*Use of 7XX fields in NACO Name Authority Records

Commitment to NACO Parameters

All NACO members agree to follow the same practices in formulating name authority records. NACO practices as defined in training and documentation have evolved with the common assent of the participants. The consistent application of NACO practices is especially vital for the Library of Congress, since the NAF (NACO Authority File, or National Authority File) serves as the local authority file for LC's bibliographic database, which in turn is widely distributed to other institutions and commercial constituents.

Authorized NACO headings vs. Alternate authorized headings

National libraries with well-developed national bibliographies frequently discover that many names established under the NACO program differ from the forms already in use in their national bibliographies. Even if identical cataloging documentation is used in the creation of an individual country's national bibliography and the NACO name authority file, the application of different options offered by AACR2 and LCRI's, different titles used as the basis for heading construction, and the use of different databases to serve as background for the formation of names can lead to different choices for an authorized form of name (1XX). This leads to a dilemma regarding the choice of name to be used on bibliographic records, with a potential need for extensive bibliographic file maintenance.

A wholesale change of affected bibliographic records by either the national library joining NACO or the Library of Congress and other NACO participants to match the accepted forms of names used by the other institution would be impractical for either. The use of a cross reference (4XX) in a NACO record to list a variant form of name is appropriate in AACR2 and LCRI's only in limited cases. There is no guarantee that an alternate authorized form entered as a cross reference by a national library partner would remain in the NACO record in the dynamic context of the NAF.

MARC 21 model: 7XX for alternate authorized form of name

The PCC offers the MARC 21 model for including alternate authorized headings on NACO name authority records in the 7XX field. Initially, the 7XX model will be limited to records created by National Bibliographic Agencies (NBA) and under certain conditions by designated NACO contributors authorized by the NBA from within the same geographic jurisdiction, for the sole purpose of recording the form of heading used in its national bibliography.

NACO contributors from within the same geographic jurisdiction as the NBA that wish to create or modify 7XX headings should request permission directly from the NBA that controls the national bibliography. These arrangements are to be made between NBA's and the individual institutions and will not be administered by the PCC or the Library of Congress; nonetheless, the NBA is expected to notify Coop when making these agreements and to provide a list of libraries authorized to create or modify 7XXs.

Each 7XX field should include a subfield $2 to explicitly identify the NBA's authority file from which the form emanates.

This policy will be evaluated after a sufficient period of using the 7XX approach, but not sooner than a year.

Guidelines for including 7XX and $2 (source authority file) in a name authority record

A National Bibliographic Agency (NBA) or NBA designated NACO library may include an alternate authorized form of name in a new or extant NACO record in the 7XX field as defined by the MARC 21 Authority Format and NACO guidelines:

• The NBA should consult with the Cooperative Cataloging Team before using 7XX fields in name or series authority records.
• The 7XX must include a subfield code ($2) to identify the NBA's authority file as the source of the name in the 7XX. The source code should be requested from the LC Network Development and MARC Standards Office (ndmso@loc.gov) by the appropriate national library or NBA.
• A 7XX heading in a NACO record may be modified only by the NBA and/or a NBA designated NACO library.
• The NBA and/or NBA designated NACO library contributing the 7XX form is responsible for any maintenance to the NAR if the form of name authorized by the NBA changes.
• The NBA is advised to consider the impact of 7XX fields on its internally used system (e.g., indexing, record maintenance) and consult with its system vendor prior to using 7XX fields.

SAMPLE RECORD

Current status of the 7XX in the NACO database

NACO records containing 7XX fields are distributed by the LC Cataloging Distribution Service, as are all name authority records in the NAF. Currently, the records in the NAF with 7XX fields are those from the National Library of Canada, as imported into the authority file by LC catalogers. The 7XX fields have been implemented in the LC ILS, but LC does not yet use the 7XX fields in its own cataloging. NACO catalogers, including those at LC, will be instructed by NACO documentation to allow the 7XX fields to remain in the name authority records without change.

The National Library of South Africa intends to include 7XX fields in records it contributes after implementation arrangements are completed.
*This document was developed by the LC Coop Team (April, 01 2002) to serve as interim instructions for the 7XX field until the relevant NACO training and cataloging documentation had been revised and distributed. That documentation is now available as part of the LC Guidelines Supplement to MARC 21 Format for Authority Data and the LC Descriptive Cataloging Manual: Section Z1 and these should be consulted as the official authority on procedures. This page is kept on public view in the interest of preserving an historical record and providing the overarching philosophy of LC's commitment to the NACO Program.