Standing Committee on Automation

Notes of SCA Meeting at ALA Midwinter, Washington DC

Jan. 14, 2001, 4:30-6:00 p.m., OCLC Red Suite

Present: Jeanne Baker, Kyle Banerjee, Matthew Beacom, Ruth Bogan, Karen Calhoun (chair), Ed Glazier, John Levy, John Riemer (chair of SCA TG on Aggregators), Gary Strawn, David Whitehair, David Williamson

REVIEW/APPROVAL OF THE REPORT OF THE SCA AUTOMATED CLASSIFICATION TG

Gary Strawn submitted the final report of the task group to the SCA on schedule at the end of December. SCA members approved the report after offering a few comments, which Strawn agreed to incorporate. A slightly modified version is forthcoming; Calhoun will send this version to Ana Cristán at LC for mounting on the SCA Web site as a draft. Calhoun will then pursue approval of the report and recommendations by the PCC Policy Committee.

SCA members discussed how to follow up on the report and recommendations. Several courses of action are advisable. The first is to pursue implementation by ILS vendors. Other follow up activity is encouraging the release of machine-readable MARC files of the LC and Dewey classifications by LC and OCLC/Forest Press. A third follow up activity is raising awareness among technical services managers and practitioners of the potential for (and benefits of) automated classification and shelflisting tasks.

The group agreed that we should focus first on getting the word out to ILS vendors. Several systems were represented in the room: III (Banerjee), Voyager (Calhoun, Strawn, Williamson, Levy), SIRSI (Bogan), DRA (Riemer). We need to develop a methodology for establishing contact and keeping in touch with the vendors.

Actions:

1. Strawn will send the modified version of the report to Calhoun and she'll send it along for mounting on the SCA Web site.
2. Calhoun said (1) she would pursue getting PoCo's approval for the report and recommendations; (2) she would look into the possibility of getting someone to present the TG's recommendations at the next Voyager user group meeting (VUGM); (3) she would ask for time on the joint CONSER/BIBCO Operations Committee agenda in May and see if there might be funds to support Strawn's travel to OPS for this purpose if not, Jeanne Baker said she might be willing to present.
3. Beacom agreed to make Ex Libris and Endeavor staff aware of the TG report and recommendations when the two vendors come to Yale to demo their systems.
4. To support the work of getting the word out to ILS vendors, Strawn agreed to produce a "talking points" document or one page summary of key points from the report. He agreed to post a draft to PCCAUTO sometime between Feb. 1 and 14.
5. We also agreed as a group to approach ALA discussion groups, as opportunities arise, to gain support for the report recommendations and to publicize the SCA's follow up activities.

NEW TASK GROUP ON OCLC BATCHLOADING

SCA members reviewed the charge of the new SCA Task Group on OCLC Batchloading and offered input to the TG members. The SCA's advice was simple but powerful: for people to use it, OCLC batchloading of both PCC and non-PCC records needs to be better. SCA members were enthusiastic about the idea of the TG's conducting a survey to assess PCC members' needs with respect to batchloading.

Action: Calhoun agreed to convey the SCA's advice to the task group.

SCA TASK GROUP ON JOURNALS IN AGGREGATOR DATABASES (JOHN RIEMER)

In keeping with an action item at the SCA meeting in Chicago, John Riemer and Matthew Beacom made a presentation on the TG's work at the ALCTS CCS Research Discussion Group. The room was full; interest in this topic is still high, even rising.

In terms of activity at individual libraries (or among particular vendors), Jennifer Bowen reported that the University of Rochester may purchase the new set of ProQuest MARC records (see press release at http://proquest.com/hp/Features/Marc/ Jeanne Baker reported that the University of Maryland has loaded the NetLibrary MARC records. Riemer reported that the Gale Group has developed a record set for their InfoTrac Web periodical products; he is seeking further information about the InfoTrac record set.

WHAT'S ON OUR MINDS

Calhoun noted that her last meeting as SCA chair will be ALA Annual in San Francisco. Her term ends September 30, 2001 (the end of LC's fiscal year). Matthew Beacom's SCA term ends then also. She made some remarks about the kind of person who would make a good SCA chair and asked the group to think about potential candidates for both chair and member. Glazier suggested that she consider writing and posting a "job description" for the chair on the PCCList and calling for nominations.

Riemer suggested that SCA members look into the recommendations of the discussion groups convened at the LC Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographic Control for possible SCA action items. With David Williamson's help we quickly reviewed the discussion group summaries from the conference and determined there may be a good deal for the SCA to discuss.

There is a candidate for the vacant position of SCA vendor liaison, Deborah Duke of SIRSI. She has a conflict with the SCA's regular Sunday meeting time, but she could attend regularly if the SCA meeting start time were moved up to 4:00 p.m. SCA members agreed to do this. David Whitehair said he would reserve the OCLC Suite for the SCA's San Francisco meeting on Sunday, June 17 2001 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Actions:

1. Make nominations for SCA chair and member (all) and send to Calhoun.
2. Follow up on Riemer's suggestion to evaluate LC conference discussion group recommendations for SCA action items (Calhoun will post follow up message to PCCAUTO).
3. Appoint a new SCA vendor liaison (Calhoun).
4. Reserve OCLC suite for next meeting (Whitehair).

Notes prepared by K. Calhoun, 1/18/01