Technical information about vendor record contribution
Requirements for records
OCLC database specialists thoroughly evaluate records submitted by vendors. OCLC loads vendor records into WorldCat via offline batchload process if the following conditions are met:
- The records do not match existing records
- Fewer than 2% of the records contain machine-detectable errors in MARC coding
- The records adhere to U.S. standards for cataloging, including both descriptive cataloging and forms of headings
- The records meet OCLC minimum (K-level) standards for completeness
- The records are in MARC 21 format
About WorldCat record matching
| Record type |
Matches a WorldCat record? |
What happens |
| Publisher or material vendor |
Yes |
OCLC adds a vendor-specific 938 field to the master record; the vendor's OCLC symbol is set |
| Publisher or material vendor |
No |
New WorldCat record is created with a 938 field; the vendor's OCLC symbol is set |
| Bibliographic record vendor |
N/A |
OCLC does not add the vendor-specific 938 field, nor does it set the vendor's OCLC symbol |
About the 938 field
The 938 field in MARC records contains vendor-specific ordering data, defined as follows:
| Code |
Definition |
| Subfield codes |
Both indicators are blank |
| $a Full name of vendor |
Supplied by OCLC |
| $b OCLC-defined identifier for vendor |
Supplied by OCLC. These identifiers are used for indexing purposes and should not be confused with OCLC institution symbols. (See current identifiers below.) |
| $c Terms of availability |
Purchase price |
| $n Vendor control number |
A unique number assigned by the vendor to identify the item for offline ordering |
| $s Vendor status |
Indicates if the item is backordered, out-of-print, not yet published, etc. |
| $z Note |
General notes field in which a vendor can include order information specific to the item |
To facilitate searching for vendor records in WorldCat, OCLC indexes field 938 subfields $a and $b.
Vendor identifiers currently defined for 938 $b field
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