We’re still filling our ISSN database. Some parts are going fast, other take more time.
The ISSN database already contains about 600.000 journals, from which about 30.000 are peer reviewed journals.
We collected the data from several sources locally, and on the Web.
OPAC data
We also want to squeeze the University Catalogue to get information concerning the journal holdings.
We do some test imports with the SRU interface of the OCLC PICA OPAC.
And we are trying to understand the PICA and PICA+ formats.
We must translate one format into the other. The information from the OPAC is all PICA+. We want to translate it to PICA or MARC21.
We want to import ISSN’s, titles, subtitles, holding information (signatures, stack numbers, available years etc.).
When we have built this ISSN database, we hope to keep it uptodate by searching all changes in the OPAC from a specific moment in time (f.i.each week), and automatically import the new data in the database.
Other parts of the project
* In PurpleSearch, and also the earlier version, LiveTrix, we already mention(ed) ISI Impact Factors.
* If possible, we import in the database links to tables of contents. Ulrich’s supplies links to tables of content of electronic journals. And maybe we can get some useful information via the xISSN database of WorldCat. David Walker told me that all OCLC cataloguing libraries in the USA could use World for free. And the same counts for the dutch cataloguing libraries, e.g. the Library of the University of Groningen.
* A minor project in this database story is the collecting of journal covers. Our goal is to store the covers in Groningen. So it won’t cost time when we present within the PurpleSearch results, journal information and also covers.
From Elsevier we already received about 2.000 covers (in zip!). Oxford University Press told us we could use their covers. But we ourselves must collect them (ca. 400). Cambridge Journals Online already told us to sent zipfile with their journal covers.
Wiley’s is still thinking about it. Other suppliers didn’t react untill now.
So, there’s a lot to do in 2009! And off course we have enough ideas to proceed. When we have this ISSN database working and running, and when we have more data locally stored in Groningen, we can think of extanding our services pack for PurpleSearch:
- Subject information (FRBR; faceting)
- Photo and film data
- Feed Navigator Plugin for RSS alerts.
- and more.
Have a nice holiday!
