[DCRM-L] Friday afternoon question

[JOHN LANCASTER]

Hi Nina - Christine Straitt of ESTC/NA tells me that in the old days, the software system in use by ESTC actually required each number to have a fixed length, six digits, so when those references were added, they conformed to the requirements at the time. (Maybe OCLC could run a batch program to remove leading zeroes?). Current references should be added just as they appear in ESTC, without leading zeroes. 

John


Sent from my iPad

> On Aug 14, 2015, at 7:00 PM, Schneider, Nina <nschneider at humnet.ucla.edu> wrote:
> 
> I've been noticing that the ESTC references in OCLC are using a leading 0 between the letter and the first digit in the ESTC number. Instead of ESTC $c N26206, I see ESTC $c N026206. 
> 
> Someone unfamiliar with ESTC might search the database with the leading zero, resulting in no hits, but if you take out that zero, then the record is easy enough to find.
> 
> The Friday afternoon question: Is there a problem in taking out that leading zero when working on a record in OCLC?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Nina
> 
> +---------------
> Nina M. Schneider
> Rare Books Librarian
> William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
> 2520 Cimarron Street
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> 
> nschneider at humnet.ucla.edu
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