BIBCO : the monographic bibliographic record component of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging

Through this program participants that are already NACO members contribute bibliographic records to the national databases.

In October 1995, PCC-member libraries began participating in this newest program. Many of the participants were former NCCP (National Coordinated Cataloging Program) libraries. BIBCO members are responsible for contributing full or core level bibliographic records. These records are identified as PCC records and notable for their complete authority work (both descriptive and subject), a national level call number (such as LC classification or NLM classification), and at least one subject access point drawn from nationally recognized thesauri such as LCSH, MeSH, etc., as appropriate.

Participating librarians attend a training session designed specifically for their needs held at their own institution. The course focuses on the core bibliographic record and the values and decision-making skills necessary to catalogers in producing quality cataloging data. Training is provided by expert staff from PCC libraries.

The following was extracted from the PCC Governance document.

Membership Levels:

Full (voting)

Affiliate (non-voting)

As members of BIBCO, participants contribute bibliographic records for monographs in all formats to the national databases and participate in the development of standards. An individual institution may join this program, or a group of libraries with a common interest may form a funnel project to contribute via a coordinator who will represent the funnel participants. For-profit organizations participate in BIBCO at the Affiliate level.

BIBCO Operations Committee

Composition
The BIBCO Operations Committee shall be composed of ten representatives from BIBCO libraries, the BIBCO Coordinator at the Library of Congress, and OCLC and RLG liaisons. The three Standing Committee chairs shall attend committee meetings and receive information distributed to BIBCO operations representatives. The BIBCO Coordinator at the Library of Congress shall select the BIBCO operations representatives who shall serve on a rotating basis for two year terms in a manner that will ensure that the Operations Committee membership reflects the diversity of the Program and that all BIBCO institutions will have an opportunity to participate in the work of the Operations Committee.[1]

Membership
Each BIBCO institution shall identify a BIBCO operations representative, who shall be eligible for selection as a member of the Operations Committee. Operations representatives shall serve as BIBCO liaisons within their own institutions. They must function at the operational level in the institutions they represent so that they are able to contribute fully to discussions on technical matters such as cataloging rules and rule interpretations, MARC formats, and other cataloging-related issues.

Responsibilities
The committee shall be responsible for maintaining efficient and effective BIBCO activity locally and across the Program; reviewing operational procedures and suggesting changes; developing and maintaining documentation. It shall contribute to the development of standards by reviewing and commenting on proposed changes to rules, rule interpretations, MARC formats, or other standards in conjunction with the Standing Committee on Standards. It shall keep Program members informed of current developments that have potential impact on Program policies through communication with the BIBCO Coordinator and notices to appropriate discussion lists.

Meeting Structure
The BIBCO Coordinator shall serve as the Chair of the Operations Committee. BIBCO Operations Committee meetings shall be held annually, generally in the spring, at the Library of Congress in conjunction with the annual meetings of the CONSER Operations Committee to facilitate joint discussion. The focus of these meetings shall be to review changes to standards or documentation, to resolve issues relating to cataloging, and for the purpose of ongoing training.

All BIBCO representatives, chairs of the PCC Standing Committees, OCLC and RLG liaisons, and appropriate LC staff shall be invited to attend.

Reports of meetings shall be distributed to PCC members and liaisons from other organizations.

Endnotes