There are three options for downloading records at http://www.osti.gov/MARC/

• Full Collection Zip File: Download all MARC records in a zip file. The All Records Zip File is generated quarterly. The date the zip file was created is listed next to the download link.
• Latest Quarter Zip File: Download only the latest quarter of MARC records in a zip file. The Latest Quarter Zip File is much smaller and easier to manage than the Full Collection file. The date the zip file was created is listed next to the download link.
• Submit a request for a custom file: Contact us to request a custom download file. Your request may include Publication Date, Site Code, Subject Category, and Earliest Submission Date.

Scientific and technical information (STI) is available in multiple formats. It can be textual, multimedia, or datasets. Most of the textual items are PDF files and include record types such as journal accepted manuscripts, technical reports, conference papers, etc. Multimedia files include both audio and video files. Links to datasets connect to landing pages where the data files may be accessed and information about the data files obtained.

Yes. When links to full-text are added to existing OSTI.GOV records, the records will be included in your new records update. Records for older full-text titles newly added to OSTI.GOV are also made available.

Records are added to OSTI.GOV on a daily basis. They are accessible via the MARC records download feature. The bulk download zip file of the whole collection is updated on a quarterly basis.

• Downloading new records at regular intervals, such as monthly, is the option taken by many libraries.
  
• If you are selecting records by Subject Category, you can receive weekly automated notices of new records by signing up for an OSTI.GOV Account. Once you have an account, perform a search of the Subject Category using OSTI.GOV Advanced Search. In the Subject box, enter the subject category name enclosed in double quotes (i.e. "power generation and distribution"). When you get the search results, click on “save this search to My Library” in the left column. Enter a title for the search and click in the box to be notified when document matches are added or updated. You will receive an email when new records in your subject category are added. 

OSTI.GOV MARC records are generated by a program that translates the existing OSTI.GOV records into MARC format. This translation occurs when the records are downloaded. Changes made to where data is placed in the MARC record are made to the translation program rather than to individual records. A separate interactive database of the OSTI.GOV MARC records does not exist. However, quarterly, the full set of MARC records is downloaded and put into a zip file that is then made available for download.

The OSTI.GOV MARC records do not have the local holdings information contained in the 049 field. This information is used by many library systems to apply the appropriate parameters to each record as it is loaded. There are several ways to get this information into the records.
 

• Prior to loading, a MARC editor can be used to enter the appropriate holding code into the 049 field.

• A loader can be created that inserts the appropriate holding code into the records as they are loaded.

• After loading, the records can be rapidly updated to add the holding code. 

Existing records are occasionally updated. Updating an existing record will change the record's system entry date and the revised record will be included in your next new records download.

Records are occasionally suppressed or deleted from OSTI.GOV for a variety of reasons. When this happens, the record's PURL will return an error message. The vast majority of the suppressed records will eventually be returned to OSTI.GOV with the same PURL. OSTI does not have a mechanism for informing the public when records are suppressed or deleted.

No, these numbers are not OCLC numbers. The numbers in the 001 field are OSTI ID numbers that can also be searched in OSTI.GOV. To avoid conflicts with the OCLC numbers used in library catalogs, the OSTI ID number in the 001 field is preceded by the letters “OST.” Some loaders for library catalogs strip out the leading letters found in the 001 field. If such a loader is used with the OSTI.GOV MARC records, unrelated records may be overlain.  It is possible to leave in the leading alpha characters and add a number to the string to allow the system to import the letters.

Library of Congress subject headings are not used. The 650 \4 fields contain the subject categories and descriptors used by OSTI. Keywords are placed in the 653 field. While these subject terms may not be indexed in some library catalog subject heading searches, they should work in keyword searches. Many systems do not support keyword access to 650 \4 nor to the 653 fields. Libraries might consider changing 650 headings to 690s, (local subject added entry – topical term) if that will achieve keyword indexing in the local catalog.

OSTI is not able to perform authority work on the personal names of the authors of reports in the OSTI.GOV. For this reason, personal names are placed in the 720 field – added entry – uncontrolled name.

• OSTI is aware that many libraries do not support the 720 field. In many cases, the 720 data is not loaded and/or does not display in library catalogs. Since personal names can be very important in identifying specific technical reports, the personal names placed in the 720 field are duplicated in a 500 field.
  
• Personal names appear in all variations. The name may be in direct order or it may be inverted. In some cases the full name is used and in others only the first initial and last name are used.

Corporate names include the sponsoring agency (the agency funding the report) and the research agency (the agency doing the research and writing the report). As the distributor of the DOE full-text reports through OSTI.GOV, OSTI is listed as the distributor. If the format of the corporate name in the OSTI.GOV record has been matched against the LC Name Authority database, the corporate name is placed in the 710 field – added entry – corporate name. Otherwise the corporate name is placed in the 720 field – added entry – uncontrolled name. However, OSTI is aware that many libraries do not support the 720 field. In those libraries, the 720 data is not loaded and/or does not display in library catalogs. Since corporate names can be very important in identifying specific technical reports, the corporate names placed in the 720 field are duplicated in a 500 field.

Report numbers are very important in identifying technical reports. Technical reports can often have similar titles and descriptions. Identifying a specific technical report is often best done using the technical report number. The technical report number and other identifying numbers are placed in the 088 field. Since this is a field that often does not display in library catalogs, the report number is duplicated in the 500 field.

The date a report is published can be very important in identifying a specific report. Technical reports with the same title can be issued as interim and final reports or as periodic reports covering a specific time period. Unrelated reports can also have similar titles. For this reason, the month, day, and year a report is issued is included in a 500 field.

OSTI.GOV does include citations for journal articles, but the OSTI.GOV MARC Records will not include records for journal articles.

• Some journal articles written by DOE employees and contractors are submitted to OSTI as preprints. These full-text preprints are treated as technical reports and are included as part of OSTI.GOV MARC Records. In these cases, if the journal name, issue and date appear in the OSTI.GOV record, this information is placed in a 500 field. 
  
• Journal article citations in OSTI.GOV may have DOIs that link to the publisher’s web site where full-text may be available for a fee or by subscription. OSTI.GOV MARC Records do not include these records.