September/October, 2001
Volume 19 Numbers 9/10

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FEDLINK Begins FY2002 As A Revolving Fund
FEDLINK Revises IAG FY2002
Attention OCLC Users: IAGs for Services Are Due
OCLC News
FLICC Announces 2001 Awards Program
FEDLINK Vendor Update
Web Citings: Federal Web Sites Respond
Editorial Staff

FEDLINK Begins FY2002
As A Revolving Fund

Last year, Congress passed the Fiscal Operations Improvement Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-481) that creates statutory authority and a revolving fund for FEDLINK’s fee-based activities. (A revolving fund is an intergovernmental expenditure account authorized by law to carry out a cycle of business-type operations. It facilitates financing transactions within and between federal agencies and is similar to public enterprise revolving fund accounts except that it is credited with offsetting collections primarily from other federal agencies and accounts.)

Over the last few months, FEDLINK staff members have been conferring with the Library of Congress (LC) Financial Services Directorate and the LC Office of the General Counsel (OGC) to create streamlined guidelines and regulations for members using FEDLINK in Fiscal Year 2002. To ensure that revolving fund requirements were fully met, FEDLINK staff and the LC OGC representatives worked with attorneys from the General Accounting Office (GAO) to help staff apply the new authority appropriately.

As reported in the July/August issue of FEDLINK Technical Notes, LC submitted a formal request to GAO in June to review the LC interpretation of P.L. 106-481 with respect to FEDLINK members’ access to prior year annual appropriations.

GAO Releases Its Opinion

On September 7, 2001, the Library of Congress received GAO’s response. (See http://archive.gao.gov/legald425p10/a02227.pdf.) FEDLINK had received earlier legal advice suggesting that under the revolving fund, surplus annual funds from prior years might be made available for reobligation either to pay for new vendor services or to subsidize FEDLINK fees beginning in FY2002. GAO, however, supported neither of those interpretations; their decision specifically addressed the use of obligations of annual funds from prior years and deposits of customer agency annual funds received after the Revolving Fund commences. GAO concluded that P.L.106-481 “does not provide the Library with the authority to retain deobligated, unexpended balances without fiscal year limitation.”

The GAO attorneys advised LC that members working with annual appropriations are still governed by the rules for annual appropriations even under the FEDLINK revolving fund. In GAO’s opinion, “...section 103(e) does not clearly indicate that Congress intended unobligated balances of agency advances to be available without fiscal limitation regardless of time restrictions imposed on the appropriation from which the advances were withdrawn.” The GAO’s response also said that “when...an agency withdraws funds from its appropriation and makes them available for credit to another appropriation, that amount is available for obligation only for the same time period as the appropriation from which the funds were withdrawn ...except as specifically provided by law.” In addition, “...section 103 will not permit the Library to retain any deobligated, unexpended fiscal (or fixed) year appropriations advanced by a customer agency that the Library determines, after filling the customer’s order and reconciling the customer’s account, is not needed for the costs the Library incurred in filling the order.”

Nevertheless, beginning on October 1, 2001, FEDLINK will be able to operate its administrative budget “without fiscal year limitation.” This means that fee revenue earned to operate FEDLINK in one fiscal year will not lapse at the end of that fiscal year and can continue to support the program into future years.

This interpretation affects the FEDLINK program in several ways:

• FEDLINK now has full use of members’ fee payments to carry out the program;
• Members with no-year or multi-year funds can avoid repaying the administrative fee when they have unexpended balances remaining at the end of a fiscal year (beginning with FY2003);
• Large capital program expenditures can be funded over multiple years; and
• Budget stability provides FEDLINK with the opportunity to do longer-term planning and program development.

Revolving Fund Saves and Simplifies

FEDLINK anticipated the GAO opinion and kept its transfer pay fees for FY2002 at the current rate of 7.75 percent (7 percent on amounts above $300,000 in a single account). The FY2002 direct pay fee also remains at the FY2001 level of $1200.00. This marked the fourth year in a row FEDLINK’s fees have not increased.

An additional advantage of the revolving fund for members is FEDLINK’s ability to take in large transfers at the end of a fiscal year. Beginning with FY2002, FEDLINK will have the option of completing any extended procurement procedures after the fiscal year ends.

Also under the new law, FLICC’s Executive Director is now authorized (by delegation from the Librarian of Congress) to sign Interagency Agreements (IAGs), IAG amendments, and Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request (MIPRs) on behalf of LC. This saves FEDLINK tens of thousands of administrative dollars annually and greatly simplifies and speeds up the IAG process for members.

Online Registration Process Remains the Same

Based on a consensus of the FEDLINK Advisory Council and the FLICC Budget and Finance Working Group, FEDLINK will not change the online registration/Interagency Agreement (IAG) process. Members’ agency funds certification officers will still sign the IAG.

However, some changes to the text of the IAG were necessary to accommodate FEDLINK’s new legal basis. (For a detailed explanation of changes to FEDLINK’s IAG, see "FEDLINK Revises IAG FY2002" below.)

Revolving Fund Is On Member Meeting Agenda

The Fall Membership Meeting on October 25 will feature a Revolving Fund update with an afternoon “How to Use FEDLINK” session for members who are new to the program, want to see the latest about online registration, or need a refresher course on how best to administer their accounts, move funds, etc. To register for either session, please call (202) 707-4800. If you have any questions that you would particularly like to have answered—either directly or in future announcements/alerts or programs—please send email to fliccfpe@loc.gov. If you need immediate assistance, please contact the FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline at 202-707-4900.

FEDLINK Revises IAG FY2002

To accommodate FEDLINK’s new status as a revolving fund, the FY2002 IAG contains a few substantive changes from last year. (To view a sample IAG, point your browser to the FLICC Web page http://lcweb.loc.gov/flicc/onlinedoc/iag02.html.) The IAG is divided into seven sections. Although some of the changes are simple, updating its language to reference the Revolving Fund, for example, others are integral to the document and the agreement. The following is a section-by-section review of the changes.

I. Purpose

The description of FEDLINK services (formerly defined under Section IV) is included in Section I. It now uses the language in the Revolving Fund law (P.L. 106-481) that states FEDLINK’s services are “to fulfill the member’s requirement for commercial information services, publications in any format, library support services, related accounting services, and related education, information and support services.”

FEDLINK does not anticipate any significant change in the scope of its services under the new Revolving Fund law.

II. Authority [formerly Section V]

The authority cited in Section II is the new Revolving Fund law rather than the Economy Act. The new law allows for advance payment of services by mutual consent of the parties, as has been the practice under the Economy Act.

III. Period [formerly Section II]

The period covered is now stated as “indefinite” rather than defined in terms of the fiscal year. This provides a more appropriate basis for FEDLINK’s relationship with the member, particularly for members with no-year or multi-year funds in their accounts, or for members who have not finalized all transactions on their annual funds obligations by the end of the fiscal year. The period of most IAGs will terminate when FEDLINK finally reconciles and disposes of the funds in accounts for the fiscal year in which the agreement was initiated.

IV & V. Services Rendered and Payment

The changes in these sections are merely editorial, not substantive.

VI. Service Schedule

The changes for this section are editorial. The chart remains unchanged. The second sentence in the previous edition of the IAG is deleted because it stated a generally-accepted procedure for advance of funds between agencies.

VII. Approval

The last two sentences are new and are there to assure the FEDLINK program that the member agency has fulfilled its legal requirements for obligating funds. Additional information on payment method is being requested on the approval page to aid in the interagency transfer of funds.

If you have any questions about the FY2002 IAG or your accounts, please contact the FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline at (202) 707-4900 for assistance.

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Attention OCLC Users: IAGS for Services Are Due

If your agency has not executed your FEDLINK Interagency Agreement (IAG), you have not yet established an obligation for FEDLINK services and therefore may not use OCLC services for this fiscal year (unless you have advance subscriptions).

Members who use OCLC services without an executed FEDLINK IAG or active subscription may be in violation of the Federal Government’s Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S. Code 1341) and could be subject to penalties under that act. To avoid any penalties, cease activity on the OCLC system until you have submitted a signed interagency agreement to FEDLINK. It is your responsibility to ensure that your usage of OCLC services is properly authorized.

If you anticipate having to temporarily stop using OCLC and need assistance, please call Patrick Miller at (202) 707-4846 or send email to askocfno@loc.gov. FEDLINK and OCLC can assist: examples are resaving cataloging save file records or temporarily changing your ILL status to non-supplier.

If you have not yet registered for FEDLINK services, you may take advantage of FEDLINK’s new online registration system, which promises to have your IAG ready for printout at your site within 72 hours (URL: http://lcweb.loc.gov/flicc/). Those agencies under a continuing resolution that have not yet received their 12-month funds allocation may want to sign an IAG for an apportionment of funding to obtain OCLC services and then amend the IAG when the full budget is available.

For registration or account assistance, please call the FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline at (202) 707-4900.

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OCLC News

Exploring OCLC Cataloging and Metadata Services

FEDLINK is presenting a free information session on OCLC cataloging and metadata services. Join your colleagues for an in-depth review of several cataloging services to see how they can fit into a variety of cataloging workflows and scenarios. The session will feature online demonstrations and discussions of several OCLC products including

• Cataloging MicroEnhancer (CatME)
• Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC)
• CatExpress
• WebDewey
• Bibliographic Notification
• PromptCat
• MARC Record Service (MARS)
• WorldCat Collection Sets.

Learn about system usage statistics, accessions lists, and telecommunications statistics reports and planning for migrating from Passport software to other interface options. The session will be held in the FEDLINK training room on Tuesday, October 23, 2001, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Participation is free, but registration is required. Visit the FEDLINK web site http://lcweb.loc.gov/flicc/mmeduc.html for the meeting announcement and online registration.

Windows 95 Support Ends December 31, 2001

OCLC will discontinue support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2001, the same day that Microsoft will discontinue support. Although OCLC expects that applications will continue to work, they have not completed any testing and will no longer support Windows 95 after this date. OCLC expects to end support for Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 on June 30, 2003, the date that Microsoft ends support. See the OCLC Access Suite Applications System Requirements document on the OCLC Web site at http://www.oclc.org/download/ for details.

OCLC CatME 2.00 Due in October/November 2001

Version 2.00 of the OCLC CatME for Windows software will be available from OCLC in October or November 2001. This version will include several enhancements, including support for NACO functionality for creating Name-Authority records. Visit the CatME home page at http://www.oclc.org/catme/support/ for more information about the upcoming version of CatME. Select “Upcoming CatME changes” for an updated list of the coming enhancements.

OCLC Technical Bulletins and OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards

OCLC Technical Bulletins (TBs) announce significant changes to OCLC-MARC records and the Online System. They are issued in print, announced through Techbul-L (an electronic discussion list maintained by OCLC) and on the OCLC Web. Minor changes are announced in Bits & Pieces, OCLC system news, and logon messages.

OCLC also revises Bibliographic Formats on the Web and in print. Currently, the Web version is more up-to-date than the print version. To track changes in the Web version, check the “Revision History” at the beginning of the document.

The third edition of Bibliographic Formats is planned for late 2001 and will be issued in print and on the Web. Please use the Web version of Bib Formats for current information about the fields. If you do not have Web access, use the printed edition together with these technical bulletins:

• 227 OCLC-MARC Bibliographic Update 1998
• 236 OCLC-MARC Bibliographic Update 2000
• 237 Multiple-surname Coding Change
• 238 OCLC Arabic Cataloging
• 239 Integration of the OCLC Cataloging Service and CORC
• 240 Pinyin Conversion Project
• 241 National Library Control Number
• 244 OCLC-MARC Format Update 2001.

Additional Validation Changes For Bibliographic Records

In addition to the validation changes outlined for bibliographic records described in Technical Bulletin 244, OCLC-MARC Format Update 2001, some validation changes were made in July to invalidate some elements as announced in previous MARC updates and for changes related to the clean up of known errors in bibliographic records in WorldCat.

Invalid Elements

The following elements will be made invalid in accord with previous MARC update documentation (All occurrences have been removed from WorldCat.):

• Language code “esk”
• Field 212
• Field 561 subfield $b

Changes Related to Database Clean Up

OCLC has updated the following:

• Relationship added to disallow Elvl coded as “I” when field 042 contains one of the CONSER codes, e.g., lc, lcd, msc, nsdp, nst, nlc, isds/c, etc.
• Non-filing indicator value 1 will be made invalid in fields 130, 240, 243, 245, 440, 630, 730, 740, and 830
• Relationship added to disallow non-filing indicator values 2-9 in fields 130, 240, 243, 630, 730, and 830 when Desc in the fixed-field is coded “a”
• Relationship between field 773 and BLvl in the fixed-field will be removed to better accommodate electronic resources.

Replacing Master Records in CORC

The rules that govern who can replace records and which records they can replace are the same in CORC as they are in the OCLC Cataloging Service. You may correct a record that you entered as long as no one else has added holdings. In some cases, however, you can always replace a record, even if someone else has added holdings. Minimal level records can always be replaced by a full-mode user. Also, some data, such as contents notes and URLs can be changed, even if the record is coded as full. The description of the replace capabilities can be found in Chapter 4, “Replace Master Records” of the OCLC Cataloging Service User Guide, 3d ed., online at this URL: http://www.oclc.org/connexion/.

Pinyin Conversion Update

During June 2001, OCLC completed the conversion of Chinese language bibliographic records in WorldCat from the Wade-Giles transliteration scheme to pinyin. A total of approximately 710,000 records coded “chi” in the Language fixed field (008/35-37) were converted. Two categories of records were purposely deferred so that they could be converted along with the non-Chinese language records later in 2001. One category is records with numerous Language codes in field 041, and especially records that contain Japanese and/or Korean codes as well as Chinese. The second category is scores and sound recording records that are coded “N/A” in the Language fixed field but are identifiably Chinese. Because of the special challenges associated with these records, they will be treated using the even more conservative non-Chinese record conversion algorithms. OCLC expects to convert these two categories plus the non-Chinese language records during October 2001 and complete them before the end of the year. In addition, OCLC has restored Chinese vernacular data to about 4,200 records from which were inadvertently lost in an earlier phase of the conversion process.

OCLC has worked closely with the Library of Congress and the Research Libraries Group in the planning and testing of this massive conversion process for the past two years. The conversion was designed to be conservative, so that as much data as could be safely and reliably converted would be converted while minimizing the chances for erroneous conversions.

For the conversion to work correctly, all bibliographic records that have been created in pinyin or that have been manually converted to pinyin should contain the marker field 987. This includes records submitted to OCLC for batchloading. The presence of field 987 will assure that the record is not inadvertently converted again by the pinyin conversion software.

Of course, as with any conversion of this size and complexity, there will inevitably be records converted incorrectly. The Library of Congress is currently working on both identifying and fixing records in known areas of problematic conversions. OCLC users with Chinese language skills have the ability to correct many records on their own as they come across them. (Remember to use OCLC CJK software to lock and replace any record with vernacular data.) Minimal Level records (Encoding Levels K, M, 2, 3, 5, 7, and all 4s that do not include field 042 with code “pcc”) may be locked, corrected, and replaced by any OCLC user with a Full Level authorization or above.

For an outline and explanation of the conversion process that was jointly developed by LC, RLG, and OCLC, as well as answers to many questions about the conversion, see the LC “Pinyin Conversion Project” web site, found at this URL: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/pinyin.html.

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FLICC Announces 2001 Awards Program

To recognize the many innovative ways federal libraries, librarians, and library technicians are fulfilling the information demands of government, business, scholarly communities, and the American public, the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) announces its national awards for federal librarianship. Federal libraries and staff throughout the United States and abroad will compete in three award categories for the fourth annual FLICC Awards.

2001 FLICC Awards Deadline Is November 15, 2001

The FLICC Awards Working Group, chaired by Mark Ziomek of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Library, is ready for nominations for the 2001 FLICC Awards Program. The awards program encourages excellence by recognizing outstanding federal libraries, information centers, librarians, and library technicians. All federal libraries and information centers, practicing federal librarians, and library technicians are eligible for these awards. The nominees must demonstrate outstanding, innovative, and sustained achievements during Fiscal Year 2001. The Awards Working Group will review the nominations and submit a list of finalists to the FLICC Executive Board for their final selections. The award winners will receive a certificate and plaque honoring their contributions to the field of library information service at the annual FLICC Forum on Federal Information Policies in Washington, D.C. in March 2002. FLICC will also cover any travel costs for the award recipient and library manager.

Awards Honor Institutions and Individuals

The objective of the FLICC Working Group is to further encourage outstanding accomplishment by federal libraries and information centers, librarians, and technicians. By presenting three awards, FLICC acknowledges the value of the contributions and individual efforts of the diverse federal information community. The Federal Library/Information Center of the Year award recognizes the federal library or information center which demonstrates outstanding, innovative, and sustained achievement in Fiscal Year 2001 in its level of fulfilling its organization’s mission and meeting the needs of its defined user groups. The Federal Librarian of the Year award recognizes a federal librarian who demonstrates active and innovative leadership and professionalism in the promotion and development of library and information services. The Federal Library Technician of the Year award recognizes a practicing library technician who demonstrates exceptional technical competency and flexibility under changing work conditions.

Time for Nominations

To obtain nomination materials, visit the Awards Working Group Section of the FLICC Web site (http://lcweb.loc.gov/flicc/wg/wg-award.html) to print out a copy of the nomination forms; write to FLICC, c/o Library of Congress, LA-217, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4935; call (202) 707-4800; or send email to flicc@loc.gov. The nomination packet includes the nomination form, selection criteria, and list of needed supporting materials. All completed nomination packets must be postmarked no later than November 15, 2001.

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FEDLINK Vendor Update

The West Group print offerings, previously available under the FEDLINK service id WP, are now available under service id WE. This makes the Westlaw ELR databases and their print items available under the West Group (WE).

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Federal Web Sites Respond

A number of federal Web sites have developed resource listings and information concerning the events of September 11, 2001. First among those is FirstGov.gov which has created a special link to U.S. Government Responds to September 11 ( http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Usgresponse.shtml). The links listed are grouped in several categories: “Benefits and Assistance,” “What You Can Do,” “Leads and Clues,” “Travel,” “President’s Remarks,” “Federal Agencies and Buildings,” and “Scams and Fraud Feedback.”

Among the large number of federal government Web sites with information and support available, many have specific sections highlighted, including:

• The White House’s (http://www.whitehouse.gov/) section on Latest News and Information on American Attack Response
• Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Update (http://www.faa.gov/)
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s home page (http://www.fema.gov/)
• The FBI’s investigation links (http://www.fbi.gov/)
• Maxwell Air Force Bases’ Air University United States Air Force Counterproliferation Center Terrorism Page (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cps-terr.htm).

The FLICC Web site also offers links to a number of preservation and disaster planning and recovery resources (http://lcweb.loc.gov/flicc/mmissue.html—scroll to “Preservation”) and has links to the national libraries and other federal libraries and information centers. If you have resources or preservation sites to add to this list, please send email to fliccfpe@loc.gov for inclusion on the FLICC/FEDLINK Web site, the FEDLIB listserv and in future issues of FEDLINK Technical Notes.

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Editorial Staff

FEDLINK Technical Notes is published by the Federal Library and Information Center Committee. Send suggestions of areas for FLICC attention or for inclusion in FEDLINK Technical Notes to:

FLICC was established in 1965 (as the Federal Library Committee) by the Library of Congress and the Bureau of the Budget for the purpose of concentrating the intellectual resources of the federal library and related information community. FLICC's mission is to foster excellence in federal library and information services through interagency cooperation and to provide guidance and direction for the Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK).

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