College and Research Libraries CAROLYNNE PRESSER CODOC: A Computer-Based Processing and Retrieval System for Government Documents Much has been written in the literature recently concerning the application of machine technology to complex library operations. This paper describes a computerized system specifically designed to provide a quick and economical method of in-depth access to individual publications within a government documents collection. The system, CODOC (COoperative DOCuments), is currently operated in a network configuration in Ontario and Quebec and independently by several other libraries in Canada and the United States. GovERNMENT DOCUMENTS do not re- spond well to conventional methods of or- ganization and retrieval. The pros and cons of integrated versus separate collections have been vigorously debated in the litera- ture, l-s with the separate collection ap- proach being most favored. s,'7 More and more university libraries are following this trend as the increasing sophistication of in- formation systems enables the formulation of processing and retrieval schemes that cater to the vagaries of governmental in- stitutions and the special needs of the user. One such system was pioneered in Canada at the University of Guelph, On- tario, in 1967. 8 Known as the Guelph Documents System, it is a new unique ap- proach to the maintenance of and access to materials in a separate documents collec- tion. It proposes a single arrangement (cod- ing scheme) for all government documents, and it applies machine technology to reduce processing efforts and to provide detailed access to documents. The system was used Carolynne Presser ,is 'assistant librarian for the Engineering, Mathematics, and Science Library, Univers·ity of Watedoo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 94/ jointly by Guelph and the University of Western Ontario until 1972, when owner- ship, operation, and further development was transferred to the newly created On- tario Universities' Library Cooperative Sys- tem (OULCS) Documents Project, now called CODOC (COoperative DOCuments). OULCS is an umbrella name given to ·those Ontario university libraries participat- ing in various cooperative projects, of which CODOC is one. It is anticipated that librar- ies participating in CODOC and using common systems will develop a large com- mon data base, which will reduce the dupli- cation in collections and inform each li- brary's users of the wide resources available to them. By sharing resources it is expected that a reduction in the duplication of staff and resources can be achieved. '9 Ontario university libraries are free to participate at any time, and participation must include commitment to the cooperative venture on the part of the university as well as the li- brary administration. Materials in the CODOC data base com- prise the collections of the member libraries and include comprehensive collections of United States and other foreign documents at every level of government as we'll as the publications of international and inter- governmental agencies. The system, there- fore, is capable of treating a government document from any country or issuing agency. CODOC functions as an in-house system in which members use a common coding manual, use the same programs and coding forms, and employ similar proce- dures. HOW THE CODING SCHEME WORKS The coding scheme involves the transfer of information about a document from the title page to a coding form and the assign- ment of a unique document number for shelving and data manipulation. At the end of the data input process the library user will be able to retrieve the document from the collection by using any one of the six public catalogs produced in-house by the system: corporate author, personal author, title, series, serial, and KWOC (key-word- out-of-context) index. A mnemonic document code number is used both for shelf location and as the prime entry to the master file of machine- readable records. The code number reflects the country of origin, level of government, issuing agency, year of publication, and se- ries or title. 10 The unique twenty-character alpha/ numeric code number provides the capabil- ity of processing documents from all coun- tries at all levels of government. The code number is composed of elements from the. following: country, part, province/state, or- ganization, year, and title Cutter/series number. As examples, the code numbers for the following jurisdictions are: Department of the Environment and Conservation, Au- stralia = AS1 EN; Statistical Office, United Nations = UN2 S30; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Pro- grams = US 1 EP33; Metropolitan Toronto Transit Commission = CA3 0NT0 L87. The master file for a record will contain: code number, language, library owning the item, feature, form, source, a broad subject category using the LC classification, the corporate author(s), title(s), personal au- thor(s), serial holdings, and series statement as required. Each machine-readable document record CODOC I 95 consists of a combination of fixed and vari~ able fields, which are tagged with unique codes. The fixed fields are contained in the heade~ record and include the code number, language, physical features, and li- brary. The bibliographic data are contained in a variable number of fixed-length seg- ments; a maximum of fifteen segments can be accommodated in a record. The coding forms are hatched and converted to machine-readable form by key punchin~r. key-to-tape, or on-line input using a termi- nal; and the resulting transaction file is processed to update a library's master file. The system produces a number of catalogs available as paper printouts or on COM (computer output microfilm). The entire process from library receipt of a document to its recording and entry into the bibliographic data base is displayed in an abbreviated flowchart (figure 1). The coding scheme does not follow tra- ditional cataloging practices. It determines the main entry from the document in hand and relies upon its own authority files. The classification is tied to the main entry and, unlike accepted classification schemes, does not reflect the subject of the document. Its hierarchy displays government jurisdictions in descending steps, from federal to local authorities, and provides a coherent shelv- ing arrangement, of practical value to the user. The CODOC system provides practical, speedy, and inexpensive access to govern- ment documents: (1) it is based on the way governments function and publish informa- tion; (2) the entries are multiple and direct; and (3) the coding system is based on the document in hand and is easily understood and quickly applied by nonprofessional cod- ers, who require only a brief training pe- riod. The system can be easily integrated with existing library systems. For example, the CODOC system is compatible with MARC. One library using CODOC, University of Toronto, has elected to integrate its docu- ments data base with the overall biblio- graphic data base of the University of To- ronto network of libraries. A subset of the MARC format was developed and CODOC to MARC translation programs prepared. To illustrate, CODOC F/Cll, corporate au- 96 I College & Research Libraries • March 1978 Receipt of document Check in-house catal~ Lahel and shelve document Match with CODOC Union title index Treat as duplicate Extract record Label and shelve document Fig. 1 Coding a Document Ori~nal coding-CO DOC Manual Label and shelve document Produt-e in-house catalogs I l thor, translates to MARC tag llO, main entry-corporate name; and CODOC F/C 21, title, translates to MARC tag 245, title statement. Peter Hajnal and his colleagues, in a re- cent article, describe in detail the compati- bility of CODOC with MARC and modifications made to fit the CODOC sub- set into the University of Toronto's overall MARC format.ll CODOC FEATURES The implementation of the CODOC sys- tem for a separate collection of government documents offers several attractive features to a library and its users. To a library faced with a growing collection of documents, CODOC provides a fast system for process- ing the documents received. The average coding time required has been identified as six minutes, as determined by time studies conducted by CODOC members. The total process from receipt of material to access CODOC I 91 through the printed lists can be as little as ten days. Costs are kept to a minimum as the coding process is performed by non- professional staff. Most important, CODOC provides total bibliographic control of a document collection by providing catalogs capable of listing every item in a collection. For library users, CODOC provides a single indexing scheme and browsing capa- bility through the geographic arrangement o{ documents. Subject access to an entire collection is provided by multiple key-word access through the KWOC index. Because reports issued by governments reflect re- cent research and employ current or new terminology, users find it easier to retrieve information using key-word rather than the more traditional headings assigned by the Library of Congress. COOPERATION At present, CODOC is being used cooperatively by fifteen libraries in Ontario L060 JULY 05/76 ~ Cl)[X)C • • • t.NI(N MI\STER ••• BIBLICGUU'HIC ~ Pa<]e 1623 ****************** CAl m? 22-76Tl0 EN> CNW>IAN ~ SERVICE WXD PRESER\7ATIVES: 'l1IEIR IEPIEl'ICN AS FtNiiCIIES .AND FATE IN 'IHE F.NVIK) tHNI'. STRl\NKS, o. w. 10 CANADIAN FORESTRY SERVICE ~ TEOINICAL JG'ORT. CBt 0 BLASD 8 OW GP PF A SO 8 CAl m? 26-73R21 EN> CNW>IAN ~ SERVICE. PJ!CIFIC FOR:ST RESEAROI CENI'RE. REPR:XXX:TIVE crCLE OF roxii.A')-FIR. CMER), JaiN w. cx;u 0 PFMSO 2 OW GP PF M SO 1 OPAL 0 PF M SO 2 CAl m? 30- A56 EN> c:::NWl1'.. QNl'RE FOR INIJ\ND WATERS NHJAL ~ - C7INAil1'. CEN1'RE "FOR INU\ND WMERS. OW L JIM 0 OC 8 1969 - CAl m? 30- C55 EN> CANI\DA. 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P~ IE stlB\Iml'ICN A lA m:HE101E SUR IES ~ EN EAIJ. cx;u 0 JIM s oc 1 1973/74- CIM 0 11H 0 GB 2 1974-1975- 0W GP JIM S OC 8 1973/74- 0PAL 0 JIM S OC 8 1973/74- 00UL 0 AM 0 'ID 8 1973/74- a-m, 0 PF A OC 1 1973/74- JlNE 1976 Fig. 2 Sample Page of the CODOC Union Shelf List ill 76/03/24 2il 212 3il 6il lil 76/02/07 2il 3il lil 75/10/22 2il ill 75/01/30 2il ill 75/05/14 2il lll 75/07/23 2il 221 98 I College & Research Libraries • March 1978 and Quebec: Carleton University, Ottawa; Lakewood University, Thunder Bay, Laurentian University, Sudbury; McMaster University, Hamilton; Queen's University, Kingston; University of Guelph, Guelph; University of Ottawa, Ottawa; University of Toronto, Toronto; University of Waterloo, Waterloo; University of Western Ontario, London; University of Windsor, Windsor; Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo; Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal; Universite de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke; and a federal gov- ernment library, Department of External Affairs, Ottawa. Twice a year, in June and December, each library's master files are merged to create a union shelf list of documents, a title listing that is also an index to the union shelf list, and an index to the corporate au- thors and series names appearing on the union shelf list. The current cumulated union shelf list contains approximately 350,000 records. Monthly cumulated sup- plements are also produced. Figure 2 displays a sample page of the CODOC union shelf list, indicating which libraries own a document. Because many of the documents are received at more than one installation, each library has been made responsible for coding the publications of a specific jurisdiction. Thus the others in the group need only consult the union shelf list and extract the record required for its in- house data base, making changes where necessary. On a monthly basis, extract runs are processed in batch mode against the machine readable union file, and tapes are returned to the appropriate library. This procedure makes it unnecessary to code a document more than once. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS The success of CODOC in Ontario has encouraged the participants to offer the sys- tem through a leasing agreement. 12 Agreements have been made with several libraries in Canada and the United States. These institutions, it is hoped, will develop networks similar to the one in Ontario. In addition, CODOC will soon be available on-line through the Canada Institute for Scientific Technical and Information CAN/ OLE (Canadian on-line enquiry) data bases and QL Systems Limited, Kingston, Ontario. REFERENCES 1. Ellen P. Jackson, "Cataloging, Classification and Storage in a Separate Documents Collec- tion," Library Trends 15:50-57 (July 1966). 2. Andrew Osborn, Serial Publications: Their Place and Treatment in Libraries (Chicago: American Library Assn., 1955). 3. George Caldwell, "University Libraries and Government Publications: A Survey," College & Research Libraries 22:30-33 (Jan. 1961). 4. Ruth Erlandson, "The Organization of Fed- eral Government Publications in Depository Libraries," in Anne M. Boyd , ed. United States Government Publications (3d ed. rev.; · New Yoi-k: H. W. Wilson, 1949). 5. Norman F. Clarke, "Cataloging, Classification and Storage of Government Publications When Incorporated into the General Library Collection," Library Trends 15:58-71 (July 1966). 6. Carolynne Presser, "Organization of a Sepa- rate Government Documents Collection, University of Waterloo-A Case History," Government Publications Review 2:167-76 (1975). 7. Caldwell, "University Libraries and Govern- ment Publications." 8. Margaret Beckman and others, The Guelph Document System, Report #3 (Guelph, On- tario: University of Guelph Library, 1973). 9. Handbook and Organization Guide: The On- tario Universities' Library Cooperative Sys- tem (OULCS) (Toronto: Office of Library Coordination, Council of Ontario Universi- ties, 1976). 10. Ontario Universities' Library Cooperative System, CODOC Coding Manual (looseleaf; Toronto, 1976). 11. Peter Hajnal, Valentina de Bruin, and Dale Biteen, "MARC and CODOC: A Case Study in Dual Format Use in a University Library," journal of Library Automation 10:358-73 (Dec. 1977). 12. For further information, contact Ralph Stier- walt, Director, Office of Library Coordina- tion, Council of Ontario Universities, Suite 8039, 130 St. George Street, Toronto, On- tario, Canada M5S 2T4.