1. Is Copac the same as the CURL record retrieval database?

No. The two databases are run concurrently and serve separate purposes. The CURL record retrieval database is used by CURL members as part of their subscription to CURL and CURL customers against a charge for bibliographical and other technical processing purposes. Copac is provided freely for the purposes of resource discovery.

2. Is there a relationship between the CURL record retrieval database and Copac?

The bibliographical data that underpins Copac is sourced from the CURL record retrieval database. Some records that are suppressed from the CURL record retrieval database because they are not suitable for copy-cataloguing are nonetheless available as item descriptions in Copac, since the aim of Copac is to provide as close a match as possible to the contributing libraries’ holdings as viewed through their own OPAC.

3. Will you require our bibliographical records to be available to CURL Members or CURL Customers?

We do not require it but the addition of your data to the CURL bibliographical database will be extremely helpful. This service is only normally available to CURL members, who pay a significant subscription that goes towards such developments as the Challenge Fund. They will welcome the ability to access a greater range of bibliographical data in return. It will also help to recover the real costs of supporting the upload of your records into Copac

4. Would CURL intend to profit from our data?

As an incorporated charity, CURL cannot generate profits to pay to Members or Directors. We do look to sell bibliographic records to HE, FE and other institutions, and lease data to retroconversion companies, but we use the revenue we generate from this plus our members’ subscriptions to invest in a wide range of initiatives, projects and services that benefit the wider academic community. Details of these are at:

http://www.curl.ac.uk/projects/index.htm

5. What sort of support does the Challenge Fund represent?

The Challenge Fund covers the costs to CURL and our data hosts at MIMAS of having your data loaded and maintained in Copac and the CURL database. It does not cover the local costs you incur in creating test and export files for this purpose and in the regular sending of update  files to our data hosts.

6. Does the Challenge Fund extend to supporting our retroconversion projects?

There is some provision within the framework of the Challenge Fund to help support retroconversion. Free or reduced cost access to the CURL database may be made available to participants in order to augment their collections before submission if they have been selected to contribute, based on their collection strengths. This access may be direct, or through third parties where libraries wish to use retroconversion companies. For HE institutions, access to the CURL catalogue would be made available for named collections only.

No other direct funding for retroconversion will be made available through the Challenge Fund. However, the RIN (Research Information Network) is intending to conduct a large-scale survey of retroconversion needs in UK academic libraries in the near future, and enquiries about this forthcoming study may be made of the RIN by contacting its Planning & Project Officer, Stéphane Goldstein.

7. Are you planning to create a National Union Catalogue out of Copac, at least for monographs?

Copac is already the closest service the UK has to a ‘national union catalogue’ for monographs. The intention is to increase the scope and range of resources it offers, and eventually for its functionality also to be enhanced.

8. Is the aim of the Challenge Fund only to provide a better description of collections?

This is certainly one of the main aims of the Challenge Fund. However, knowing  about collections has to be backed up with access to them, whether via inter-library loan or accommodation on site for bona-fide researchers. The Challenge Fund, by including these stipulations in its criteria, is intended to increase both description of and access to collections across the UK for the research community.

9. How will I know my collections are being accessed via Copac, what sort of feedback can I expect about any increased exposure my institution’s collections may have had?

At present we are not able to provide usage statistics in terms of hits on individual collections. However, Copac is OpenURL compliant so, if you have a link resolver, visitors to Copac who chose to view your holdings may be routed through to your catalogue, or your homepage, provided this is set correctly at your institution. Statistical and other ancillary services could be investigated if such requirements come to light as the Challenge fund progresses.

10. Who will be on the panel to assess submissions?

The panel to assess submissions will consist of staff from CURL, MIMAS and the  Research Information Network.

Technical Requirements for Data supplied to Copac

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A. Mandatory

1. Records must use one of the standard character sets, either  marc-8 or utf-8 Unicode.

2. Records must contain the unique local system control number, either in the 001 field or in another consistent identifiable field. (For example, Innopac Millenium exports it in a 907 field.)

3. Records should contain a 245 'title and statement of responsibility' field or readily identifiable equivalent data.

4. If records have been obtained from a supplier which retains the intellectual property rights and places conditions on their use, the supplier must be consistently identifiable in the records. Note: to our knowledge, this applies to records obtained from OCLC, Talisbase, ESTC, and EEBO suppliers; it may apply to others used by applicants.

5. All the records visible on the local OPAC should be sent, including records for non-textual items, serials and electronic resources. If there are reasons why records are not suitable for cataloguer use, they can be suppressed from CURL Record Retrieval, but they are required for Copac.

6. We recognise that some LMS cannot be prevented from exporting records that the Library keeps hidden locally. If this is the case, then such records must be consistently identifiable so that we can spot them and drop them.

7. The initial load data must be followed up by regular monthly update batches to maintain data currency. The update batches must include new records, updated records and deletions.

8. The initial load and update files must be sent to the CURL/Copac server at MIMAS using secure ftp.

B. Desirable, but some flexibility possible

1. Records in MARC21 format are preferred.

2. Records should ideally be sent in marc exchange format. However, other formats may be acceptable, for example, Aleph Sequential format.

3. For CURL use records should have MARC21 fields 008, 1xx (where appropriate), 260 and 300 in addition to 245. Records lacking this minimum are acceptable to Copac, as are records in non-MARC21 formats, and can be suppressed from CURL Record Retrieval if appropriate.

4. Library of Congress Subject Headings are desirable. However other forms of textual subject are acceptable, as are records without any subject information.

5. Holdings information should be supplied, either in embedded 852 fields or similar, or in interleaved holdings records. Full item information is not required, but the location(s) and shelfmark(s) of the copy/ies are. The date/volume range of serials and multi-volume works is also valuable. If such holdings information cannot be supplied, Copac will display a general message of the form "Consult xxx Library" in lieu.

Note: If the library can provide Z39.50 connectivity that enables Copac to access dynamic circulation information, then the provision of static holdings information becomes less important. However, it is still required if possible, for display at those times when the Z39.50 connection is not available.