End of MULS as Separate Minitex Program
Changing technological tools and budget stringencies have led us to make the decision to phase
out the Minitex Union List of Serials (MULS) as a separate Minitex program.
Minitex/OCLC libraries that have taken part in MULS should continue to keep their Local Holdings
Records (LHRs) up-to-date in OCLC WorldCat because these holdings are used to support OCLC Resource
Sharing, WorldCat Local, and other OCLC services.
The phase out of MULS as a separate Minitex program will be effective with the end of Fiscal Year
2011 (June 30, 2011).
The change means that Minitex will:
-
move from providing live webinars and other Local Holdings Records Maintenance training
opportunities to relying on our archived sessions, which will be available through the
Minitex Training website, and training
sessions available through the OCLC Training
Portal;
-
update the Local Holdings Records section of the Minitex
website with the latest information about support for LHRs and links to OCLC documentation
about updating LHRs either
online
or through batch processing;
-
refer staff of Minitex/OCLC libraries to OCLC Customer Support (1-800-848-5800, ext. 4, or
support@oclc.org) for questions related to Local Holdings
Records creation and maintenance and the role of LHRs in OCLC products and services.
To help in creation and maintenance of Local Holdings Records, OCLC has developed a batch loading
process that can be used to maintain information about a library's serials holdings in OCLC WorldCat;
several Minitex/MULS libraries, including the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Libraries, are
using that process. We encourage interested libraries to use this automated method and to continue
with manual update as needed.
We will be contacting MULS participating libraries for which the MULS staff has performed Local
Holdings Record maintenance activities in the past to talk about options. These include public,
medical, and special libraries in Minnesota and North Dakota that do not have access to OCLC
WorldCat for Local Holdings maintenance.
Former Minitex staffer Karen Westwood checks MULS holdings in the 1980s.
We definitely have mixed feelings about this announcement. MULS was Minitex's second major program
and support for MULS by staff members of Minitex participating libraries has made it a success –
an important tool used to help Minitex libraries find potential lenders for serial articles to fill
resource sharing requests. Knowing whether a library owns the particular issue that's being requested
has always resulted in more efficient and effective use of staff in borrowing and lending libraries.
The MULS database has helped make the Minitex Resource Sharing Service very successful and resulted
in higher than usual fill rates from the University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin Cities, and other
Minitex libraries.
But, we find ourselves in a different world.
-
New technological options (for example, searching directly in libraries' online catalogs and other
online tools) mean that Minitex staff and library staff members use sources other than MULS for many
of their serial request verification activities. While OCLC Resource Sharing remains important for
Minitex libraries (and the Minitex office for out-of-region requests), the MULS LHRs in OCLC WorldCat
no longer play the central role in Minitex operations they once occupied.
-
Budget pressures (as of this writing, we are not sure what the Minitex budget will be for the next
biennium, but we anticipate a reduction from our base appropriations) mean that Minitex can no longer
support separate program status for MULS. Like other activities related to OCLC, the primary support
will be through OCLC Customer Support.
Dave Linton, other MULS staff members, and I have greatly enjoyed working with our MULS contacts and other
library staff members over the years. We wish you all well. You may contact me
(c-boon@umn.edu, 612-624-6353, 800-462-5348) or Dave Linton
(linto001@umn.edu, 612-625-3360, 800-462-5348) with your questions.
Cecelia Boone
May 20, 2011