I just received this, because I am the maintainer of the RePEc OAI
gateway http://oai.repec.org. With around 80 records, it is is
one of the largest OAI-PMH providers by number of records.
This rather confusing mail hints that the inclusion of OAIster in
FirstSearch. It appears to suggest that OAIster will become part of
a toll-gated product. I suspect that the RePEc community will not
be very much amused to see OCLC making a commercial gain on what
RePEc have collected for free use.
What do others think?
Cheers,
Thomas Krichelhttp://openlib.org/home/krichel
RePEc:per:1965-06-05:thomas_krichel
skype: thomaskrichel
- Forwarded message from OCLC o...@oclc.org -
From: OCLC o...@oclc.org
To: kric...@openlib.org
Subject: Special OAIster Announcement
OCLC Updates and Special Offers: OAIster Database Contributors
Dear OAIster database contributor:
In January, OCLC announced a partnership with the University of
Michigan to ensure continued access to your open-archive
collections through the OAIster database and expand the
visibility of your collections to millions of information
seekers through OCLC services. This message provides an update
on our progress and some changes planned for October.
http://visit.oclc.org/t?ctl=26B403C:09562C313F0DE2FB62E0BBD7DFD73DADF544A2D6437664E7;
Transition to OCLC
Since January, OCLC has expanded access to your digital
resources in OAIster in the following ways:
Added the OAIster database to FirstSearch Base Package
subscriptions at no additional charge and provided access to
the database through the FirstSearch service.
Provided access to the OAIster database through WorldCat.org,
WorldCat Local and WorldCat Local quick start for Base
Package subscribers. Through this enhanced interface, users of
libraries with Base Package subscriptions can search OAIster
alone or in combination with other databases such as WorldCat,
CAMIO or ArchiveGrid.
At the same time, OAIster.org has remained available to provide
ongoing Web access.
http://visit.oclc.org/t?ctl=26B403D:09562C313F0DE2FB62E0BBD7DFD73DADF544A2D6437664E7;
Next steps
OCLC and the University of Michigan are working together to
complete the transfer of OAIster harvesting operations to OCLC.
In October 2009, OCLC will add OAIster records to WorldCat.org.
In order to make your OAIster records discoverable on
WorldCat.org, we are requesting your institution's agreement.
Please see item number 2 below.
What do these changes mean for users of the OAIster database?
OAIster users will have two ways to access the records you
contribute to OAIster.
- WorldCat.org search results will include OAIster records.
WorldCat.org is a publicly available Web site searchable at no
charge. When users search WorldCat.org, OAIster records will be
included in search results. Each search will retrieve results
from the WorldCat database along with OAIster and article-level
content from sources that now include GPO Monthly Catalog,
ArticleFirst, MEDLINE, ERIC, the British Library and Elsevier.
Records from all sources are presented to users in integrated
search results.
- Authenticated users of libraries that subscribe to the
FirstSearch Base Package may search OAIster as a separate
database through WorldCat.org, WorldCat Local and WorldCat Local
quick start.
These users will be able to select OAIster for searching from the
Advanced search screen.
What do these changes mean for me, as an OAIster contributor?
Your participation in this open archive project will help maintain
the ongoing growth of the OAIster database and ensure that the
OAIster collections continue to support scholarly research,
communication and scholarship. With your commitment, OCLC will
continue to provide access to these valuable resources that
complement the types of resources already cataloged in WorldCat,
broadening the scope of collections to include open archives, and
reaching millions of information seekers through WorldCat.org,
WorldCat Local and WorldCat Local quick start.
1. Harvesting your metadata (records)
OCLC will continue to harvest and index the records you make
available via OAI-PMH. As records are harvested, they will be made
available through WorldCat.org. Details about harvesting will be
available on a new Web site in mid-October.
If you currently use CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management
Software, you have the added benefit and option of uploading your
CONTENTdm metadata to WorldCat, for even better Web visibility,
using the new self-service Web tool--the WorldCat Digital Collection
Gateway. The Gateway enables you to choose the right content and
appearance for WorldCat display, as well as how often the metadata is
synchronized with WorldCat. With your records in WorldCat, your
