Cataloging Record Distribution Program FAQs for Current Participants

Some direct emails are sent to CRDP contacts when the annual survey is available or when there is a potential action to consider, such as selection of a new option or service. These messages are infrequent, typically a few times each year.

Other news news is included in FDLP News and Events. Following are a few select recent messages about the CRDP or GPO cataloging projects that are relevant to CRDP participating libraries:

• "New LTS Information Portal: FDLP LibGuides", June 13, 2022. Note that this guide reflects many activities within Library Technical Services, one of the units within Library Services and Content Management at GPO. The catalogers in this unit create all the catalog records included in the CRDP.
• "Recent Updates to Records in the CGP", April 20, 2022. Note that subfield $0 URIs were removed from CRDP records after this announcement in FY22, but they are included, starting in FY23, or October, 2022. CRDP libraries now have the option to request they be removed from records.
• “GPO resumes Cataloging of the Historic Shelf List”, February 2, 2022. These records are available to select in the CRDP.
• “GPO Releases the First Group of United States Congressional Serial Set MARC records”, December 14, 2021. These records are available to select in the CRDP.
• "Vacancies Remain in the Cataloging Record Distribution Program", September 18, 2020
• “CGP Records with Updated PURLs”, September 10, 2020
• "PURL Access Issues Update”, July 10, 2020
• "The New Version of Resource Description and Access (RDA): GPO’s Preparations and Impacts on the FDLP Community", June 22, 2020
• “The Law Library of Congress and GPO Collaborate on Cataloging Historical Legal Reports", April 7, 2020
• “Congressional Research Service Reports", January 28, 2019

See also the GPO Cataloging Guidelines for any updates to cataloging practices.

Note that GPO catalogs publications as part of projects, and many projects are announced or described in FDLP News and Events messages. Through projects, you may see high volumes of records for similar publications in short periods of time. If you’re receiving publications you do not want, or you wish to acquire collections of records from a new project, contact MARCIVE or GPO. In some cases, a CRDP Profile change could be needed. In others, a change in item number selection may be required.

Each participating library is entitled to make up to two cataloging specification updates to their record sets output (updating their CRDP Profile) during each Federal fiscal year. GPO’s fiscal year runs from October 1st through September 30th. Contact MARCIVE, Inc. directly to make changes. You do not need to use the web form you submitted when your library joined the CRDP.

There is no need to notify GPO or MARCIVE about item number changes. When you update your library’s FDLP item number selection profile or GPO makes changes to item numbers that affect your library profile, and these changes are made by the first Thursday in the month (before UNION-L is updated on Fridays), MARCIVE will automatically provide bibliographic records that match the new item selections in the next batch of CRDP records.

Although we ask that you make CRDP records available on a timely basis, we understand that there will be times when this is not feasible or easily accomplished. If, for example, the primary staff person who works with the CRDP is away for an extended time, or if you’re working on a systems migration, we understand there will be an impact on CRDP records processing.

In these situations, you still need to pick up the records when they are available. Anyone can save them locally as .mrc files until you’re ready to work with them.

We encourage all participating libraries to have at least two CRDP points of contact receiving the monthly email notifications from MARCIVE, so you have a backup when needed.

If your library or staff is significantly impacted by a disaster and you are unable to access the monthly records, please contact GPO or MARCIVE staff when feasible. Records may be held for disaster-affected libraries.

You may request assistance from a CRDP Buddy, a fellow practitioner at another participating library who has volunteered to provide assistance and consult.
If you’re new to the CRDP, you can see an outline of what to expect in the program.
You’re also welcome to contact MARCIVE or GPO staff directly.

Individual libraries in a consortium may request to participate in the CRDP. Please note though that each participating library or the consortium is responsible for tailoring or deduplication of the records within a consortial catalog.

Since the CRDP provides bibliographic records that match on a depository’s currently selected item numbers (with some exceptions), records related to unselected item numbers are not available through the program.

Unfortunately, in these situations, you will need to keep a separate list of item numbers (or related issuing agency information) to search through a resource such as the CGP. You can identify desired titles and then copy catalog their records.

Some libraries working to reduce print and other tangible selections may find themselves in this situation. In order to stop getting tangible receipts, item numbers associated with multiple formats like these are deselected:

• Item 0648-A, I 29.9/2:, Handbooks, Manuals, Guides, "no format indicated"
• Item 0831-C-12, HE 20.3965:, Research Monograph Series, P/EL

However, some online titles may also be associated with these item numbers. If you see the potential for publications associated with some deselected item numbers to be of interest to your library’s researchers, you could develop a workflow to search for future titles, either by item number, SuDocs stem, or other method.

Assuming the record includes an item number, identify the item number included and then check to see if it’s on your library’s item number selection profile. You can do this through Item Lister. If the item number doesn’t appear when you search by your depository library number and selections, you would not have received the associated catalog records.

Since the CRDP is primarily set up to provide bibliographic records that match on a depository’s currently selected item numbers, you may amend your library’s selection profile if you’d like to add item numbers and receive related bibliographic records in the future.

Yes, you may contact MARCIVE to request a date parameter be placed on your CRDP Profile records so you no longer receive records describing publications that you do not have, or at least are not likely to have in your collection. By default, MARCIVE will limit output to titles no more than five years old, but you may also specify a specific year.

The GPO Historic Shelflist is the U.S. Government Publishing Office's (GPO) historic card catalog covering tangible U.S. Government documents from the 1870s to October 1992. The cards were digitized in 2012, so that a copy of the Shelflist can be maintained for cataloging projects, and for any future internal processing needs. Please note that just the cards, not the described publications, were digitized through this project.

GPO’s Historic Shelflist (HSL) records were first made available in the CRDP from 2010-January, 2019. These records were brief bibliographic records.

GPO began a new contract in October of 2021 to catalog the approximately 66,000 to 88,000 remaining cards into MARC 21 records.

If your library is interested in these records through the CRDP, contact MARCIVE directly to update your library’s CRDP Profile.

Show & Tell – Cards of the Historic Shelflist webcast (October 4, 2022)