PCC Participants Discussion Group Meeting

Meeting Summary

ALA Annual, Chicago, Ill.
July 9, 2000

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) held its annual participants meeting in conjunction with ALA Annual Conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on Sunday, July 9, 2000. PCC participants and guests were welcomed by the newly-elected Chair, Marjorie Bloss.

Bloss announced Michael Kaplan's early resignation as Chair of the PCC to accept the position of Director of Product Management with Ex Libris (USA) and that Larry Alford (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) has been elected as Chair-elect. Bloss with the aid of transparencies depicted election results of new Policy Committee members and provided highlights and statistical data on the component programs (BIBCO, CONSER, NACO, and SACO).

She pointed out that in early 2000, Texas A&M University, the US Government Printing Office, University of Oregon, and the University of Dayton joined BIBCO, making a total of 42 institutions in the Program; CONSER welcomed two new members during the spring: the Cleveland Public Library and Northwestern University. Since ALA Midwinter, 14 libraries have joined NACO, and 18 institutions have received new or expansion NACO training: Indiana Trails Public Library, Portland State University, Queens Borough Public Library, Ohio State University, Texas A&M University, University of Maryland Jewish Studies (Hebraica Project), Illinois State University Special Formats (OLAC), Minot State University and Northern State University (North Dakota Project). The Vermont Project is a new NACO funnel including: Middlebury College, Lyndon State College, Vermont Historical Society, Vermont Department of Libraries, Vermont Law School and the University of Vermont.

In the first half of FY 2000, 1,532 new subject headings were approved, a figure that is 76% of the FY1999. Libraries also sent in 296 subject heading changes, 406 new classification numbers, and 49 class number changes. Bloss reported that ongoing contacts with international institutions have resulted in solid training plans for several institutions in South Africa, Argentina, and New Zealand. She welcomed new BIBCO, CONSER, and NACO participants into the PCC family.

The chairs of each of the standing committees provided a synopsis of current activities and issues with which they are debating.

Carol Hixson, Chair of the Standing Committee on Training, gave a brief report on the Saturday meeting. She stated that the BIBCO participants manual was discussed and that no consensus was reached as to what form or content the manual needs to follow-- CONSER, NACO or combine the trainers manual and the participants manual into one. Hixson reported that the committee members did agree that in the manual there is a need to: combine BIBCO documents into one place; provide real life examples with text that explain why decisions were made; and demonstrate by examples why a record done at core level and why it is a valid decision. Hixson stressed that the manual is in a period of development but that a number of policy issues will need to be reached with the Policy Committee before completion. She also announced the formation of four new task groups: Task group on NACO Continuing Education; Task Group on Educational Needs of the Cataloging Community; Task Group on Web-based Training and Distance Education; and Task Group on PCC Training and Participant Documentation. Complete information on these task groups is available on the SCT home page.

Joan Schuitema, Chair of the Standing Committee on Standards reported that the final report from the Cross Reference Task Group had been received. The report consists of seventeen recommended changes: 5 changes to AACR2 and 12 changes to the LCRI's. Schuitema mentioned that the Data Gathering Model C Task Group chaired by Karen Letarte are trying to develop a methodology for testing the usefullness of core records to the end user. Schuitema also mentioned that two new task groups have been formed: O42 Task Group and the PCC Task Group on Multiple Manifestations of Electronic Resources. The 042 Task Group chaired by Jennifer Bowen (Eastman School of Music) will investigate the 042 code. They will find out the usefulness of developing a code for inclusion in the 042 field of a bibliographic record which would indicate that access points for names on pre-AACR2 records have been evaluated and established according to current rules and which are represented by records in the national authority file. The 042 Task Group will explore, ask for input from PCC participants, and illustrate findings at Midwinter. The PCC Task Group on Multiple Manifestations of Electronic Resources chaired by John Riemer (U. Georgia) will take on the task "of identifying the most common types of versions and reproductions for textual resources currently available and the most bibliographically significant characteristics of each" with a view to making recommendations for their disposition within workflows. Schuitema pointed out that this is the first joint BIBCO--CONSER task group. An interim report is due at Midwinter but a final report to the Standards Committee is expected in May 2001. Information on these task groups and other activities of the Committee is available on the SCS home page.

Karen Calhoun, Chair of Standing Committee on Automation announced the names of committee members including Jeanne Baker (University of Maryland), Matthew Beacom (Yale), Ruth Haas (Harvard), David Williamson (LC), John Levy (LC) and John Riemer (University Georgia) Chair. Calhoun reported on the PCC SCA Task Group on Journals in Aggregator Databases. The task group is continuing to work with vendors to encourage them to create sets of bibliographic records for major aggregations like Bell and Howell's ProQuest Direct. The task group has already collaborated with EBSCO on the creation of a record set for Academic Search Elite. Most recently, the task group surveyed libraries that have loaded the EBSCO set into their catalogs to learn more about their experiences. Calhoun also stated that the task group will continue for two more years and that a new charge for the task group has been developed. Calhoun reported that more information on the task group can be obtained from the SCA's home page.

Ruta Penkiunas, BIBCO Coordinator, reported on the BIBCO-At-Large Meeting. Penkiunas reported that David Van Hoy (MIT) presented a proposal on linking serial and monographic bibliographic records by the use of the new MARC 765-787 linking fields. The proposal generated little discussion mainly because chapter 12 revision has yet to be completed. Penkiunas mentioned that during the meeting questions were raised if BIBCO should have a BFM component and the need for routine monitoring of Program records when, ongoing, how, who. To help answer these questions a draft of the BIBCO parameters will be made available for discussion. Comments can be made through the BIBCOlist or directly to Ana Cristán. The discussion of developing a BIBCO survey on the quality of program records elicited a spirited discussion. The Policy Committee will be canvassed to determine if they feel a survey is needed. Cornell University, in the meantime, has volunteered to conduct a survey on catalogers attitudes. Penkiunas noted that more information will be available in be BIBCO-At-Large summary posted on the BIBCO homepage

Jean Hirons, Chair, CONSER Coordinator, reported that the rule revision proposals for chapter 12 (Serials) and other related proposals were meeting wide-spread support. Hirons reported that MARBI seemed supportive of a proposed new bibliographic level code "i" for integrating resources, contained in Discussion Paper 119. The CONSER Publication pattern initiative formally began on June 1. This is a two-year experiment that will add publication pattern data and associate holdings to CONSER records in an OCLC- defined 891 field. Sally Sinn (NAL) will chair the Publication Patterns Task Group. Hirons reported that 14 institutions will be participating initially and hopefully others will join as they complete system implementation. Hirons stated that a Spanish version of the CONSER manual is being developed and that the Basic Serials Cataloging Workshop was given in Mexico City in May. In addition, two SCCTP trainers will be going to Taiwan in August to present a week long course in serials cataloging. A new course on MARC holdings for serials is under development and will be available February 2001 and an advanced serials course is due for summer 2001.

The guest speaker for the evening was Sever Bordeianu from the University of New Mexico. Bordeianu's presentation dealt with cataloging productivity. His presentation was based on two articles that he and two others (Claire-Lise Bernaud and Mary Ellen Hanson) co-authored. Bordeianu stated that both articles: "Cataloging Production Standards in Academic Libraries" and "The Quantification of Cataloging: Documenting Productivity in a Flexible Scheduling Environment" are published in the Technical Services Quarterly.

Bordeianu stated that his work began in 1997 in order to develop a new system for keeping track of catalogers production and to provide catalogers with flexible work schedules. Bordeianu felt that in the cataloging profession quantitative standards had not been defined therefore catalogers output could not be uniformly measured and compared among libraries. In an effort to determine what cataloging production standards exist in academic libraries, a survey of selected ARL and non-ARL libraries was conducted.

The survey covered library characteristics, staffing patterns, cataloging tasks, production standards, and the effect of technology on productivity. The survey revealed fewer than 50% of the libraries surveyed said they had standards but of that number none of the libraries gave numbers. He concluded that a lack of production standards existed in many libraries and a variety of standards existed among those that have them. Bordeianu reported that from the survey he received 69 responses and only 11 libraries gave numbers of expectations. Bordeianu further reported that in 1998 the catalog department at the University of New Mexico General Library developed a point system to document cataloging output. The system measures cataloging production, cataloging support activities, and generic work activities. The degree of accountability allows catalogers to set their own flexible schedules. The point system goes beyond traditional flextime in that staff are not required to work a fixed amount of hours per month.

In the article "The Quantification of Cataloging: Documenting Productivity in a Flexible Scheduling Environment" there is a description of the six-month pilot project that tested the effects of the point system and compares it with an earlier six-month period. The point system is a process whereby catalogers earn so many points per month for a described list of duties. For example a cataloger had to earn at least 240 points a month, points were deducted for generic activities, and bonus points were assigned to a cataloger working with non-book materials or additional points were assigned to catalogers working in NACO activities. Once catalogers met the required points they could come and go as they wish.

The point system was implemented at the University of New Mexico General library department-wide. The greatest benefit from the point system is that non-professional catalogers have complete control of their schedule, there is a 50% reduction in sick leave, and there is a great improvement in morale. The results of the point system was encouraging and can be found in the article "The Quantification of Cataloging: Documenting Productivity in a Flexible Scheduling Environment". Bordeianu pointed out to that a formal quality control system is not yet in place and that yet another article need to be written.

The meeting ended with a presentation of awards. Pat Thomas, who received the Margaret Mann citation, was presented an award for outstanding achievements in cataloging and for fostering programs in the PCC; Carol Fleishauer for her role as CONSER representative on the Policy Committee; Catherine Tierney for her contributions to the PCC as a BIBCO representative on the Policy Committee. Joan Schuitema, who will be leaving the Standing Committee on Standards as Chair, was given an award for three years of outstanding leadership. Michael Kaplan, outgoing chair of the PCC Policy Committee, was given an award for his years of service to the PCC and his contributions for the expansion of constituents. He was also given a poster that represented an architectural replica of the Great Hall in the Jefferson Building with signatures of PCC participants. The meeting closed in sufficient time to allow participants to meet various members of the PCC.