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Worldwide (English) Change
Vendor record contribution

Technical information

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

Vendor Vendor identifier Status OCLC symbol
Actrace ACTR Active ACTRA
Aux Amateurs de Livres AUXA Active AUXAM
Baker & Taylor BKTY Active BAKER
Baker and Taylor BTCP Active BTCTA
BBC Audiobooks America BBCA Active BBCAA
Blackwell Book Services UK BBUK Active BWK
Blackwell Book Services US BBUS Active BWX
Bolinda BOLI Active BOLIN
BookLinx BLNX Active BLICP
Casalini Libri CASA Active C3L
Cassidy Cataloguing CASS Active CASSC
China National Publishing Industry Trading Corporation CNPI Active CNPIT
Coutts Information Services COUT Active CDX
Davidson Titles DAVD Active DVDSN
Donohue Group DONE Active DON
East View Information Services EAST Active EVIEW
Erasmus Boekhandel ERAA Active ERASA
Gale Virtual Reference Library GVRL Active GGVRL
Iberbook International IBER Active I5B
Ingram Library Services INGR Active IG#
Jean Touzot Librarie Internationale TOUZ Active TZT
Landmark Audio LAND Active LNDMK
Librairie Erasmus ERAP Active ERASP
Leila Books LEIL Active LEILA
Otto Harrassowitz HARR Active OHX
Puvill Libros PUVL Active PL#
Quality Books QUAL Active QBX
Recorded Books RECB Active RECBX
TRC Library Services TRCL Active TRCLS
Wiley Subscription Services WILY Active DG1
YBP Library Services YANK Active YDXCP