The PCC Participants Meeting for ALA Midwinter was held Sunday evening, January 16, 2000, at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio, Tex. Michael Kaplan (PCC chair) delivered the semiannual "state of the program" message and welcomed new NACO and BIBCO libraries that joined the program since the annual conference in June. Especially noted was the work of the task groups of the Standing Committee on Automation (SCA).
The Task Group on Journals in Aggregator Databases has submitted its final report on the development of specifications for the content of aggregator analytic records. The initial charges have been completed; however, the PCC Policy Committee (PoCo) decided to extend the work of the group with a new charge for an additional two years. The PoCo has approved the formation of the Task Group on Automated Classification, a new SCA group, chaired by Gary Strawn (Northwestern University). The group's charge, to be completed by the year 2001, is to investigate automation-based approaches to easing and streamlining the assignment of classification and call numbers to cataloging records and to propose a minimum set of functional requirements that should exist in local library systems and/or cataloging utilities.
Jean Hirons, CONSER Coordinator, provided the CONSER update and announced new participants to the program. She described the initial success of the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP). Hirons went on to discuss publication pattern initiatives and the goals, which are to create standardized data that is exportable and that allows the sharing of intellectual efforts to determine patterns. She continued with a report that the CONSER Abstracting and Indexing (A & I) Task Force had met with Dan Chudnov (Yale University), developer of the "Jake" database.
AACR2 was the next topic on which Hirons focused. The Joint Steering Committee (JSC)has reviewed recommendations in the report she compiled, and as a result, Hirons and her CONSER colleagues are engaged in recommending the expansion of Chapter 12 of AACR2 to cover "continuing resources."
Hirons concluded with a report of the ISBD(S) meeting that had taken place just prior to the ALA Midwinter conference. The ISBD(S) working group agreed to many of the proposals in the report prepared for the JSC and will be making further recommendations to the JSC. Final decisions relative to AACR2 will be made when the JSC meets in September 2000.
The Standing Committee on Standards (SCS) took center stage at this meeting. Joan Schuitema, chair of the SCS, provided a synopsis of the work of the committee. Schuitema remarked that the SCS serves as the "voice of consciousness" to ensure that cataloging policies and standards meet with the goals and mission of the PCC and yet allow a certain amount of fluidity". In contrast, the SCS does not serve as the "PCC quality police", but does keep on the lookout for "standards creep", which she defined as "that pesky problem of backsliding to older, or perhaps more comfortable, but less cost-effective practices." Schuitema noted that the SCS does not create standards; however, it does approve standards and policies. It makes recommendations based on work from its own task groups. The final report of the Cross Reference Task Group, which had been submitted to the SCS prior to ALA, was presented in a very condensed form. Stephen Hearn (University of Minnesota) presented the overview of the report which recommended five changes to AACR2 and twelve changes to the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations, including several recommendations for broader discussion within the profession as well as issues that other groups should pursue. The full report can be found at URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/xreftgfinal.html. Comments and feedback on these recommendations are invited to be sent to the SCS chair JSCHUIT@wpo.it.luc.edu as soon as possible.
The unexpected news that overshadowed this meeting was the announcement of the resignation of the current PCC chair, Michael Kaplan. Marjorie Bloss (CRL) will become chair of the PCC effective immediately. The full report of this meeting can be found on the PCC homepage at URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/pccpart00m.html
.The list below serves as a summary of the recent additions to the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) home page. It has been divided into two sections: New and Revised and Updated.
The report of the PCC Participants Meeting in San Antonio, Tex., summarizes the event. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/pccpart00m.html.
The BIBCO-at-Large report from San Antonio Midwinter Meeting summarizes the third meeting of BIBCO Program participants. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/bibco/bibcoatlarge00m.html.
The final report of the SCA Task Force on Journals in Aggregator Databases makes recommendations for a useful, cost-effective, and timely means for providing records to identify full-text electronic journal titles and holdings in aggregator databases. It contains the working assumptions governing the group's work, the recommended best strategies for creating MARC bibliographic record sets, recommendations on the content of two types of vendor-supplied records as well as on the range of ways they need to be maintained, a report of progress on the demonstration project with EBSCO, some information about related projects, and next steps for these bibliographic control endeavors. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/aggfinal.html.
The Authority File Comparison Rules (Rules for NACO Normalization) contains the rules used when adding a new authority record to the authority file. Each new heading is compared against the headings in the file to determine whether the new heading is unique, i.e., adequately differentiated from existing headings. The headings already in the file and the one to be added are normalized before comparison so that only certain characters will be allowed to differentiate headings. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/naco/normrule.html.
The FY99 Program Statistics provides a numerical count of contributions made to the PCC during fiscal year 1999. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/stats/statsfy99.html.
The BIBCO Working Group on Series Numbering investigated the feasibility of discontinuing the practice of explicitly tracing a series in an 8XX field when the only difference between the transcription of the series statement and the added entry is the form of the series numbering. The Working Group's report evaluated the impact that the discontinuance of this practice might have on OPAC displays, timeliness of cataloging, impact on the BIBCO program, etc., and made recommendations/proposals to the PoCo for future action. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/seriesnumb.html.
The Task Group on Automated Classification is the newly formed body of the Standing Committee on Automation that has been tasked with investigating automation-based approaches to easing and streamlining the assignment of classification and call numbers to cataloging records. The site includes proposed outcomes, time frame, and members of the group. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/classtg.html.
The Supplementary Core for Multiple Character Sets is the supplementary core standard that provides for the inclusion of additional data in non-roman form encoded in other character sets designated for use in MARC 21 records. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/nonromancore.html.
The final report of the Cross Reference Task Group contains a review of the provisions for references stated in AACR2 and the associated Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRI) to determine how the current complement of guidelines for references could be adjusted to accommodate efficiency and simplicity in cataloging as well as the change from a manual to an automated environment. The full report contains recommendations for rule changes to AACR2 for consideration by the Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access, recommendations for changes or additions to the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations for consideration by LC, and recommendations on how best to present the complement for provisions regarding references to assist ease of use by catalogers. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/xreftgfinal.html.
The Core Bibliographic Record for Collections is a standard which provides guidelines for collection level cataloging, a mode of cataloging designed to accommodate materials treated collectively, rather than cataloged individually, particularly as a means of providing access to materials that may not otherwise be represented in the bibliographic spectrum at all. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/corecoll.html.
The NACO Series Institutes document provides information on the series training workshops held periodically at the Library of Congress and includes prerequisites for potential participants, a course summary and outline, and information on costs, housing, and scheduling. URL http://lcweb.log.gov/catdir/pcc/naco/seriesinfo.html.
The notes of the Standing Committee on Training summarize the ALA Midwinter Meeting and the activities of this PCC committee, including action items to be pursued. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/sct00m.html.
The notes of the Standing Committee on Automation summarize the ALA Midwinter Meeting and the activities of this PCC committee, including action items to be pursued. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/sca00m.html.
The PCC Governance document is the organizational constitution of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging and includes the program's structure, principles, and responsibilities. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/governce.html.
SACO Web resources, created to provide a list of online resources available through the SACO home page, are used as reference tools to help justify the form of heading in new subject heading proposals. URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/saco/resources.html.
Rosters of each of the PCC programs, standing committees, and task groups are updated regularly to provide information about current membership on each particular group available on each respective home page.
A new mechanism for contributing SACO proposals was unveiled during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, Tex. The newly-developed Web form allows subject proposals to be converted into a file and submitted directly to the Library of Congress. This file is then captured electronically and manipulated into an authority record in LC's Integrated Library System (LC-ILS). The form was developed by Ana Cristan, cooperative cataloging specialist, in consultation with David Williamson, cataloging automation specialist. The program that manipulates the files was developed by Robert August, automation operations coordinator, Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division, also in consultation with Williamson. The Web form expedites the processing of subject heading proposals at the Library of Congress by eliminating the rekeying of incoming proposals. All BIBCO libraries are invited to begin submitting subject heading proposals using the Web form; however, libraries that have SACO workflows in place are permitted to continue with their current workflow if it is more efficient. Users are encouraged to forward comments and suggestions for improvement to Cooperative Cataloging Team members Ana Cristan (acri@loc.gov) or John N. Mitchell (jmit@loc.gov).
The development of this new form for SACO proposals has spawned the idea of a Web-based 053 field form to allow the transmission of literary author number requests. The idea, suggested by a BIBCO participant, would serve to expedite the process of reserving classification numbers in the LC shelflist for literary authors that have been submitted by PCC participants. The Cooperative Cataloging Team, again with the assistance of Williamson, is currently developing the online tool.
BIBCO-at-Large serves as the forum to disseminate updates on policy decisions that might impact BIBCO workflow and to initiate discussions for further consideration at the annual meeting.
At the ALA Midwinter Meeting 2000 attended by seventy participants Michael Kaplan, chair of the PCC, congratulated the participants on the accomplishments of the past fiscal year, and welcomed new member libraries, new members of the Operations Committee, and the BIBCO trainers group. Updates were given on the disposition of the work of the BIBCO Working Group on Series Numbering, the Working Group on Statistics, and the outcome of the series survey on national level analysis and classification decisions. A new mechanism for contributing SACO proposals was unveiled; all BIBCO libraries were invited to begin submitting subject heading proposals using this form. A Web-based 053 field form to allow the transmission of literary author number requests to parallel the new SACO request procedure was suggested by one of the BIBCO participants. A discussion was also held on coding pre-AACR2 records as "BIBCO" although the descriptive cataloging had not been upgraded to reflect AACR2 cataloging practices. Some felt that BIBCO records should only reflect AACR2 cataloging and that to fold other cataloging into the mix would be too confusing. This topic will be included on the agenda for the BIBCO Operations Committee meeting in May. The complete report of the BIBCO-At-Large meeting can be found on the PCC home page at URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/ or on the BIBCO home page at URL http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/bibco.html.
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