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OCLC Support

Why do I receive PDRs (partnering data record aka partial records)?

Applies to
  • WorldCat Cataloging Partners 
Answer

Partnering data records (PDRs) are delivered for an item if:

  • We are unable to make a match because there is no matching item in WorldCat
  • We are unable to make a match in WorldCat based on the information provided to us in the vendor supplied record for the item
  • If you've enabled ‘Do Not Deliver WorldCat Records if WorldCat Holdings Are Already Set for These institutions’
  • If you only want specific encoding levels and cataloging sources which you would define in your WorldCat Cataloging Partner profiles.
Additional information

A PDR is NOT a MARC record, PDRs are an optional, brief, OCLC system generated "placeholder" record, created when an OCLC MARC record is NOT found or delivered.

PDRs do not have an encoding level or a cataloging source.   however a PDR could be created if you've selected ONLY specific encoding levels and/or cataloging sources that are acceptable for delivery of a potential match in WorldCat. 

PDRs contains title, ISBN, and provider-provided data and may contain data elements such as list price, invoice date, etc., if these data elements are mapped by the user

PDRs are delivered for an item if:

We are unable to make a match because there isn't any matching item in WorldCat

We are unable to make a match in WorldCat based on the information provided to us in the vendor supplied record for the item, so again there is no match delivered

We may also deliver a PDR, if you've enabled ‘Do Not Deliver WorldCat Records if WorldCat Holdings Are Already Set for These institutions’

A PDR could be generated if you've selected ONLY specific encoding levels and/or cataloging sources that are acceptable for delivery of a potential match in WorldCat and you would define these in your WorldCat Cataloging Partners profile

You may elect to have the OCLC control number output in the PDR if applicable

For further information see Cataloging partner reports and Configure institution settings for cataloging partner collections (scroll down to Cataloging Partner Options)

Page ID
12175