Askews and Holts

OCLC works with Askews and Holts to automatically add and maintain your knowledge base collection data. Get WorldCat records, holdings, and full-text links for content from Askews and Holts.

Get started

If you need access to Collection Manager (the Metadata tab in the WorldShare interface), follow the steps to Create a Collection Manager account.

An OCLC Cataloging and Metadata Subscription is required for record delivery from the collections listed below. If your library does not have a subscription, see Options for libraries without a cataloging subscription.

Verify your collections have not been manually selected

If your institution has manually selected a collection in full, OCLC will not overwrite your selections. Before the initial load of holdings from your provider, we recommend that you verify that the collection(s) as listed below have not been manually selected for this provider. 

 Notes: 

  • Follow the steps under See if your collection loaded to verify that an Automatic Holdings Feed has not already been setup for this collection. 
  • Once the holdings feed is set up, OCLC will select all applicable collections according to the data received from the vendor.  
Verify that your collections have not been manually selected

Before the initial load of your collections, please:

  1. Sign in to the WorldShare interface at your library's WorldShare URL https://yourlibrary.share.worldcat.org/wms [Replace yourlibrary with your library's identifier].
  2. Navigate to Metadata > Collection Manager and locate the search box.
  3. Select Collections as the Data Type and All Collections as the Scope. Click Search.
  4. Once you have returned the collection in a search, perform one of the following:
    • If the collection is selected in FULL: You will need to deselect it. Our system will not be able to overwrite the collection with the title data directly from your provider. If you have holdings set in WorldCat, de-selecting the collection will remove these holdings. Holdings will be added after OCLC loads the collection (if WorldCat Holdings is enabled in Institution Settings)
    • If the collection is partially selected to reflect a subset of the titles available in the collections: The system will overwrite your title selections and collection data. If you want to preserve the title selections and collection data before OCLC overwrites it, do so before making a request for your collection to be loaded by OCLC. Within your collection, navigate to Titles > More Actions. Use the option to Download titles in local holdings and choose a format to download a spreadsheet of your title data
    • If the collection is NOT selected: Proceed to the instructions How to request an Automatic Holdings Feed

Request an Automatic Holdings Feed

Collection names and IDs

There are many collections in the global WorldCat knowledge base. Use the collection data in the table to help you find the relevant collections. If your collection is not returned when you search within Collection Manager, try entering a root word and an asterisk (*) as a truncation operator. For example: Askews*

The collections below are available for automatic loading. Depending on your authentication needs, you can have your titles loaded in either the two standard collections or the two Shibboleth collections:

Collection name(s) Collection ID(s) Demand-driven acquisition collections? Frequency provider sends OCLC data
Askews and Holts VLeBooks askewsandholts.vlebooks  No Weekly
Askews and Holts VLeBooks PDA Titles askewsandholts.vlebookspda  Yes Weekly
Askews and Holts VLeBooks - Shibboleth      askewsandholts.vlebooksshibboleth  No Weekly
Askews and Holts VLeBooks PDA Titles - Shibboleth askewsandholts.vlebookspdashibboleth  Yes Weekly

How to request an Automatic Holdings Feed

  1. Contact your Askews and Holts representative and ask to be included in weekly automated holdings with OCLC. Request your library's Askews and Holts linking token from your representative.
  2. From the Collection Manager home page, select the Add feed button. 
  3. Select Askews and Holts.
  4. Enter either ezproxy or shibboleth in the Authentication Method section to indicate whether you want your holdings loaded in the two EZproxy collections or in the two Shibboleth collections.
  5. Enter the Token.
  6. Click Submit.

The feed request status will update to Pending as it is waiting for its initial provider update. 

See if your collection loaded

We recommend that you wait until your collection is available before you proceed so that all of the settings will be available in Collection Manager.

The amount of time it takes for your titles to be available depends on the timing of your request, how often your provider sends data, when OCLC loads the data, and the place of your institution's data in a queue. The time for the initial loading process varies from about one week to one month.

 Caution: Once you have requested to have your collections selected automatically, do not add or deselect any of the titles within the collection. If there is an issue with the titles selected or missing from your collection, please contact OCLC Support with examples.  

On the Collection Manager Home screen, the Automatic holdings feeds tab shows all the available holdings feeds. Automatic holdings feeds that have been processed and are ongoing have the status of Active. For more information about editing, pausing, or removing an automatic holdings feed, see About Automatic Holdings Feeds. 

Automatic Holdings Feeds status descriptions:

Status Description
Pending The feed request has been submitted and is waiting for its initial provider update.
Manual only The feed is set to be updated manually only and does not receive provider updates. This setting can be changed at the Institution level.
Paused The feed has been paused and is not receiving provider updates. Users can resume the feed using the Actions menu in the Automatic Holdings Feed view on the Collection Manager home page.
Active The feed is functioning normally and receiving updates.
Updating The feed is currently processing an update. This status typically appears briefly during the update process.
At the Institution level: 
  1. Sign in to the WorldShare interface at your library's WorldShare URL (https://yourlibrary.share.worldcat.org/wms [Replace yourlibrary with your library's identifier]).
  2. Navigate to Metadata > Collection Manager.
  3. Under the Search section in the left navigation, select Activity History from the Data Type drop-down. Select My Institution's History under Scope. 
  4.  Leave the Search Term(s) box blank and click Search. 
  5. From the search results screen, use the Filter by drop-down and select Loads & Feeds. From the resulting drop-down box, select Automatic Holdings Feed.
  6. Click Filter. 
  7. The resulting list will show the collections currently loaded by Automatic Holdings Feed. 

Refer to Collection Manager Activity History for more information. 

At the Collection level:
  1. Sign in to the WorldShare interface at your library's WorldShare URL (https://yourlibrary.share.worldcat.org/wms [Replace yourlibrary with your library's identifier]).
  2. Navigate to Metadata > Collection Manager.
  3. Search for and select the collection.
    1. From the collection:
      1. Select the collection and expand Holdings and MARC Records.
      2. Under Data Sources, the provider will be selected under Selected data sources only. 

        OR
         
    2. From the collection:
      1. Select Collection History.
      2. Use the Filter by drop-down to select Loads & Feeds. From the resulting drop-down box, select Automatic Holdings Feeds.
      3. Click Filter.
      4. The resulting list will show any Automatic Holdings Feeds uploads for the collection. 

Configure institution settings

Institution settings apply across all your collections. Use caution as changes might impact other collections. For complete instructions, see Institution Settings.

Navigate to the institution settings:

  1. Sign in to the WorldShare interface at your library's WorldShare URL. Replace yourlibrary with your library's identifier: https://yourlibrary.share.worldcat.org/wms
  2. Navigate to Metadata > Collection Manager > Institution Settings.

OCLC Symbol

Verify that your OCLC Symbol is selected

Collection Manager uses the symbol displayed here to maintain WorldCat holdings and to output records. Verify that your OCLC symbol is selected:

  1. Navigate to Institution Settings > OCLC Symbol.
  2. Select your OCLC symbol if it is available in the interface but is not selected. 
  3. Click Save.

Proxy and Authentication

Enter your proxy information

Collection Manager helps you manage patron access to materials by directing off-campus patrons through your proxy server. Collection Manager will prepend your proxy information to catalog links. Enter your proxy information:

  1. Navigate to Institution Settings > Proxy and Authentication > Proxy.
  2. Select Proxy:
  • None (default)
  • EZproxy
  • III WAM Proxy
  1. Base URL
  • EZproxy users: Enter your Base URL. Example of a EZproxy base URL: http://ezproxy.oclc.org/login?url=
  • IIIWAM Proxy users: Enter the Hostname. Example of a III WAM Proxy hostname: sys.lib.proxy.edu

 Caution:  Do not include a space after the Base URL.

Reports

Enable emailed reports

Reports will be available via email around the time when files of records have been output and/or after there are changes to your holdings in WorldCat. Enable emailed reports:

  1. Navigate to Institution Settings > Reports.
  2. Select Yes to Receive Email Reports.
  3. Enter your cataloging authorization or an admin code. This is a 9-digit number starting with 100. Only one authorization code is needed per institution.
  4. Select the Report Types you wish to receive. 
  5. Enter the Email Address(es) the reports will be sent to. If you are adding more than one email address, separate each email address with a semi-colon (;).
  6. Modify the Report Format and Receive as settings if needed.
  7. Click Save.

For more information, see Reports.

Choose the instructions that apply to your needs

Get WorldCat MARC records - autoload only

Enable MARC record delivery in the institution settings

  1. Navigate to Settings > MARC Records.
  2. Select Yes for Enable MARC Record Delivery.

Once you enable record delivery, tabs of settings will appear: Customize Records, WorldCat Updates, Record Delivery, Cataloging Partner Options. You can leave the default settings or customize your records. By default, the following will be included in your records:

Customize your record profile (optional)

Define customizations that will apply across your collections in the Customize Records tab. For additional information, see Configure institution MARC Records settings for knowledge base collections.

Default and frequently defined record customization

By default, the following fields and data will be included in your records:

  • 049 $a: Holding library code (For example: MAIN)
  • 590 $a: Provider Name
  • 590 $b: Collection Name

Frequently defined record customization:

Delete Fields:

  • 029

Add Fields:

  • 945 $a: Transaction Type – New, Updated, Deleted
  • 740 $a: Collection-level notes. Note: If you map collection-level notes to a field in your records, remember to add a note within one or more of your collections.

Knowledge Base Collection 856 Field:

  • Add Subfield: z
  • Enter Free Form Text: Click here for access (Your 856 links will include $zClick here for access)

Enable collection-level record setting

  1. Search for the collection and open it. Expand the Holdings and MARC Records accordion.

  2. Choose Use institution setting: [Your institution settings will be displayed here].

After you enable record delivery in the collection, you will see the following tabs of settings: Customize Records, Record Delivery. You can leave the default settings or configure collection-level settings.

Configure collection-level settings (optional)

Define collection-level settings if desired. Listed below are some frequently used settings. For additional information, see Enable record delivery within your collection.

Configure separate file delivery

Many libraries choose to have their file of records delivered in a separate file. To configure separate file delivery:

  1. Click on the Record Delivery tab and find the Delivery File Output settings. Select Deliver records for this collection in a separate file.
  2. Enter a name to help you recognize your file. The file name will follow a format such as: metacoll.[XXX].new.D20160214.T210512.[YourFileName].1.mrc
Exclude records which already have holdings set in WorldCat
Troubleshoot MARC record delivery
  1. Are the correct number of titles selected in your collections?
    • Once the holdings feed has been processed, the correct number of titles should be selected within one week. Do not select the collection manually unless explicitly directed to do so.  Selecting the collections manually will result in a significant delay in processing of your holdings feed.
  2. Have you enabled MARC records at the institution level?
    • Navigate to Collection Manager > Settings > MARC Records and ensure the Enable MARC Records Delivery option is set to Yes.
  3. Have you enabled MARC record delivery within the collection?
    • Navigate to the collection and expand Holdings and MARC Records.  Ensure that the Enable MARC Record Delivery option is set to Use institution settings.
  4. Is the delivery frequency for record delivery set to daily?
    • Remember that delivery frequency can be set per collection and this collection-level setting will override the institution-level delivery frequency set under Collection Manager > Settings. If you set your collection to Weekly or Monthly record delivery, then they will have to wait for your first delivery.  If you change delivery to Daily, an initial delivery is triggered.  After receiving this initial delivery, you can then set it to Monthly or Weekly for on-going delivery of records if necessary.

Manage WorldCat holdings

  1. Navigate to Institution Settings > WorldCat Holdings.
  2. Set Maintain holdings in WorldCat to Yes.

The collection-level setting for knowledge base collections will be enabled by default. For complete instructions, see Institution Settings, WorldCat holdings.

Download files

Download your files and records using My Files, located under the Metadata tab in the WorldShare interface. You do not need additional credentials to download records from the WorldShare interface.

See Download files in My Files for complete instructions or follow these basic steps:

  1. Sign in to the WorldShare interface and navigate to Metadata > My Files.
  2. Click Downloads.
  3. Use the options to filter the file list. Click Download to download your file.

Additionally, see  Download files with FTP for FTP/sFTP options for downloading files and records.

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