RLIN/OCLC

Unique identifier assigned by OCLC for a bibliographic record in WorldCat

Table of Contents

  1. Source
  2. Guidelines
  3. Format
  4. Inheritance
  5. Use With
  6. See Also

Source

  • OCLC bibliographic records

Guidelines

  • The RLIN/OCLC identifier is automatically populated into records when importing MARC records as long as it is present in the source record
  • If adding a RLIN/OCLC identifier to a record manually, it can be found:
    • In the Research Catalog in the OCLC field of the record
    • In the Legacy Catalog by viewing the record’s MARC XML
      • Confirm that <MARCFIXDATA>OCoLC</MARCFIXDATA> is present for the <MARCTAG>003</MARCTAG> tag of the bibliographic record
      • Search for the <VARFLD> that contains <MARCTAG>001</MARCTAG>
      • The RLIN/OCLC identifier is the value present within the <MARCFIXDATA></MARCFIXDATA> tag, e.g., the RLIN/OCLC identifier for b14903434 is 29052368

Format

OCLC numbers have replaced RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) identifiers over time. The format documented here applies specifically to OCLC numbers. Although RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) identifiers have been deprecated, legacy data may exist in the Library’s MARC records and in MMS.

Preferred structure
unique numeric identifier
Example
1133653761

Inheritance

  • Do not set RLIN/OCLC identifiers added to collections or containers to be Inheritable

Use With

  • NYPL catalog ID (B-number), which is the primary identifier for a bibliographic record in Sierra, where RLIN/OCLC identifiers are ingested from

See Also