[DCRM-L] Question: Local notes in OCLC master records

[McCallum, Rebecca]

My colleagues and I are currently debating when to add copy-specific local notes and related tracings to an OCLC master record, and when to simply leave them in our local catalog only.

At one end of the spectrum are notes that would definitely be of interest to researchers searching in WorldCat (eg. "500 _ _ $a Wesleyan copy: Heavily annotated and corrected by the author. $5 CtW").

At the other end of the spectrum are notes that would not be as useful to those outside our institution (eg. "500 _ _ $a Wesleyan copy: From the Kallir Family Collection, Given in Honor of Barbara Kallir (Class of 1983). $5 CtW").

But what about cases in between?  We're trying to find a balance point between providing useful information and avoiding cluttering up OCLC records unnecessarily.

Do you have parameters for when to add a copy-specific note to an OCLC master record?  If so, would you be willing to share those guidelines?

Thank you very much.

Rebecca McCallum
Cataloging Librarian
Wesleyan University
252 Church Street
Middletown, CT  06459
(860) 685-3839
rmccallum at wesleyan.edu
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