Re: leading zeros on OCLC numbers and Google book search

But it sounds like from your all experiments thus far, if you remove all 
trailing zeroes before submitting the request to Google, you always get 
the optimal response?  That's better than if there was no predictable 
way to get a full-recall response....

Jonathan

Bischof, Steven wrote:
> 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
> --
>
>