Retroconversion of Documents in University Library: A Study

Abstract

Retroconversion is the process of conversion of printed catalogue of library holdings into machine-readable form, in a pre-defined format using accepted standards for making it searchable through machine. The purpose of this study is to analyse the retroconversion of documents undertaken by Zakir Husain Library (ZHL) JMI, New Delhi. Two set of well structured questionnaires were administrated to collect the necessary data to the Librarian and the Users. Zakir Husain library has computerized bibliographical records of its holdings by in-house retroconversion process through their own existing staff, which started the work in 1998 and the work has been completed now. The study shows that number of documents converted retrospectives area by using Libsys 4.0 software. Subject headings to the books were assigned to Sears list Subject Heading. DDC 22nd edition was used for classification and AACR-II format for cataloguing. The library used a suitable format for inputting the data in MARC format. The data impart through manual catalogue cards by the staff. These entries were randomly checked by the supervisory staff. For users perspective, a random survey of the OPAC users of the Zakir Husain Library revealed satisfactory findings. Most of the users were aware that the library has shifted to the online catalogue from the traditional card catalogue. 85.66% users frequently used the online catalogue. 95.09% users search the documents through subject. 65.6% users are fully satisfied with the OPAC results.