of professionally cataloged popular audio and visual materials.
• EF Sears – Records compiled by EF Library Services LLC that use Sears subject headings for titles commonly found in school and small public libraries.
• School•MARC Sears – Contains content-rich MARC records with Sears subject headings.
• School•MARC LC – Contains content-rich MARC records with LC subject headings.

The eBiblioFile cataloging service for OverDrive® and cloudLibrary by bibliotheca® is the fastest, most efficient way to obtain RDA-enabled MARC records for your library’s eBooks and other downloadable titles.

eBiblioFile records work with any automation system and allow full integration of eResources into your library’s catalog. The ready-to-load records are e-mailed to you in two days or less and are properly encoded, contain your library’s predefined customized fields, and include links to the eResource vendor’s Web site.

MARC records from eBiblioFile include RDA fields at no extra cost, making it easy and economical for your library to upgrade to the new cataloging standard. In addition to the core RDA fields (264, 336, 337, 338, etc.), eBiblioFile records provide consistent data in the 38x fields (characteristics fields) and relator terms in name entries.

eBiblioFile’s value is further enhanced by RDAExpress, an optional standalone conversion service that upgrades any record in your library’s collection – not just eBooks and other downloadable titles – to the new RDA standard. Submit as many of your existing MARC records as you want and get the converted records back in two days or less.

If your library is an OverDrive and cloudLibrary by bibliotheca customer, you owe it to yourself to discover the advantages of eBiblioFile.

Automatic conversion of MARC records to RDA

The new RDA cataloging standard offers libraries an unprecedented wealth of configurable data, but converting existing MARC records is unwieldy and time consuming. If a library has 50,000 titles, and if it takes five minutes for a cataloger to convert one MARC record to RDA, the entire conversion process will take more than 4,160 hours. That’s two full years of 40-hour workweeks!

RDAExpress handles the task quickly, automatically, and efficiently, saving your library thousands of staff hours and greatly minimizing the impact on its already strained budget.

• Update your entire catalog or a single collection.
• Results delivered in 48 hours or less.
• Compatible with any ILS.

Other advantages include:

• Most “free” RDA conversion services convert only a few fields — in particular, the 336, 337, and 338 fields. RDAExpress adds up to 20 fields, dependent on format.
• RDA standards that provide controlled terms for information previously found only in fixed and notes fields. RDAExpress inputs these controlled terms in the “characteristics fields” (34x, 38x), enhancing consistency for search and discovery in library catalogs.
• RDAExpress adds additional enriched content such as MPAA ratings and video game ratings.
• RDAExpress adds relator terms to name fields for greater discovery.
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