   
SCATNews
Newsletter of the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing
Number 10,
June 1998
ISSN: 1022-9841
STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
As a result of this year's election for the 1997-1999 period, the membership of the Committee on Cataloguing has remained at twenty members.
Continuing members are: Z. Alavi (Iran), N. Boddaert (France), P. V. Bunn (UK), K. Dahl (Sweden), A. M. J. T. Heilijers (Netherlands), L. C. Howarth (Canada), N. Kasparova (Russia), M. Madsen (Denmark), D. McGarry (USA), A. Munkebyaune (Norway), I. Parent (Canada), I. de Pinedo (Italy), L. A. Terekhova (Russia), B. B. Tillett (USA), M. Witt (France).
Welcome to new members: Z. Dimec (Slovenia), A. Estivill (Spain), M. Munnich (Germany), G. Patton (USA), R. Rinn (Germany).
Corresponding members: M. M. Leon Ortiz (Cuba), L-Z Yan (China), S J Yee (Fiji), A. M. Wells (Australia).
Special advisors: J. D. Byrum (USA), F. M. Campos (Portugal).
Observer: A. Horvat (Croatia).
Farewell must be said to the three departing members of the Committee who have given much time and energy to advancing the work of international cataloguing: S. Jouguelet (France), O. Madison (USA), S. Thomas (USA). Thank you very much for your contributions over the past several years; we will miss your expertise and enthusiasm.
MEDIUM-TERM PROGRAMME (MTP) -- 1998-2001
All Divisions, Sections and Round Tables of IFLA are required to prepare a medium term programme for the period 1998-2001. During the IFLA Conference in Beijing, Cataloguing Committee members developed the following scope statement and goals for the Section:
Scope
The Section on Cataloguing analyzes the functions of cataloguing activities for all types of material and media, including both bibliographic and authority information, for the benefit of all users.
The Section proposes and develops cataloguing rules, guidelines and standards for bibliographic information taking into account the developing electronic and networked environment in order to promote universal access to and exchange of bibliographic and authority information.
The Section has close relationships with many organizations and institutions including national cataloguing and standardization committees, various multinational organizations, various committees of ISO, especially with TC46, with the Sections on Bibliography, Classification and Indexing, and Information Technology, and in particular with the UBCIM programme office of IFLA.
Goals 1998-2001
- Monitor the need for new and updated ISBD’s and develop them.
- Develop approaches, standards, rules, lists for information that provide access to bibliographic data in all languages and in all scripts.
- Promote the functional requirements for bibliographic records study and its recommendations, and take follow-up action to develop new descriptive standards and standards for access points and to develop a new approach to the bibliographic universe.
- Review and develop the interface standards to make cataloguing information more accessible to the end-user in cooperation with other technical committees.
- Develop guidelines for organizing the expanding amount of digital resources.
- Explore opportunities for distance learning of cataloguing activities especially for developing countries.
- Provide leadership in defining the role of the cataloguing activity and of the cataloguer in particular, given the rapid developments in electronic information technology.
- Provide information about the work of the Section and Standing Committee.
- Promote membership in the Section, emphasizing a broader geographic representation on the Standing Committee.
The draft Action Plan for 1998-1999 to meet these goals has been distributed to Standing Committee members for comments. The MTP will be discussed at the Standing Committee meetings in Copenhagen and will also be reviewed by the Division of Bibliographic Control's Coordinating Board and by the IFLA Professional Board.
ISBD(ER) Approved
by John D. Byrum
In SCATNews issue #7 (March 1997), announcement was made that the proposed International Standard Bibliographic Description for Electronic Resources (ISBD(ER)) had been forwarded to the IFLA Standing Committees on Cataloguing and Information Technology for balloting. By close of work on May 31, 19 ballots had been returned; all of them were marked "I approve". Consequentially, this project has now entered into its final phase: completion of a camera-ready text for publication by K. G. Saur. It is likely that this latest addition to the ISBD family will be available for purchase by late summer/early autumn.
CLASSIQUES ANONYMES:
par Nadine Boddaert
Parmi les travaux en cours au sein de la Section de catalogage de l'IFLA figure le projet d'édition de listes de classiques anonymes pour les différentes aires culturelles (pour certaines litttératures il s'agit d'une nouvelle édition, éventuellement mise à jour).
La première étape - concernant les littératures européennes - s'achève avec l'édition d'un premier volume, et la seconde est commencée. Cette dernière présente deux volets : les littératures latino-américaines, d'une part, et les littératures asiatiques d'autre part. La phase de recherche de collaborateurs et l'établissement de premières listes des oeuvres anonymes est en cours.
Pour l'Amérique latine il s'agit, à notre connaissance, d'un premier recensement systématique de la littérature précolombienne à l'échelon international, dans une optique de description bibliographique et de normalisation des accès-titres uniformes.
Les littératures asiatiques étaient, pour leur part, très partiellement représentées dans la Liste internationale de vedettes uniformes pour les classiques anonymes = International list of uniform headings for Anonymous classics, publiée par l'IFLA en 1964 et depuis longtemps épuisée. En effet si on y trouvait les littératures indienne, indonésienne, coréenne et vietnamienne, par exemple, les littératures chinoise et japonaise en étaient totalement absentes.
Lors du prochain congrès de l'IFLA, à Copenhague en septembre prochain, une réunion est prévue avec chacune de ces aires culturelles afin de faire le point sur l'avancement du travail et de débattre des problèmes rencontrés (limites chronologiques, affinement des critères de sélection, auteurs fictifs ou légendaires, etc...)
ANONYMOUS CLASSICS
(translation)
Among the projects underway within the IFLA Section on Cataloguing is the project to publish lists of names of anonymous classics for the different cultural areas of the world (for certain literatures it will mean a new edition, eventually an updated edition).
The first phase, covering the literature of Europe, is close to completion with the publication of a first volume, and the second phase has begun. This second phase is divided into two parts: Latin American literature on the one hand, and Asian literature on the other. The research phase by the participants and the development of preliminary lists of anonymous works is proceeding.
For Latin American literature, it appears that this is the first systematic listing of pre-Columbian literature at an international level, with the objective of providing bibliographic description and standardization of the uniform titles.
Asian literatures were, for their part, very partially represented in the International list of uniform headings for Anonymous classics = Liste internationale de vedettes uniformes pour les classiques anonymes, published by IFLA in 1964 and long out of print. In effect, if for example Indian, Indonesian, Korean, and Vietnamese literary works were included, others such as Chinese and Japanese were completely excluded.
During the IFLA conference in Copenhagen in September 1997, a meeting will be held with each of these cultural literary areas in order to give a report on the status of the project and to discuss the problem cases encountered so far (chronological limits, refining of the selection criteria, fictional or legendary authors, etc....)
STUDY ON THE FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORDS
In response to a request from IFLA Headquarters to identify the Highlight of the current work of the Section on Cataloguing, the officers of the Standing Committee of the Section decided that our Highlight is the Study on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. An update on the study was provided in issue Number 7 of SCATNews. The Study report will be discussed by the Committee on Cataloguing during the IFLA Conference in Copenhagen. A photograph of the group members was taken in February 1997.
(Photo: J. Byrum)
Study Group members
Standing (l. to r.): Tom Delsey, Suzanne Jouguelet, Olivia Madison (Chair), Barbara Tillet, Dorothy McGarry, Elizabeth Dulabahn, Nancy Williamson, John Byrum. Sitting (l. to r.): Maria Witt, Elaine Svenonius.
PROGRESS REPORT FROM THE IFLA UBCIM WORKING GROUP ON MLAR AND THE
ISADN
By Barbara B. Tillet
(Chair of the Working Group)
The IFLA UBCIM Working Group on Minimal Level Authority Records (MLAR) and the International Standard Authority Data Number (ISADN) will meet during the IFLA Conference in Copenhagen this summer and consult with the Permanent UNIMARC Committee (PUC) and the Committee to revise GARE (Guidelines for Authority and Reference Entries). A brief progress report will be given during the open forum on bibliographic control in Copenhagen. As further background on the activities of this Working Group, the following is excerpted from the introduction to the draft report of the Working Group.
The IFLA UBCIM Working Group on Minimal Level Authority Records (MLAR) and the International Standard Authority Data Number (ISADN) suggests that international sharing of authority information would greatly assist libraries and national bibliographic agencies in reducing the costs of cataloging while providing greater capability for sharing bibliographic records. Although this Working Group was created under the auspices of UBCIM, we have come to realize that the IFLA goal of Universal Bibliographic Control by way of requiring everyone to use the same form for headings globally is not practical. There are reasons to use the form of names familiar to our own users, in scripts they can read and in forms they most likely would look for in their library catalog or national bibliography. Therefore, this Working Group recognizes the importance of allowing the preservation of national or rule-based differences in authorized forms for headings to be used in national bibliographies and library catalogs that best meet the language and cultural needs of the particular institution's users.
To facilitate international sharing of authority data, we propose that each National Bibliographic Agency (NBA) make their authority files available over the Internet within two or three years, using the IFLA home page to register current information about what is available and what restrictions are in force. Such a system would permit multi-file searching to be conducted across a range of authority files or a single national authority file as desired. Within this context, retrieval would be greatly enhanced by the use of some numbering mechanism to link the associated authority records created by the various agencies, either the local system record numbers or an International Standard Authority Data Number (ISADN) for the entity, as was suggested by IFLA in the 1970's.
We further propose that access to the shared authority files would be "Read Only." It would not be permissible to directly amend data provided by another institution, unless previous agreements had been made for such cooperative record maintenance. This is both a practical approach to file maintenance and ensures that authority for editing data is retained by the NBA which can be expected to have the most expertise in the local format, cataloguing code, and user expectations.
Please note that this exercise is limited to authority records for names of:
persons
corporate bodies
conferences
uniform titles
and omits series, subject headings, and classification authorities.
The task was to identify the basic elements, provide a definition for each, find which already exist in communication formats and suggest which should be recommended for addition to improve the formats. The Working Group will make recommendations to the PUC for changes to UNIMARC/AUTHORITIES and to the group working to update GARE.
The concept of using an International Standard Authority Data Number (ISADN) has been tabled by the Working Group for at least the next five years in order to allow time for technologies to develop and to determine whether such a number is indeed necessary in the emerging electronic environment.
The Working Group prepared a preliminary matrix listing the data elements essential when applicable for an internationally shared authority record. The Working Group recommends that all essential data be included in shared records at the minimum. Additional information may be included as appropriate. An appendix will be included in the Working Group's report to provide the full list of data elements including information about where those elements now appear in various communication formats in use today.
LIBRARY REPORTS
PINYIN ROMANIZATION: MOVING TOWARD CONVERSION
by Philip Melzer
Library of Congress
For decades, the library community has used the Wade-Giles system to romanize Chinese. However, since the 1950's, an increasing number of people throughout the world (including U.S. government agencies and media) have come to replace Wade-Giles with the pinyin system. In 1980, the Library of Congress proposed conversion to pinyin should coincide with its introduction of computerized cataloging of Chinese material. The East Asian library community, however, wished to retain the Wade-Giles system.
During the next decade, many librarians came to realize that the eventual conversion to pinyin was becoming inevitable. Therefore, in 1990, after consultations with user communities and others, the Library of Congress decided to support conversion when technically and economically feasible.
The Library has been monitoring recent developments that seem to indicate that conversion to pinyin might now be possible. The National Library of Australia (NLA) has converted over 500,000 Chinese records to pinyin, utilizing an independent conversion software program that identified and converted Wade-Giles data in MARC records, and then reassembled the records. The program even identified Wade-Giles in records that contained a mixture of languages. The Library began to consider the possibility of using such a program in order to convert its files to pinyin.
In order to plan for conversion to begin, clear guidelines for how Chinese syllables will be joined or divided are needed. The Library has proposed separating syllables, except that individual syllables of surnames, forenames and geographic locations would be connected. This is the same basic approach that the Wade-Giles system now follows, with hyphenated elements being connected and hyphens eliminated in pinyin. This system is already familiar to library users; it is straightforward and easy to learn and remember; and it would ensure consistency of application.
The Library was encouraged when the Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL) recently reported that, in response to a survey mailed to libraries with East Asian collections in North America, a large majority of recipients had responded by indicating support both for conversion to pinyin and for the Library's proposed approach to word division.
In discussions with the nation's largest bibliographic utilities, OCLC and RLG, agreement was reached to proceed with planning as soon as possible. In late May, at a subsequent meeting attended by utility representatives and also by a representative of CEAL, the Library was urged to announce, at its earliest convenience, the details of pinyin romanization guidelines, when conversion will occur, and the relationship between implementation and conversion of the Library's existing files to pinyin. The Library has, in turn, established a Pinyin Task Group, staffed with LC experts, to recommend actions and coordinate with bibliographic utilities and the library community. This Group has begun pursuing its charges.
BEACHER WIGGINS APPOINTED DIRECTOR FOR CATALOGING, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
By John D. Byrum
Beacher J.E. Wiggins has been appointed as Director for Cataloging, effective June 10, 1997. Wiggins has served as acting director for cataloging since January 8, 1995.
Wiggins first joined the Library of Congress in 1972 as a cataloger in the Descriptive Cataloging Division. He was a section head there from January 1980 through September 1986 and assistant to the Associate Librarian for Collections Services from September 1986 to October 1991, when he was appointed chief of the Shared Cataloging Division. He became chief of the Arts and Sciences Cataloging Division (ASCD) in June 1992. He served concurrently as chief of ASCD and acting director.
Wiggins received a B.A. degree in English from Howard University in 1970 and an M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies in 1972. The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies Alumni Association named him its Alumnus of the Year in 1994. Active in the American Library Association for more than 15 years, he was a faculty member for the Library of Congress/ALA Resources and Technical Services Division Regional Authorities Institutes and for the Library of Congress Institutes on AACR2. Wiggins served as a mentor for the Library's Intern Class in 1991-1992.
Wiggins co-edited The Linked Systems Project: A Networking Tool for Libraries, in the OCLC Library, Information, and Computer Science Series, and has published numerous articles about automation and bibliographic control. He is currently chair of the Standards Committee on Title Page Information for Conference Proceedings of the National Information Standards Organization.
Beacher J. Wiggins, Director, Cataloging Directorate, Library Services, Library of Congress, Washington D.C. 20540-4000, phone: 202-707-5330, fax: 202-707-6269, E-Mail: biwg@loc.gov
THE CORE RECORD
Developed by the Program for Cooperative Cataloging
by Colleen F. Hyslop
The core record is one of the most significant accomplishments of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) in terms of fostering expansion of BIBCO, the PCC’s cooperative cataloging program for monographs in all formats. The core record is a strategy and standard developed by the PCC to help libraries achieve the goals of high-quality records and timely access. It offers a real alternative to full-level cataloging while addressing the recognized deficiencies of a minimal-level record. In earlier cooperative cataloging programs there were concerns about inflexible requirements and high costs. The core record is one way that PCC addresses these concerns, as it offers a simplified standard record that still delivers high-quality access. The decision about which materials merit full or core records is in the hands of participant libraries, allowing each institution to set its own priorities. The core-record concept represents a fundamental shift in cataloging that relies heavily on the PCC’s value of cataloger’s judgement and decision-making abilities.
The core-record standard defines the minimum set of data elements essential to cooperative use of the catalog record. One of the requirements is a nationally recognized classification number; for example, an LC, Dewey, or National Library of Medicine number. (The presence of a classification number is a major improvement over a minimal-level record.) The core record also requires that all access points be supported by authority records in the National Authority Files (name and subject headings) or standard thesauri. This extra requirement should not be considered as a deterrent to participation or an added cost, but rather as an investment with both immediate and long-term benefits in cataloging operations.
The library community has long recognized the value of the National Authority Files. There are immediate benefits in efficiency and speed in copy cataloging of a PCC record, with all headings supported by national authority records. Additionally, the existence of an authorized heading is the basis on which all libraries select headings for original cataloging and resolve conflicts. As the authority files grow, all libraries will save time in copy and original cataloging and database maintenance. The quality and consistency of headings in the OCLC and RLIN databases will increase. Therefore, the initial investment in national authority records for all access points presents significant current and future savings for all libraries.
It is anticipated that the core record will significantly improve catalogers’ productivity, and this effect has been demonstrated in experiments at the Library of Congress, UCLA, and Cornell University. The potential for increased productivity should alleviate concerns about the requirement to create authority records for all access points.
In terms of access, the primary difference between core and full records is that the core standard requires fewer subject headings and added entries. The core record incorporates the concept of a dynamic bibliographic record. Similar to the dynamic nature of a CONSER record, a core record can be enhanced with additional access points by libraries in which such treatment is merited and affordable. In addition, with widespread use of the core record, fewer access points may be provided for some titles, but more overall and timely access will be provided through production of a larger number of standardized bibliographic records. Moreover, the quality of access will be enhanced, with more names and more records under full national authority control.
The BIBCO program is growing impressively in number of libraries participating, total number of records contributed, and number of core records contributed. Of the 21 libraries now trained for BIBCO, 10 are contributing core records as well as full records. The total number of bibliographic records contributed for fy96 was 14,173, including 2,606 core records. For the first 6 months of fy97, 12,973 total bibliographic records have been contributed, including 3,152 core records. Participating libraries have clearly found the core record to be a useful new standard.
Established or Completed Core-Record Standards
The definitive standards are maintained on a current basis on the PCC Web page (address at the end of this article).
Library of Congress Adopts Core-Level Bibliographic Record (1)
On May 28, 1997, the Library of Congress Cataloging Management Team (CMT) voted to adopt the core-level bibliographic record in the Cataloging Directorate and Serial Record Division. The CMT based its decision primarily on the results of a six-month experiment with the core standard conducted at LC in 1996, involving completion of nearly 1,550 core-level records. The CMT also considered the results of experiments with core-level cataloging at Cornell University and UCLA (2) as well as LC's core-level cataloging project for serial publications. All the experiments had positive outcomes in terms of productivity and timely access. Over the next several months the directorate and Serial Record Division will consult with constituencies both within the Library and in the professional community and develop implementation plans and revise documentation as needed to implement the core-level bibliographic record.
Core Record Controversy
It is not surprising that the core record, with its reduced number of required data elements, has been controversial at times. There is an inevitable debate about the point at which a simplified record still provides good user access. However, another very serious user need is for timely access. The PCC is taking a leadership role in insisting that timeliness is a necessary component of high-quality access. The core record is designed to strike a balance that maintains timely high-quality user access and is proving to be a useful tool to assist libraries in accomplishing those dual access goals.
TO LEARN MORE
Learn more about the core record and the PCC on the World Wide Web at the PCC Home Page: http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/ or on LC MARVEL, the LC Gopher server: telnet to marvel.loc.gov
Institutions interested in learning more about participating in the PCC should contact the PCC Secretariat:
Ann Della Porta, Cooperative Cataloging Team Leader, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4382, Tel.: 202-707-7920, E-Mail: dellapor@mail.loc.gov
References
- Information in this preliminary report is provided by: Private electronic message from John Byrum, Jr., June 12, 1997.
- Sherry Kelley and Brian Schottlaender, "UCLA/OCLC Core Record Pilot Project: Preliminary Report," Library Resources & Technical Services, vol. 40, no. 3 (July 1996): 251-60.
This article is a condensed version of a paper published as From Catalog to Gateway: Briefings from the CFFC, no. 11 as a supplement to the ALCTS Newsletter, vol. 8, no. 4, 1997. The author is indebted to the members of the PCC Executive Council, the Library of Congress Secretariat, and particularly to John D. Byrum, Jr., Library of Congress, and Willy Cromwell-Kessler, Research Libraries Group and Chair of the PCC Standing Committee on Standards.
Colleen F. Hyslop is Assistant Director for Technical Services at the Michigan State University Libraries. She can be contacted at: Main Library, Michigan State University, 100 Library, East Lansing MI 48824-1048; Tel.: 517-353-4531; Internet: hyslop@pilot.msu.edu.
STANDING COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES AT THE 63rd IFLA COUNCIL AND GENERAL
CONFERENCE, COPENHAGEN, AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 5, 1997
STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS AT THE COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE
Saturday, 30 August, 9:00-11:50, Standing Committee I
Tuesday, 2 September, 12:30-15:00, Section Open Programme
Thursday, 4 September, 9:00-13:00, Section Workshop on communication formats
Friday, 5 September, 10:30-11:20, Standing Committee II
Please refer to the final conference program for times and locations for the meetings.
SECTION OPEN PROGRAMME
The Open Programme to be held on September 2 promises to be a very interesting and thoughtful look at how cataloguing has changed and is changing in order to fully exploit the retrieval of information using new technologies. A further question to be explored is whether traditional cataloguing and bibliographic access still have a future as we move forward in trying to adapt to changing technologies.
We will have three excellent papers and presenters:
- DanBib - a union catalogue applied for user friendly flexible querying by Troels Andreasen and Tommy Schomacker.
- IFLA Study on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records report by Olivia M. A Madison.
- The future of cataloguing and cataloguers by Michael Gorman.
SECTION WORKSHOP
The section is sponsoring a joint workshop with the UBCIM Office called The Future of Communication Formats on Thursday September 4. The development of new text and document formats and the apprearance of metatdata are challenging the formats traditionally used by libraries and other information centres. The presentations and discussions will focus on the characteristics of and relationships among four format types:
- Fernanda Campos will describe UNIMARC.
- Paul Bunn, John Byrum and Ingrid Parent will describe the progress made in developing a 'harmonized" MARC.
- Catherine Lupovici will cover cataloguing in SGML.
- Juha Hakala will describe the Nordic metadata project.
Participants in the workshop should gain a better understanding of the technical characteristics of each of these formats and on the impact on resources for cataloguing and retrieval in using one or more formats.
Please note that the number of participants in the workshop is limited to 50. Several people have already registered. If you would like to pre-register for this workshop, please contact Ingrid Parent at the address below.
A warm welcome to everyone to attend our program and workshop in Copenhagen!
Contributions to SCATNews
Contributions to SCATNews are welcome at any time. Please send news items, articles, comments to the Editor:
Ingrid Parent
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N4
Tel.: (819) 994-6887
Fax: (819) 953-0291
Email: ingrid.parent@nlc-bnc.ca
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