About PCC Statistics
June 11, 2008

Current PCC statistical displays have their roots in simpler spreadsheets tracking fewer participants. The PCC plans to revise statistical pages in coming months. In the meantime, these notes may clarify the contents and arrangement of the displays.

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) statistics on this page focus on the names of member institutions and the number of records they contribute in ten categories for the four programs, NACO, BIBCO, CONSER, and SACO.

Each PCC member institution may choose to participate in the programs that best suit its needs. Depending on the member library's profile, it may contribute records to any or all of the PCC programs, NACO, BIBCO, CONSER, or SACO. The PCC Statistics page packages the compiled production of PCC members in various configurations with links to the different views. These general comments are offered to help explain some of the elements in the statistical displays.

What does a zero "0" mean?

In the current statistical displays, a zero "0" in any column may indicate one of two conditions:

1. The participant has not joined the program related to this column.
2. The participant is a current member in that program, but has sent no records in this category during the reporting period.

What do the column labels mean?

NACO members who have attended the basic NACO training course contribute records in these categories:

• New Names = Name Authority Records (NARs) added to the LC/NACO authority file
• Chg Names = Modifications to existing name authority records

• New Series = New series authority records
• Chg Series = Modified series authority records

BIBCO members create new bibliographic records for books, cartographic material, sound recordings, etc., according to program standards.

CONSER members create records for serials (journals, newspapers, etc.) to program standards in these categories:

• CONSER Auth = Authentications, or new records added to the CONSER database in OCLC
• CONSER Maint = Maintenance, or changes to authenticated serial records already in the CONSER database

SACO members contribute records in these categories:

• New Subject = New topical headings added to the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) list
• Chg Subject = Modifications to existing subject headings in LCSH
• New/Chg Cls. nos. = New alpha-numeric classifications and modifications to existing classifications in the Library of Congress Classification schedules. Typically, contributions are modest, so the new and changed records are added together to save space on the spreadsheet.

How are the libraries grouped?

Each report on the PCC Statistics page may serve multiple functions:

1. The report gives a one-line display of each member institution's name, the unique MARC organization ID code that appears in its records, and the number of records they contribute in the categories represented by the vertical columns.
2. The report groups libraries that participate in similar combinations of programs.
   • BIBCO and CONSER institutions, listed first, generally contribute to NACO, BIBCO and/or CONSER, and possibly to SACO as well.
   • The second group, NACO institutions and multi-library NACO projects, may contribute to SACO as well.
   • The third group, the SACO-only institutions and multi-library SACO projects, participate in only one program.
   • The final listing shows the records contributed by the LC Coop team and other designated LC staff in the course of reviewing PCC records.
3. The report groups the "Multi-library Projects", or "funnel projects", together. Libraries choosing funnel-type membership usually share collections with similar language, topic, format, or geographic coverage. Frequently, they belong to consortia or special library associations that offer opportunities for continuing education and professional growth centered on their cataloging interests. Grouping their record contributions reveals the level of activity in the types of collections represented. It is understood that some funnel members with smaller staffs may have modest or intermittent contribution patterns, but taken together as a group, the records from a multi-library project become more significant.

What comparisons appear in the PCC stats?

Most reports simply compare PCC record production of the current fiscal year with the previous fiscal year. On multiple-library, or funnel project pages, a formula calculates the contributions of the distinct group as a percentage of the records from the entire PCC membership for the designated reporting period.

Please address questions about the statistics to the PCC stats preparer, Carolyn Sturtevant.