Pricing Description      Top

The pricing for FEDLINK technical processing is deliverables based; that is, prices are quoted on a per-item-cataloged basis, not on a labor or "time and materials" basis. Because it is deliverables based, if your library has a bona fide need to have a certain number of items processed this fiscal year, you may obligate this fiscal year's funds to processing those items, even though the finished product may not be delivered to you until after September 30th. In addition to the per-item cataloging costs, a technical processing project has costs for using the OCLC system. These costs are charged to the fiscal year in which the OCLC system is actually used and are funded through your OCLC account, not your account with the technical processing vendor. Both the per-item costs and the OCLC costs should be figured into your budget for the overall project.

Technical processing projects are awarded to FEDLINK vendors on a competitive basis. For projects under the $2,500 small purchase threshold, you may simply select a vendor whose price for your project is fair and reasonable or you may have LC C&L select a vendor for you. For larger projects, LC C&L will conduct a request for quotation (RFQ) among the five FEDLINK vendors to get the vendors' prices for processing your materials according to your specific cataloging requirements. See the FEDLINK Technical Processing Services Kit for complete information about the RFQ process.

The five vendors listed below have FEDLINK Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) to provide technical processing services. Click on the vendor's service ID to link to the vendor's entry in the FEDLINK Services Directory.

• Capcon Library Network - TC

• Costabile Associates - TB

• Library Systems and Services (LSSI) - TD

• OCLC - TP

• Telesec Library Services - TS

In original cataloging, the cataloger examines the book, periodical, map, computer file or other publication and creates a bibliographic record for it for the library's catalog. The record describes the item intellectually (title, author, publisher, edition, language, subject, etc.) and physically (format, pages, size, index, etc.), and identifies how the item fits into the library's collection (call numbers, web links, etc.). The newly created bibliographic record is input into the library' system and into the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) union catalog where the holdings of over 7,000 libraries are recorded.

To describe the item, classify it, and structure the bibliographic record, the cataloger applies national standards and rules. These include the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Library of Congress (LC) Rule Interpretations, LC or National Library of Medicine Subject Headings, LC or Dewey Decimal Classification scheme, and the OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) format guides. Original cataloging is often necessary for very new or very old publications, for foreign materials, technical reports or other uncommon materials.

Copy Cataloging      Top       Prices

In copy cataloging, the cataloger searches the OCLC union catalog to find an existing bibliographic record that describes the item being cataloged in all significant respects, and then edits that record to reflect any differences in the actual item (e.g., pagination, index, bibliography) and to add local specifics to the record (e.g., call numbers, local notes, special subject headings). The cataloger downloads a copy of the edited record and enters it into the library's system. Copy cataloging also follows the national standards and rules. Copy cataloging is effective for "regular" materials for which an original cataloging record is likely to have already been created by LC or another OCLC member library.

Retrospective Conversion      Top       Prices

In retrospective conversion, the cataloger converts the bibliographic data from the library's catalog cards into computer records in MARC format by finding a matching record in the OCLC union catalog, editing it, and downloading it for the library's system. Retrospective conversion (or "recon") is usually part of a project to install an automated integrated library system (ILS) or online public access catalog (OPAC) in a library or information center.

Physical Processing      Top       Prices

Library materials in all formats - books, periodicals, videos, microfilms, sound recordings, CD- ROMs, etc. - have to be physically processed before they are "shelf-ready." Depending on the type of material, this entails adding spine labels, date due slips, circulation cards and pockets, bar codes and security strips, ownership markings, protective cases and covers and reinforcements. Physical processing both makes materials ready for circulation and prolongs their shelf life.

In the FEDLINK technical processing BOAs, physical processing is only offered in conjunction with original cataloging, copy cataloging and/or retrospective conversion services. Vendors offer slightly different physical processing packages with different combinations of individual items and different prices; refer to the vendors' BOAs for more detailed information. Finally, remember that your physical processsing requirements will be part of your RFQ and that the vendors may offer different prices and processing depending on the types of materials in your job.

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Federal Library and Information Center Committee Comments: flicc@loc.gov