Newsletter of the Section on Bibliography

February 1997

Bourdon, Francoise, & Zillhardt, Sonia.
AUTHOR: vers une base européene de notices d'autorité auteurs [AUTHOR: towards a European network for name authority data]

Project AUTHOR aims to give access to cataloguers, at the international level and in UNIMARC, to the name authority files of the five libraries participating in the project. A test bed platform was defined which will be opened to other national libraries, together with a target technical architecture which takes into account and promotes two other European projects, USEMARCON and EUROPAGATE. The project is partly financed by the Libraries Programme of the European Commission's Directorate General XIII.

Ms Bourdon and Ms Zillhardt work at the bibliothéque nationale de France. The original language of the paper is French but an English translation is also available.

Danskin, Alan.
International standards in authority data control: costs and benefits

National and international co-operation and exchange of bibliographic data are well developed. Outside the United States, the exchange of authority data is in its infancy. There are benefits to be derived from such exchange, but to achieve these through strict adherence to the principles of Universal Bibliographic Control is not economic. The long term solutions may be a new model of access control record, but potential intermediate solutions are indicated by the development of an Anglo-American Authority File and Project AUTHOR.

Mr Danskin works at the British Library. His paper was written in English (071-BIBL-1-E) and French and German translations are also available.

Fu Ping.
Bibliographic control in China

The author starts with a brief history and the present status of bibliographic control in China, including the compilation of the China National Bibliography, the creation of some large scale bibliographic databases, standardisation of bibliographic control and research into the automation of bibliographic control. The author then analyses some problems and their contributing factors and she comments on future directions.

Ms Fu works at: the National Library of China. Her paper is in English only (072-BIBL-2-E)

Hong, Yan.
Publishing of annotated bibliographies: promises and challenges for the 90s

This paper explores the necessity of publishing annotated bibliographies in this computer age of information explosion. A quick literature review in several disciplines indicates that, contrary to what one should think, annotated bibliographies are still written and published every year. In some fields, medicine, for example, the momentum is forever high. Based upon an analysis of the role and function of annotated bibliographies in the context of electronic access to information, and a discussion of the promises and challenges of writing and publishing these manuscripts, the author argues for the most effective ways to learn, retain and sharpen the writing skills in terms of selecting the appropriate topics, choosing the right audiences, and avoiding the pitfalls in preparing annotated bibliographies.

Ms Hong works at the Bailey/Howe Library of the University of Vermont. Her paper is in English (073-BIBL-3-E) and there is a German translation.

Copenhagen conference

IFLA members should have received copies of the Final Announcement and the January 1997 issue of IFLA Express. Registration information appears on p.16 of the Final Announcement; as in previous years, early registration - in this case, before 1 May - will save money.

The Section's programme has yet to be finalised, but information will be given in the Newsletter which will be issued in the summer. In the meantime, Section members may like to be alerted to three half-day workshops being planned by the Division of Bibliographic Control and the UBCIM Programme:

• Authority control: developments and prospects,
• EDI and beyond: electronic commerce and libraries,
• Future of communication formats.

All workshops will take place on Thursday 4 September. Registration information appears in the January 1997 issue of IFLA Express, which should have been received by all IFLA members.

Medium Term Programme

At its meetings in Beijing last year, the Standing Committee agreed the following scope statement:

"The Section on Bibliography is primarily concerned with the content, arrangement, production, dissemination and preservation of bibliographic information, especially (but not exclusively) where these pertain to national bibliographic services. It is also concerned with the promotion of the importance of the discipline of bibliography to library professionals in all types of library (not just national libraries), to publishers, distributors and retailers and also to end users. While taking full account of technological possibilities, the Section is aware that such developments are not yet available in some areas of the world, and it will ensure that its solutions are not necessarily dependent on particular technologies. The Section is closely associated, where appropriate, not only with the other sections within the Division of Bibliographic Control and with the UBCIM Programme, but also with the Sections on Information Technology and of National Libraries."

It is hoped to finalise the goals and first action plan within the next few months.

News items

Both Denmark and the United Kingdom are in the process of extending legal deposit. In both countries it is hoped that parliamentary time can be found to extend deposit beyond printed materials to sound recordings, videos, microforms and material published electronically on disc (both CD and diskette). Both proposals recognise, however, the difficulty of defining online publications, including those published through the World Wide Web, and both are aware of publishers, sensitivities concerning the number of copies deposited.

Over the course of the coming year, members in no less than three national libraries may find themselves working in new premises: the Tolbiac site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France has of course already opened; Die Deutsche Bibliothek moved to its new building in Frankfurt in January; and the long delayed British Library at St Pancras, London, should be opening to the public towards the end of this year.

One important consequence of Die Deutsche Bibliothek's move is that the IFLA UBCIM Programme's address and telephone numbers have also changed. The new address is: IFLA UBCIM Programme, c/o Die Deutsche Bibliothek, Adickesallee 1, 60322 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; the new telephone number is + 49 69 1525 1140/1; and the fax number is + 49 69 1525 1142.

The fourth revised edition of Names of persons has now been published by the IFLA UBCIM Programme. It is obtainable from K G Saur Verlag, Postfach 701620, D-81316, Munich, Germany, and costs DM.178.

With part-funding from the European Commission, a project to establish electronic links between national bibliographic agencies and publishers, in respect of metadata carried on electronic publications, is now under way. BIBLINK partners include the national libraries of France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, along with UKOLN at the University of Bath and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. More information about BIBLINK can be found at
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ BIBLINK/

The IFLA UBCIM Programme has set up a new working group on authority records, the IFLA Working Group on Minimal Level Authority Record and ISADN. Its first task is to prepare a matrix of essential data elements to include in shared resource authority records for names of persons, corporate bodies, conferences and uniform titles. A second step will be to reconsider the structure of a ISADN (International Standard Authority Data Number) and its possible implementation. The group met during the Beijing conference and is scheduled to meet again shortly in Helsinki.

International co-operation continues to flourish between the British Library and the Library of Congress. In 1996 a Memorandum of Agreement on Convergence of Cataloguing Policy was signed, and discussions continue (along with the National Library of Canada) on achieving a common MARC format.

1995/97 Standing Committee

The Standing Committee comprises currently the following members:

Special adviser:

Observers:

Enquiries about this newsletter should be addressed to the Chairman at the British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, UK

(tel.: + 44 1937 546591; fax: + 44 1937 546586; e-mail: ross.bourne@bl.uk)

Web information about the Section appears at http://www.ifla.org/VII/s12/sb.htm

INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUING AND BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL

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