# /programs/ourwork/infrastructures/newservice/missingmaterials.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/programs/ourwork/infrastructures/newservice/missingmaterials.htm

# Missing Materials Beta Procedure Project Problem statement: The loss of materials held in libraries and archives worldwide is a concern not only for owning institutions, but also for the international antiquarian book trade and global law enforcement. Centralized, highly visible exposure of "missing materials" is needed to help identify stolen materials and to deter future crimes. The existence of several online lists demonstrates need and interest, but each has its limitations. Background: In order to deter thieves, prevent inadvertent purchases and recover valuable stolen cultural materials, OCLC Research, the RLG Partnership and the RBMS Security Committee convened members of the cultural heritage collecting community to explore strategies for sharing reliable information about missing rare books and other materials. The goal was to surface current policies and procedures and discuss what's lacking in current practice for dissemination of information about missing materials. The WorldCat bibliographic database is one possible platform for collecting and broadcasting this information. The group quickly agreed that widespread support and community participation will be essential to the success of such a program. We explored the following questions as a first step toward defining functional components for attaching information about missing materials to WorldCat records: What are the necessary elements of a process that would be implemented by trusted special collections booksellers and librarians and could also be made available to a network of interested parties? How should information about stolen materials be broadcast and accessed? What metrics should be gathered (i.e., how many items have been listed, how many inquiries have been made, how many stolen materials have been recovered)? How can we minimize overhead, reduce obstacles, eliminate bottlenecks and ensure that only minimal costs are associated with participation? What types of materials should be included? Should this procedure be used only for rare books? Impact: The Missing Materials project has evolved to develop a 'beta' procedure for cultural heritage institutions to demonstrate their commitment to transparency about stolen and missing materials. Project: The working group will develop 'proof-of-concept' policies and procedures to experiment using network effects of WorldCat.org to broadcast centralized information about missing and stolen unique and rare materials. The test blog is available now at missingmaterials.org. Beta Group Members: Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc., ABAA David Szewczyk, Philadelphia Rare Books and Manuscripts, ABAA Richard Oram (Chair, RBMS Security Committee) and Ryan Hildebrand, Ransom Center, UT Austin Detectives Don Hrycyk and Stephanie Lazarus, Los Angeles Police Department Susan Allen and Andra Darlington, Getty Research Institute Susan Pyzynski, Houghton Library, Harvard E.C. Schroeder and Ellen Ellickson, Beinecke Library, Yale Laura Stalker, Dorothy Auyong and David Zeidberg, Huntington Library Jennifer Schaffner and Eric Childress, OCLC Research |
For more information Jennifer Schaffner Program Officer jennifer_schaffner@oclc.org Eric Childress Consulting Project Manager eric_childress@oclc.org