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January 29, 1999
Bruce Johnson (202) 707-1652

Electronic Version of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2-E) Added to Library of Congress's Cataloger's Desktop

The latest edition of a major cataloging reference work has been added to Cataloger's Desktop, the popular Library of Congress electronic product, announced Peter R. Young, chief of the Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS), the division that markets and distributes the Library's technical products.

The reference work recently added to Cataloger's Desktop is the electronic version of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition, 1998 revision (AACR2-e). This publication, the most important descriptive cataloging tool used in English-speaking nations, is co-published by the Canadian Library Association, the Library Association, and the American Library Association (ALA). AACR2 is regularly referenced by catalogers who are also using Library of Congress cataloging tools. Now more than 30 of the most-used LC publications are available electronically with AACR2 on one CD-ROM.

This enhanced version of Cataloger's Desktop owes much to a multiyear effort by ALA Editions and CDS, according to Mr. Young, who also cited contributions by LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office and the Network Development and MARC Standards Office.

Available by annual subscription, Cataloger's Desktop is issued in quarterly cumulative updates from CDS. "Inclusion of AACR2-e was made possible through a licensing agreement between the Library of Congress and the co-publishers of AACR2-e" Mr. Young said. "Single and multiuser versions of AACR2-e as well as the print version of AACR2 are available from ALA Editions," Mr. Young noted.

"Making AACR2-e available is a major breakthrough," according to Barbara B. Tillett, LC's representative on the Joint Steering Committee for the Revision of AACR. "LC is taking this breakthrough a step further in Cataloger's Desktop," she said. "LC has engineered the AACR2-e file for on-line retrieval and linked it extensively to the LC Rule Interpretations (LCRIs), MARC formats, and other specialized cataloging tools that may now be accessed with the click of a button.

Cataloger's Desktop subscribers can limit their AACR2-e searches by rule number or title, rule text, or examples. Links to cataloging resources on the World Wide Web are also just a click away," Ms. Tillett said.

In addition to producing the enhanced product, the Library's Cataloging Distribution Service also reduced the price of Cataloger's Desktop by nearly $200 for single users -- while only slightly raising the fee for multiple concurrent users. (A multiple concurrent user is one who accesses the product on a Local Area Network [LAN] while others are using it.) Additional concurrent users gain access to the product through codes that are assigned to the single user customers. Assigning codes is necessary, according to Mr. Young, to keep track of royalties due from the Library of Congress to the publishers of AACR2. New subscription prices for Cataloger's Desktop are $690 in North America and $700 outside North America, with a fee of $45 for each additional concurrent user.

"To have the entire suite of cataloging tools needed to maintain professional standards," Mr. Young said, "a cataloger can combine Cataloger's Desktop with our other CD-ROM subscription product Classification Plus. The cost is low -- especially for the smaller libraries that have fewer additional users," he said. Classification Plus costs $520 in North America and $530 outside North America, with an additional concurrent user fee of $25.

Both product subscriptions consist of four cumulative issues published quarterly. Classification Plus contains all the newly revised Library of Congress classification schedules, plus the five-volume "big red book," Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Researchers and reference librarians rely on LCSH to help cut research time by finding the standard subject heading used for searching specific materials. "Some avid Internet users are beginning to consult Library of Congress Subject Headings as a quick way to access critical information that might otherwise be contained in a maze of irrelevant citations," he said.

A special combination discount rate is available for purchase of both products. Cataloger's Desktop and Classification Plus in combination cost just $1,110 in North America and $1,130 outside North America. Each additional concurrent user fee is $70 ($45 Cataloger's Desktop; $25 Classification Plus).

Subscriptions may be ordered from the Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service, Customer Support Team, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, DC 20541-4912 or by calling (800) 255-3666 or (202) 707-6100. The Web address is http://www.loc.gov/cds/ and E-mail is cdsinfo@loc.gov.

The print version of AACR2 1998 revision as well as single and multiuser stand-alone electronic versions are available directly from ALA Editions. Additional information is available at http://www.ala.org/market/ or (800) 545-2433, press 7 to order.

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PR 99-013
1/29/99
ISSN 0731-3527