It is actual even worse...
Here are two links using OCLC numbers, one with leading zeros one without.
http://books.google.com/books/feeds/volumes?q=OCLC281050
http://books.google.com/books/feeds/volumes?q=OCLC00281050
Both return results, but one version includes a fulltext version of the book and the other doesn't. You can find a fulltext version by looking at other 'editions'. The problem is if you are using the OCLC number with leading zeros to query if full text is available the answer is NO.
By the way if you look at the dc data you can see that in this case it looks like that data with the leading zeros was supplied by Harvard and the data without the leading zeros was supplied by U of Mich.
Steve
Steve Bischof
Systems/Discovery Librarian
Wesleyan University
860-685-3889
-----Original Message-----
From: Next generation catalogs for libraries [mailto:NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Jimmy Ghaphery
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 2:28 PM
To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: [NGC4LIB] leading zeros on OCLC numbers and Google book search
NGC4LIB,
We have noticed an issue with using the Google API for older items where
we have leading zeros in the OCLC number.
For example with the leading zero, no result found:
http://books.google.com/books/feeds/volumes?q=OCLC07913025
Take out the zero:
http://books.google.com/books/feeds/volumes?q=OCLC7913025
What is the collective take on this? Does this seem like a reasonable
accommodation that Google should make (ideally at someone's request with
more juice than me, hint OCLC)? Or should I scurry about and make
changes locally?
-Jimmy
--
Jimmy Ghaphery
Head, Library Information Systems
VCU Libraries
http://www.library.vcu.edu
--
Received on Wed Jul 22 2009 - 15:06:47 EDT