HSLS Joins CONSER
The Health Sciences Library System is now participating in CONSER, the Cooperative ONline SERials program administered by the Library of Congress Program for Cooperative Cataloging. CONSER membership is highly selective, with only 41 member libraries. HSLS is one of only four participating health sciences libraries.
The purpose of CONSER is to create a database of reliable, high quality bibliographic information for serial publications (e.g. journals) that libraries worldwide may use to manage their own journals, databases, and other continuing publications. Once a serials record is “authenticated” by a CONSER participant, it is considered to be authoritative. When you view journal information in PITTCat, or any other library catalog on the Web, you are most likely viewing information that has been contributed, verified, and distributed through CONSER.
CONSER began in the early 1970s, as a consolidated effort to create uniform electronic records to describe libraries’ serial holdings. This effort led to the rapid growth of online library catalogs and the broad availability of serials holdings. It has since evolved into the primary policy and standards agency for worldwide serials control and management. Libraries have benefited from the cooperative effort in several ways. By sharing centrally created records, libraries save in the local administrative costs for journal collection management. Using uniform data across libraries also supports resource sharing and exchange, as library users and staff can easily determine availability of needed materials in any library, and accurately articulate document delivery requests to other institutions.
—Deb Silverman and Gosia Fort
