LC Cataloging Newsline

As part of the most massive library automation effort in its history, the Library of Congress has awarded a contract to Endeavor Information Systems of Des Plaines, Ill., to provide comprehensive integrated library system (ILS) software and support to the Library.

The Voyager system from Endeavor Information Systems will replace many of the Library's older, independent automated systems -- some of which date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s -- with a single, modern client/server system that will support all standard library operations, including acquisitions, cataloging, inventory and serials control, circulation, and the on-line public catalog. Using the ILS, the Library expects to improve control over its collections, increase the efficiency of its operations and provide better service for its many customers. In addition, the system is "year-2000" compliant.

When the ILS is fully operational, users will be able to perform comprehensive searches of the extensive collections of the world's largest library. A search for a keyword or subject area will result in a list of resources that may include books, maps, manuscripts, periodicals, or sound recordings -- as well as the precise location, whether on the shelf, in use, undergoing microfilming or in storage. These searches may be conducted on site at the Library or through the ILS on-line catalog, which will be fully accessible through the Library of Congress web site (www.loc.gov). Currently, electronic searches of different collections in the Library require the use of several separate catalogs.

In addition to installing software on nearly 3,000 staff and public workstations and loading approximately twelve million bibliographic records and four million authority records into the new system, the project will involve converting information now in two mammoth card files -- the twelve-million-card manual shelf list and the 900,000-title serials check-in file -- from paper to electronic format.

The award of the ILS contract is the culmination of many years of effort to modernize the Library's core systems and automate its remaining manual processes. In the last five years, vendors of automated library systems have demonstrated the capacity to support successfully a collection of the Library's size. For that reason, the Library began to seek cost-effective solutions already available in the commercial marketplace, rather than investing in developing its own system.

Congressional appropriation of $5.6 million for the project in fiscal 1998 will cover the Endeavor Information Systems software, training, maintenance, and support, in addition to some new system hardware and other items to support inventory tracking and the initial conversion of the card files.

The Library anticipates the possibility of a short-term decrease in cataloging production while it installs the ILS and trains the staff to use it effectively, which will have long-term benefits for LC and the national and international library communities. Fortunately with the ongoing expansion of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging and in particular its BIBCO component, the overall production of national level records should continue to increase.

Judith Mansfield has been appointed chief of the Arts and Sciences Cataloging Division (ASCD), effective May 24, 1998. She had been the division's automated operations coordinator since 1992 and had served as its acting chief from September 1997 through January 1998.

Mansfield came to the Library of Congress in 1969 as an LC Intern. She then became a descriptive cataloger and later served as a Copyright Office supervisor, the Processing Services' technical officer, and assistant coordinator of cooperative cataloging projects. Since 1986 she has been automated operations coordinator for the former Descriptive Cataloging and Shared Cataloging Divisions, moving to ASCD in 1992. From 1993 to 1996 she served concurrently as program manager of the LC Workplace Ergonomics Program.

Mansfield was the LC representative on the Research Libraries Group (RLG) New Service Focus Group that developed the functional requirements for RLIN's automated copy cataloging service, Diogenes (now Marcadia). She prepared and administered the Library's contract that used this service to remove more than 4,300 books in Arabic, Persian, and other foreign languages from the arrearages. Mansfield holds a master's degree in library science from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor's degree in classical humanities from Miami University of Ohio.

The first meeting of the BIBCO Operations Committee was held in May at the Library of Congress in conjunction with the annual CONSER Operations Committee meeting. Joint sessions were held at the opening and conclusion of the meetings which provided opportunity for the PCC operations committees to coordinate their efforts. Ruth Haas (Harvard University) opened the meeting with a brief presentation on the history of CONSER. Adam Schiff (University of Washington) and John Schalow (University of Maryland--College Park) presented their ideas on directions that BIBCO may pursue. Jean Hirons and Regina Reynolds (Library of Congress) presented to both committees a revised proposal on seriality that was initially developed in a paper by Hirons and Crystal Graham (University of California, San Diego) delivered at the International Conference on the Principles and Future Development of AACR. The revised proposal divides the bibliographic universe into "monographic entities" and "ongoing entities." A new sub-category called "integrating entities" is identified within "ongoing entities," and includes loose-leaf publications, databases, and Web sites. They discussed the model's practicalities and its potential impact on AACR2, MARC, and cooperative cataloging.

BIBCO Operations Committee

Ann Della Porta (BIBCO Operations Committee chair) opened the first BIBCO Operations Committee (BIBCO OpCo) meeting by introducing Brian Schottlaender (University of California, Los Angeles, and PCC Policy Committee (PoCo) chair) and chair-elect Sally Sinn (National Agricultural Library). Schottlaender compared the BIBCO and CONSER Operations. BIBCO OpCo is smaller and has a representative membership, while CONSER Operations Committee membership is comprehensive. BIBCO aims for broad-based library participation not confined to large university libraries. The program emphasizes cooperation and is designed to produce bibliographic records that are dynamic and timely. Sinn also addressed the BIBCO Operations Committee members and stressed that they should set the tone for BIBCO participation by endorsing the core-level record standard, in all formats, as the national standard.

The discussion began with a methodology for setting agendas for future Operations Committee meetings. Responsibility for drawing up the agendas will rotate among OpCo members, a call for agenda items will be sent out six months prior to the meeting, and BIBCO trainers will be asked to suggest agenda topics based on questions that have arisen during the training. Agenda topics will be divided into three categories: philosophical issues/questions, "nuts and bolts" issues, and "cross-fertilization" issues to be discussed in joint sessions with the CONSER OpCo. Agendas will be posted on the PCC listserv before the meetings. Other suggestions for facilitating communication included collecting local BIBCO documentation and implementation plans from BIBCO institutions and posting or linking them to the BIBCO home page.

The afternoon discussion addressed the topic of expanding BIBCO participation and resulted in a brainstorming session where OpCo members shared experiences in BIBCO implementation. The discussion then moved to how to encourage catalogers to use the core-level record and how to expand the use of core records to other formats. Suggestions included providing orientation to catalogers as well as public service librarians on the new BIBCO values, reminding catalogers that core-level is an alternative to minimal-level, emphasizing cataloger and institutional judgment in choosing the level of cataloging needed, and setting up a peer review system. Brainstorming continued on the topic of developing a BIBCO frequently asked questions (FAQ) list. Many of the members felt that it was too early in the program's history to have an FAQ; others felt that a public relations document on how to join BIBCO is necessary. It was agreed that FAQ topics should be compiled from questions asked on PCClist as well as from training experiences.

Day two of the BIBCO OpCo convened with a discussion of documentation. The Training Committee will incorporate the FAQ topics into BIBCO documentation and will also include a section on BIBCO values and "cataloger's judgment".

Judy Kuhagen (LC) then briefed the OpCo members on the newly issued documentation for treatment decisions on series authority records contributed by BIBCO or NACO participants. A discussion of who should determine "national practice" ensued, resulting in a decision that BIBCO libraries would like the tracing field to reflect the national level practice by using a PCC code, as well as the code for the local contributing library.

For a fuller treatment of the meeting and a list of the action items, visit the BIBCO home page (URL: http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/bibco.html).

CONSER Operations Committee

The CONSER Operations Committee also met in sessions joined by several representatives from CONSER Enhance and affiliate libraries and serials catalogers from a number of institutions. Several sessions were devoted to topics relating to seriality and the revision of AACR including latest and successive entry cataloging and electronic serials (or e-serials). A sub-group of the CONSER AACR Review Task Force announced its plan to conduct a study of e-serials in 1998 to gather information relating to a number of issues involving the new medium. The group expects that data collected in the study will greatly assist in the formulation of recommendations for revisions or additions to cataloging rules. Another task force sub-group presented its newly developed proposal for cataloging "integrating entities." This proposal, which was presented as a compromise between latest and successive treatment for e-serials, was favorably received by many in the committee and further development is expected.

CONSER is pursuing training on two fronts. A training curriculum is being developed for new members and a serials cataloging initiative is under development for catalogers not participating in CONSER. The latter initiative includes plans for CONSER and others to develop training modules and train trainers. OCLC, ALA ALCTS, and the North American Serials Interest Group are potential partners in the effort. The committee also discussed a new draft CONSER Cataloging Manual module titled "Modifying Records." The draft module covers serial record maintenance, closing records for ceased titles, pre-AACR2 record changes, deleting records, and other modifications. Publication is expected for fall 1998.

A report from the CONSER Task Force on A&I/ISSN Issues was presented to the committee. This included a proposal to offer a temporary solution to the OCLC record length issue that would remove and warehouse abstracting and indexing data selectively (510 fields). The proposal calls for an automated reinstatement of the data when the OCLC record length is increased. Improved access to journals covered by full-text databases was also discussed, and a small group was tasked with surveying the types of databases involved and the access that is currently being provided for them. Incorrect use of the ISSN by publishers and user services is a growing concern, particularly in the online environment. The ISSN Compact (a database of ISSN records) is now available at a lower cost directly from the ISSN International Centre in Paris (http://www.issn.org/index.html). The ISSN network hopes that greater use of the ISSN Compact by user services and libraries will increase the accuracy of ISSNs used to access serials.

Closing Session

The closing session brought the two committees back together. Della Porta presented an overview of the BIBCO OpCo meeting and Hirons provided the overview of the CONSER OpCo meeting. A joint review of the PCC tactical plan then ensued. A task force, including the three standing committee chairs, will be created to study the results of the AACR Toronto Conference. The PCC will encourage alignment of the interpretation of cataloging codes and rules. The relationship between the standing committees and the Operations Committees will be clarified.

The penultimate agenda item was to determine scheduling for future meetings of the committees. The decision was to hold concurrent meetings of the BIBCO and CONSER Operations Committees in late April on a Thursday and Friday. The joint session closed with a brainstorming session during which members began to craft a PCC values statement. Jain Fletcher (University of California, Los Angeles) and John Riemer (University of Georgia) will draft a statement based on the suggestions and post it to the PCClist for comments.

In the volume 6, number 6 issue of LC Cataloging Newsline published in April 1998, the article on NACO Expansion mentioned that one of the new participants to be welcomed to the NACO family during the first quarter of 1998 was the Academic Book Center. In actual fact, it was OCLC's CIP Upgrade Unit located at the Academic Book Center which received training. The staff trained are OCLC full-time employees, not Academic Book Center staff members.

Members of the Cooperative Cataloging Team as well as other Library of Congress staff met with Alan Danskin, the British Library's Corporate Bibliographic System (CBS) database coordinator, on Thursday, May 14, and Friday, May 15, 1998 in Washington, D.C. Below is a summary of these joint discussions.

The British Library's Corporate Bibliographic System (CBS), cataloging and information retrieval modules, is scheduled to be implemented by Jan. 31, 1999. The CBS will enable the British Library to commence contribution of corporate name headings to the LC Name Authority File (LCNAF) during FY99/00. The British Library is currently the largest contributor to the NACO and SACO programs and the expansion of its participation is expected to increase its contributions by up to twenty percent of its current number of name authority records. Danskin reported that there will be no obstacles to the export of headings for exhibitions and fairs. In accordance with the Cataloguing Policy Convergence Agreement between the British Library and the Library of Congress, the British Library will also contribute headings for specific meetings. LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO) will update LCRI 24.7B to reflect the British Library practice that provides an authority record for each iteration of a conference name. LC will defer the revision until it is determined whether LC's own practice will change with the implementation of the new integrated library system. Danskin also reported that the British Library had completed its investigation into the feasibility of following LC practice in using the heading for the U.S. House of Representatives and that the BL will follow LC and revise its bibliographic records.

In the area of non-roman scripts, the British Library welcomed LC's decision and commitment to adopt Pinyin as the standard for transliteration of Chinese materials. The British Library will contribute Pinyin headings when LC is ready. Danskin also reported that a review of the ALA/LC romanization tables carried out by BL language experts found that in general, romanization is consistent. It was agreed that there seems to be no obstacle to a phased implementation of the contribution of romanized personal name headings. It is believed that the different application of AACR2 22.3C does not pose any difficulty to contribution of newly established Slavonic headings.

Danskin reported that the BL is planning a program that will retrospectively align the headings within its catalogs to a single authorized form. The basic principle will be to adopt the USNAF form as much as possible. This will be a major undertaking, which will be carried out in a series of projects. The timescale has not been estimated, but will certainly be measured in years. The BL will begin with high-use items, and the project will be accomplished by both automatic as well as manual conversion. The BL has bid for resources to commence this project in 2001.

Other topics that were discussed during the two days of meetings were the BL's participation in BIBCO as well as issues that arise from the cataloging of Canadian imprints.

The Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee (EPC) held its Meeting 111 at the Library of Congress, May 6-8. Ross Trotter, British Library, attended the meeting on behalf of the Library Association DDC representative, Susi Woodhouse. Keith Shafer, OCLC Office of Research, opened the proceedings with a May 6 evening presentation "Scorpion and Automatic Subject Assignment for Electronic Resources."

During the next two days, EPC approved the editorial work plan for 1998-2003 and the revised editorial rules for DDC Edition 22. It reviewed the proposals for updates and improvements to several schedules, including computer science, literature, medicine, sociology, and the area tables for the United Kingdom and South Africa. EPC also approved the removal of Table 7 (Groups of Persons) from the classification; endorsed several immediate items to appear in the next electronic issue of DC& (Crusades; Collected Biography; Racial, Ethnic, National Groups and Folklore); and concurred with the plan for limited regularization of geographic treatment in the 700s.

In Cataloging Service Bulletin, no. 78, Fall 1997, CPSO invited comments on a proposal to discontinue the use of the subdivision --Biography under names of individual literary authors. CPSO had previously solicited comments from LC staff. As the result of the favorable response that was received, CPSO has decided to implement this change effective June 1, 1998. As of that date the subdivision --Biography will no longer be free-floating under names of literary authors.

In the same issue, CPSO also invited comments on a proposal to establish a new free-floating subdivision --History--To 1500 to be used under topical headings for works discussing periods prior to the sixteenth century. The response to this proposal was also overwhelmingly favorable. This new subdivision is authorized for use effective June 1, 1998.

Further details on the implementation of these changes will be distributed in printed form. Revisions to the Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings regarding these subdivision changes will be included in 1998 update number 2, scheduled for publication this fall.

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