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Welcome to ITSMARC by TLC, a leader in metadata since 1974


Shared Cataloging

Question: How do you make Cataloging even better?

Answer: Share your title records!

Do you take the time to enrich existing title records in order to make your library resources more discoverable? Would you like to share your cataloging with other libraries? Would you like to participate in a cataloging community in order to discuss cataloging best practices? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then we would like to talk to you.

TLC would like to partner with libraries who are willing to share their MARC title records with other libraries. To facilitate this partnership, TLC will utilize our existing ITSMARC infrastructure to make MARC title records more readily available to the entire ITSMARC customer cohort. TLC can use the existing search and retrieve technology to make your MARC title records easily accessible to the broader cataloging community.

You can help your fellow catalogers obtain hard to find MARC title records by joining your colleagues and contributing your MARC title cataloging on a regular basis. In addition to that warm and fuzzy feeling you'll get from your public-spiritedness, you'll also receive important benefits:

  • Your library will be entitled to free error reports or to a $500.00 credit on your annual TLC support costs as long as you establish a regular track record of contributing on at least a quarterly basis.
  • Your title records will automatically be scrutinized for MARC errors. If you elect to receive error reports, you will receive a list detailing the offending records. If you wish, we will also perform an automated repair of non-filing indicators in controlled fields.
  • Title record fixes that can be applied by machine process will be automatically performed with each update.

What does TLC do with your title records?
Prior to merging your records into the contributed data pool, TLC performs these pre-processing steps:

  • Unenhanced title records that are duplicated in national library databases are removed.
  • Minimal level MARC validation is performed. Title records failing this step are removed.
  • A deeper, more rigorous MARC record analysis is performed to determine whether any remaining deficiencies can be corrected by machine processes.
  • RDAify the records using RDAExpress.

By contributing your title records to the ITSMARC contributed data set, you are joining other expert catalogers to create a high-quality MARC title record repository. That benefits you by not only getting access to other library title records it gives added visibility to your library, campus or community. To get started, download the MARC Partners Release Form and attach the form to a TLC Support Ticket with a note to send the ticket to the data services department.

To get started, click here: MARC Partners Release Form

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