U.S. Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Annual Report 2002: Automation

In addition to the IT reengineering work outlined in our reengineering page, the following technology work was undertaken during the fiscal year:

Information Technology Oversight Group

The Information Technology Oversight Group (ITOG), a Copyright Office oversight body established in August 2001, met regularly to monitor tasks in the Information Technology Action Plan of June 2001, coordinate Copyright Office information technology initiatives, review contractor deliverables for future systems, oversee ongoing projects to upgrade existing systems, and approve participants for electronic services.

Copyright Office Electronic Registration, Recordation and Deposit System (CORDS)

CORDS is the Copyright Office�s automated system to receive and process digital applications and digital deposits of copyrighted works for electronic registration via the Internet from a limited number of cooperating partners who meet current criteria. Through CORDS, copyright applications can be filed electronically by sending applications and deposits in digital form. The CORDS system facilitates full electronic processing, both initial preparation by the applicants on the "front end" and completely automated processing on the "back end" by the Copyright Office.

During the year, work continued on strengthening the electronic registration system with more robust software and preparation of system documentation and materials to facilitate transfer of operation and maintenance to Library staff. By the end of the fiscal year, nearly all of the development work had been completed and testing was under way. CORDS was adjusted to handle additional classes of electronic submissions and to interact with new versions of the Office�s information technology systems.

The Office processed 22,900 full electronic claims in textual and musical works through CORDS. ProQuest Information and Learning Company continued to submit approximately 500 electronic claims per week in university dissertations, the largest number of claims from any single submitter. The Harry Fox Agency, which previously submitted approximately 50 claims per week in musical works on behalf of several music publishers, discontinued its participation in favor of direct participation by the music publishers. Potential users who met specific criteria were approved for participation in the CORDS system during the year.

COINS

Work continued on migration of the workload management system (COINS) to more reliable and efficacious hardware and software. Implementation of this system is scheduled for fy 2003. The Copyright Automation Group (CAG) continued to collaborate with the Library�s Information Technology Service (ITS) to continue the conversion of the present Data General system to Oracle. By the end of the fiscal year, most of the development work had been completed, and user testing of the system components had begun. The development team also worked on planning the conversion of the data, including the archiving of old completed records that did not need to be included in the new database.

Copyright Imaging System

Work continued on the redevelopment of the Copyright Imaging System to move the Office away from the current proprietary system. The CAG coordinated the drafting of user guides for the input, administrative, and retrieval subsystems, and worked with end users to test the software and report problems. A series of meetings and discussions resulted in the creation of testing and implementation plans.

Respectfully submitted to the Librarian of Congress by:

Marybeth Peters
Register of Copyrights
and
Associate Librarian of Congress for Copyright Services



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