NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
February 22, 2000
prepared for MOUG and MLA
Louisville, Kentucky
As usual, this was a very busy year at the Library of Congress. The primary activity which
seemingly occupied every minute of all our lives was LC's implementation of Voyager, our
new ILS (Integrated Library System) from Endeavor. Many staff members from all parts of
the Library spent hours on preparations, studies, new documentation, testing, monitoring
the system, training, and a variety of other activities. As one might expect, production
did not increase in this environment. For example, the Music and Sound Recordings (MSR)
Teams 1 and 2 cleared a total of 9,927 items in FY 1999 as compared to 12,242 items in FY
1998. We are, however, looking forward to returning to our former productivity levels in
the coming year, and, perhaps,
with the aid of our new technology, increasing them in the future.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM
The Library successfully completed the implementation of the Integrated Library System (LC
ILS) within budget and on track with its original estimated date of all parts
"live" by October 1, 1999. The Cataloging and Circulation modules were
implemented August 16th; the Online Public Access Catalog, Windows version, August 25th;
the Web version, August 31st; and the Acquisitions and Serials check-in modules, October
1st.
Staff completed the largest workstation and software roll-out and training program in the
Library's history in preparation for the ILS. Over 3,320 staff received new ILS equipment
and training.
Approximately 16 million bibliographic and authority records were migrated from six legacy
systems. Thousands of patron, order, and vendor records were also loaded.
The Library also began the retrospective holdings conversion of data in its two largest
remaining manual files, the 12 million card shelflist file and the 900,000-title serials
check-in file. Conversion of the holdings information from these files into the LC
ILS will greatly contribute to the Library's inventory control and materials security.
In fiscal 2000 the ILS Program is scheduled to implement LC Voyager task orders and
updates, increase the system server and storage capacity, maintain the system, provide
training for new software releases, and continue contract services to convert the
shelflist and serials check-in retrospective holdings files.
On January 11, 2000, search-only access to the catalog files of LOCIS (the former
mainframe- based online catalog) ceased. These catalog files had been "frozen"
on August 12, 1999.
Additional information can be found on the public ILS Web page at URLs: http://lcweb.loc.gov/ils/ and http://lcweb.loc.gov/ils/ilsfaq.html
and on the LC Web page.
SPECIAL MATERIALS CATALOGING DIVISION
ARREARAGE REDUCTION EFFORTS
The three MSR Teams with MBRS staff, processed the following sound recording arrearages
during FY 1999:
45s: The big news about our 45 rpm collection is that it is almost completely under
bibliographic control. The processing of the original arrearage of 125,000 discs that
began in 1997 was completed in March 1999. An additional 25,000-30,000 discs were received
in late March and cataloging of the works began one month later. Procedural changes were
introduced to address security and processing issues. During 1999, 21,474 records were
cleared from the 45s arrearage. We expect to have finished the arrearage of all 45s by
March or April 2000. Later this year these records will be available via webpage.
AFRTS: The cataloging of the Armed Forces Radio and Television
Series discs continued in 1999. This collection of unpublished 12- and 16-inch radio discs
was produced in the 1940s and 1950s and consisted of a variety of entertainment ranging
from the musical to the dramatic. The series prefix P (popular music) was completed for
the 12' vinyl discs. The total number of discs processed to date is 74,662.
Cassettes: Another format for which LC no longer has an
arrearage is cassettes. In 1999, 21,700 items were processed, encompassing a variety of
music types such as rhythm and blues, recorded accompaniments, etc., which brings the
overall collection total to 75,623. Now that the cassette arrearage has been completed,
the work now focuses on new receipts.
LPs: 940 discs were processed in this new project. The discs are
inventoried in the Cuadra Star database.
Marlboro Music Festival Tapes: This project was to catalog from
the MBRS arrearage the Marlboro Music Festival Tapes. Approximately 200 taped concerts
were cataloged by the MSR I Team. There are now 2,106 tapes remaining to be processed.
78s: Processing of the miscellaneous discs from the post-Rigler
& Deutsch collection, the Spotswood, Feinstein and the Farley-Dickenson collections
cleared 4,031 records.
National Public Radio tapes: The processing of the 25,000
7" and 10" reel-to-reel tapes began in mid-March. To date, 1,170 items have been
cataloged on Cuadra Star.
Valburn Project: This project, new in 1999, focused on
processing a collection of Duke Ellington works consisting of approximately 3,000 LPs. A
total of 228 discs was processed in MUMS by copy cataloging. The LPs were searched in OCLC
for exact matches, downloaded into LC's database and modified accordingly. Catalogers
reviewed the works and cataloged all items not processed by the technicians.
Cyrillic collections: We have begun to catalog books and scores
in Cyrillic from the Nicolas Slonimsky Collection in the Music Division and some historic
78 rpm sound recordings from MBRS with labels in Cyrillic.
OTHER NEWS
The MDAR project (Machine Derived Authority Records) has been discontinued. Since we are
now producing authorities for essentially every heading in our records, this next run of
the MDAR program will be the last one. One more batch of authority records, representing
authorities produced from records cataloged from the end of the last MDAR load (May 1997)
to the date we switched over to our ILS (August 16, 1999), will be added. This will enable
us to load approximately 35,000 sound recording records which we found on OCLC.
Personnel changes during the past year include: Phil De Sellem became Team Leader of Music
and Sound Recordings Team 2. Deta Davis (MSR 1 Team Leader) was reassigned to a senior
reference librarian position in the Music Division. Several team members served as acting
team leader for 3 month periods in Team 1 and 2. Paul Frank was recently promoted to
Senior
Cataloger. Two staff members remain in training status. The MSR 3 team recently hired a
new technician, Patricia Brewer, who came to us from the National Agricultural Library.
The MSR 3 team, which generally works on high production level projects with special
cataloging systems, currently has 9 technicians and 2 catalogers. Altogether the current
staffing levels in the MSR
teams include 13 technicians and 17 catalogers. The above permanent staff is often
supplemented by summer interns, work study students, and sabbatical librarians.
During this year of preparation for and implementation of ILS, many staff members
participated in special committees and projects which resulted in staff awards. Joe Bartl,
David Sommerfield, Howard Jaffe, Steve Permut, Steve Yusko, Vera Clyburn and Phil De
Sellem received awards related to ILS. Richard Hunter, Sharon Connor and Marilyn Hamilton
received awards related to the re-shelflisting of RISM. Ms. Hamilton also received an
award for sustained superior performance. Deta Davis received an award for her work on
various OCLC contracts and the Music Cataloger Sabbatical program, and Lucas Graves
received an award for his high production and his work on the music cataloging reference
collection.
Future projects which are currently being planned include cataloging our collection of 78
rpm albums and developing a system to process all incoming CDs using MUZE data and copy
cataloging to ensure that all new receipts are under bibliographic control. LC currently
receives approximately 30,000 CDs annually.
MOTION PICTURES, BROADCASTING AND RECORDED SOUND SECTION
Plans for the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia have kept
apace with the target start date of 2003. As can be imagined, moving the staff and the
entire collections of the M/B/RS Recorded Sound and Moving Image Sections is a tremendous
undertaking that has, and will continue to have, a profound effect on the work of the
Division. Getting "Culpeper ready" will be the over-riding goal for the
next three years. Carl Fleischhauer, on detail from the National Digital Library staff,
spent the year planning a prototype pilot project as a first step toward a fully realized
digital preservation facility for audio and moving image materials at Culpeper. Mary
Bucknum, Recorded Sound Curator, will give a presentation on Culpeper as part of the MLA
Preservation Committee's open meeting on Saturday at 11 am.
Unpublished Sound Recordings: In 1999 M/B/RS Recorded Sound Processing Unit staff
continued ongoing processing projects for unpublished material in the Cuadra STAR
database, including the Marine Corps Combat Recordings, the Leonard Bernstein Collection,
Newport Jazz Festival tapes, and vintage jazz test pressings. A Web version of STAR has
been developed and should be available for public use in the next few months. All new
processing is being done on ILS, and among the collections included are the Voice Of
America Tape Library, Works Progress Administration transcription recordings, and Emil
Berliner test pressings.
Published Sound Recordings: M/B/RS has developed an accessioning
procedure for compact discs that will allow us to create and maintain an inventory of all
acquisitions, as well as begin the task of processing retrospectively. Data provided by
MUZE Inc., along with OCLC copy cataloging will play a major part in this new process,
that is expected to begin early in 2000. It
is planned that this project will be initiated by staff of the Special Materials
Cataloging Division. The year's acquisitions (see below) have brought on a real need
for an LP processing plan that will include shelf compare for condition assessments and
best copy selection, preparation of a cataloging data sheet, and the splitting of copies
to separate storage locations (a basic tenet of audio storage at Culpeper).
Acquisitions: The major sound recording acquisition of 1999 was
the Frederic Klinger Collection of 40,000 jazz LPs. Along with the Tommy Long Collection
of 30,000 45rpm discs, 1999 was a good year for the Library's collection of rock 'n roll
and jazz. Other significant acquisitions included 900 opera recordings on 78rpm disc in
the Joseph Greene Collection, and the Thomas Rimer Collection of 5,000 classical LPs and
78s. Current CDs continue to come in via the Copyright Office at the rate of 30,000 per
year. That number is expected to increase as staff work to enforce copyright compliance.
In all, the Section acquired over 125,000 sound recordings this year.
MUSIC DIVISION
As in years past, the Music Division added significantly to its holdings last year. The
Music Division purchased the Laurindo Almeida Collection, the Ballets Russes Collection, a
Beethoven letter to Schlesinger, Copland music manuscripts and correspondence, the
remainder of the Correa de Azevedo Collection, and two Gershwin holographs and a
typescript libretto for Rosalie. In addition, the division acquired a first edition full
score of Handel's oratorio Saul from 1773, Franz Liszt's corrected proof copy of Psaume de
David as well as a letter to the publisher Schott, the first edition of Mendelssohn's Hear
my Prayer, and Anton Rubinstein's holograph manuscript of Caprices in E-flat for piano. We
added the following collections: Hall Johnson, John McGlinn, Bronislava Nijinska, Ned
Rorem, and Ruth St. Denis. The Library acquired the following gifts: the Congress on
Research in Dance (CORD) Collection, Martha Graham correspondence, the
Pilkington/Ellington Collection, the final installment of the Nicolas Slonimsky
Collection, and the Wolf Theater Scrapbook Collection. Diane Wolf donated three theater
scrapbooks to the Music Division as a Gift to the Nation.
During fiscal year 1999, the Acquisitions and Processing Section of the Music Division
processed nearly 260,000 pieces from the arrearage, including many items from the Leonard
Bernstein Collection and the Koussevitzky Collection. Processing of the Slonimsky
Collection was fully completed. 386,000 items were added to the National Digital Library,
including dance instruction manuals, American sheet music from 1870-1885, selections from
the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939, and William P. Gottlieb photographs from the
Golden Age of Jazz.
The Concerts from the Library of Congress launched the musical celebration of the
Library's Bicentennial with the first of a three-year series of musical events titled,
"I Hear America Singing." In the next three years, concerts will explore
the breadth and significance of America's musical heritage from colonial days to the end
of the twentieth century. The Library's 1999-2000 season opened with master song stylist
Bobby Short performing rare gems from the Library's vast collections of American music.
The season will close in May with a 70th birthday tribute to American musical theater
titan, Stephen Sondheim.
Deta S. Davis has been assigned as a member of the staff of the Reader Services Section of
the Performing Arts Reading Room. Ms. Davis brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to
the Music Division, particularly with her exceptional abilities in music cataloging. In
other personnel changes, three additional technicians were added to the Reader Services
Section staff.
CATALOGING POLICY AND SUPPORT OFFICE
INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM
Display of MARC Authority Records: Although references and scope notes from
authority records for headings in bibliographic records are available to users of the LC
Online Catalog, full MARC 21 authority records (names and subjects) are not displayed nor
are they available via Z39.50. LC continues to provide full MARC 21 authority records
through the MARC Distribution Service. LC's ILS Program Office is working with Endeavor
Information Systems, Inc., to provide full MARC authorities in the Web OPAC by the end of
calendar year 2000. We expect that all 5 million authority records in the Name and Subject
Authority Files will be available in the MARC 21 format for downloading from LC's Web
OPAC, as well as via Z39.50 by that time. For immediate access to LC's authority data
during this interim period, users may consult a list compiled by CDS of commercial
alternatives to CDMARC products at http://lcweb.loc.gov/cds/cdattac2.html.
Access to the LOCIS catalog files (whether via MUMS or SCORPIO) is no longer
possible as these legacy files have now been retired. The MUMS Z39.50 server was also
closed at that time, replaced by LC's Voyager Z39.50 server. For information on
connecting, consult http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/lcserver.html
.
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING
General. LC plans to implement the "1998 Revision" of AACR2 in February or March
with the actual date depending on receipt of copies of the paperback edition from ALA as
well as the availability of updates to the LCRIs that are related to the revision. LC had
deferred implementation of the revision until after the ILS was in place. The few rule
revisions that are unique to the revision pertain mainly to provision for bibliographic
description rather than to headings. Also, now that the ILS has been installed, LC
implemented the change in the first indicator value 2 for multiple surnames in X00 fields
in MARC 21 on January 1, 2000. The basis of the implementation of the indicator change is
that authority and bibliographic records will be treated independently, i.e., there will
be no attempt to keep authority and bibliographic records in synchronization. Guidelines
for the implementation may be found at http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/multsur.html
. The implementation of the restructuring of Library of Congress Control Numbers (LCCNs)
to accommodate the century change, i.e., reducing the prefix portion to two positions and
expanding the year portion to four digits, is now scheduled to take place on January 1,
2001. The announcement on LCCN restructuring is available at http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/lccn.html .
Sound Recordings as Accompanying Material: We are in the process
of implementing new workflow procedures that provide for detaching sound recordings that
accompany printed materials, housing the recordings in MBRS, and shelving the rest
according to the class number. Now the printed materials can be used in the reading rooms
where other materials on the same topics are served, and the recordings can be requested
in the Recorded Sound Reference Center. Previously, printed items with accompanying sound
recordings were labeled "Phon Case," shelved in the Music Division, and had to
be requested in the Performing Arts Reading Room, regardless of their classification.
SUBJECT HEADINGS
General: Work continues on two long-term projects that are part
of the implementation of subfield $v for form subdivisions in the Library of Congress
Subject Headings system that took place in February 1999. Since that date, LC catalogers
have been coding form subdivisions that function as forms in Library of Congress Subject
Headings assigned to new bibliographic records as $v rather than as $x. Individual
instances of form subdivisions in subject authority records are being recoded from $x to
$v. To date over 2,100 authority records have been recoded, with the project estimated to
be more than halfway complete. Form subdivisions in bibliographic records are being
recoded on a case-by-case basis only as subject headings in individual records are being
updated or revised for other reasons. Using the new 18X fields, subdivision authority
records are being created to control the more than 3,100 free-floating subdivisions. To
date more than 1,100 subdivision authority records have been created and distributed. LC
staff have added 781 linking fields for geographic subdivision forms to all new and
revised geographic subject authority records distributed since February 1999. Because of
workflow and training issues, plans to have LC staff add this field to geographic name
authority records have not yet been worked out. Plans to issue instructions to
authorize NACO libraries to add this field to geographic name authority records they
create or revise are on hold until a problem with the 008/09 value "f" is
resolved. That value was scheduled to be part of LC's overall authority data
implementation. It is used in the byte for Kind of record (008/09) to indicate
"Established heading and subdivision." LC is planning to apply value
"f" in authority records for geographic headings when the established heading
form matches the form used as a geographic subdivisions, e.g., Amazon River and Antarctica
in subject headings, and eventually France, New York (State), and United States in name
headings for jurisdictions. Unfortunately, after we began to use this value in subject
authority records, we discovered that those coded "f" did not display in
Voyager, the LC ILS. This bug was reported to Endeavor Information Systems but has not yet
been fixed. Therefore, LC recoded and redistributed the approximately 130 subject
authority records that had already been changed to use this value. LC will not create or
change any records with this value until the problem is resolved and we can search and
retrieve these records in the LC ILS.
Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings (SCM). As we have
gained experience with the virtually complete revision of instruction sheets covering
music headings in the 5th edition of the SCM, we continue to revise the instructions in
order to record music practice more thoroughly. Revisions to H 1160 Pattern
Headings: Musical Compositions, H 1161 Pattern Headings: Musical Instruments, and H 1917.5
Music Form/Genre Headings: Medium of Performance have appeared in recent SCM Updates. Over
the past year we have been working on an instruction sheet for musical instruments.
Music headings: We resumed and completed a project begun some
years ago to break apart dance form headings with a parenthetical qualifier for medium of
performance, such as Minuets (Violin and piano), into two headings, one for the dance and
the second for the medium of performance. The cancellation of authority records for
headings beginning with the terms Minuets, Polkas, Polonaises, Waltzes, and Marches are
either done or in the queue, with bibliographic file maintenance not far behind. Another
project we completed was the addition of scope notes to authority records for music of
individual instruments, such as Flute music, and music for types of ensembles, such as
Band music. Finally, we also completed the implementation of a policy adopted some
years ago to remove broader terms and the few related terms in subject authority records
for headings consisting of form followed by medium of performance or medium of performance
alone.
After extensive review, we cancelled our two headings, Organ and Organs, and consolidated
them into Organ (Musical instrument). This was the sole musical instrument for which there
were two established forms of heading. Similarly, we reduced the two topical subdivisions
Organ and Organs to one: Organs. As part of subdivision simplification and
rationalization, the subdivision--Psychology under the heading Music was revised to the
standard free-floating form used under topical headings: --Psychological aspects. In
conformance with the policy to change headings from inverted to direct form whenever
possible, we have just begun to do that to inverted headings beginning with the word
Chants. We recently began an examination of the possible development of an overall policy
for geographic subdivision of music form/genre headings. Right now we have guidelines only
for specific situations in the areas of religious, ethnic, national, and popular music.
MBRS sound recordings catalogers have been developing a glossary of form/genre terms and,
following normal procedure, submitting them for inclusion in LCSH for use in the 650 field
until such time as we implement the 655 field. Three recent headings from their glossary,
Live sound recordings, Motion picture soundtracks, and Television soundtracks, engendered
some controversy, prompting comments and discussion inside and outside the Library. We
encourage the incorporation into LCSH of vocabularies specially developed by Library
staff, as the terms can then be used by the cataloging community at large.
Subject Access in Core Bibliographic Records for Sound Recordings: Not
reported previously was our reassessment in late 1998 of the provisions for subject access
in the core record standard for sound recordings. We have adopted guidelines that increase
the allowable number of subject headings to the number necessary to assure that essential
information is provided. The guidelines were published internally and then issued in
February 1999 as a new instruction sheet to the SCM, H 170 Core Level Records.
MUSIC CATALOGING ADVISORY GROUP (MCAG)
The MCAG has representatives from the recorded sound section of MBRS, the Music Division,
and the music teams in SMCD, and is chaired by the music specialist in CPSO. It meets once
or twice a month to consider matters of particular interest to music users on the Library
staff. Several of the topics mentioned elsewhere in this report were first raised at MCAG
meetings, and recommendations for action prepared by the MCAG. Two important and
long-range issues that have been on the agenda during the past year are a complete review
of our subject cataloging treatment of electronic and computer music, and preparations for
the eventual implementation of form/genre headings for music materials.
AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER
The American Folklife Center is in the process of revising and up-dating the template for
creating collection-level MARC cataloging records for the multi-format ethnographic
(usually unpublished) field collections in its Archive of Folk Culture here at the
Library. The Center tends to create collection-level records of these materials that are
linked to on-line collection guides available on our web site at http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/ . Currently,
staff is being trained in the construction of EAD (Encoded Archival Description) Finding
Aids so that the collection guides will eventually be linked to a wider audience. As
always, the Center continues to chip away at processing and cataloging its large arrearage
of field collections.
During the past year, the Center processed three important collections: The Paradise
Valley Folklife Project Collection, a documentary effort initiated by the American
Folklife Center, was conducted in and around Paradise Valley, Nevada (1978-1982) to study
ranching and cowboy culture. The project yielded a number of products including exhibits,
publications, and a laserdisc. The collection itself includes sound recordings,
black-and-white and color photographs, film footage, field notes, and other manuscript
materials (68,657 items).
The Pinelands Folklife Project Collection was a documentary project conducted in the
Pinelands National Reserve in southern New Jersey (1983-84) by the American Folklife
Center in cooperation with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and the National Park
Service to study local patterns of land use and cultural conservation. The collection
includes sound recordings, black-and-white and color photographs, field notes, and other
manuscript materials (56,597 items).
The John A. and Ruby T. Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Collection is a documentary
field collection of sound recordings, field notes, dust jackets, and other manuscript
materials made on a three-month trip through the southern United States by John A. Lomax,
honorary consultant and curator of the Archive of American Folk Song and his wife, Ruby
Terrill Lomax (2,046 items).
The American Folklife Center continues to participate actively in the Library's National
Digital Library Program, through which three collections were drawn together, organized,
and prepared for online presentation in 1999. The following three collections were made
available online: Quilts and Quiltmaking in America, which presents recorded interviews
and graphic images from two Center collections: the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project
(1978) and the Lands' End All-American Quilt Contest Collection (1992, 1994, and 1996);
Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande, which features religious and secular
music from the Juan B. Rael Collection, recorded by Rael in 1940 in the Spanish-speaking
communities in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado; and Southern Mosaic: The John A.
and Ruby T. Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip, which presents a broad spectrum of
traditional music, photographs, record dust jackets, field notes, and other manuscript
materials collected by John A. Lomax and his wife Ruby Terrill in the southern United
States in 1939.
INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS OFFICE
The following information concerns exhibits at LC which may be of interest to music
librarians:
Currently on exhibit: American Treasures of the Library of
Congress, a long-term installation of an unprecedented exhibition of the rarest and most
significant items relating to America's past from the Library's collections, is on view in
the Library's newly renovated Jefferson Building. Many of the fragile items, including
those considered to be the Library's Top Treasures, are replaced on a continuing basis.
Here to Stay: The Legacy of George and Ira Gershwin, a
continuing exhibition installed in the newly opened Gershwin Room of the Jefferson
Building, celebrates the legacy of this illustrious musical team.
The Gerry Mulligan Collection is the inaugural exhibition in a new exhibit gallery in the
Performing Arts Reading Room Foyer of the James Madison Building. The exhibit features
jazz musician Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996), well-known saxophonist, jazz innovator,
composer, and arranger, and his recently donated gold-plated baritone saxophone, along
with his papers, to the Library.
Upcoming exhibits:
Thomas Jefferson will be presented in April 2000 as part of the Library's bicentennial
program. The exhibit will draw from the Library's unparalleled collection of Thomas
Jefferson material (documents, books, drawings, and prints), as well as selected personal
artifacts borrowed from several institutions, and will trace the origins and evolution of
Jefferson's thinking and examine the influence his thoughts and interests have had on his
own life, this republic, and the world.
The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairy Tale will open April 2000 to mark the 100th
anniversary of one of the most profitable and most famous copyrights ever issued by the
Library's Copyright Office: L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
An exhibition space opening in the Jefferson Building in May 2000 is The Bob Hope Gallery
of American Entertainment. The Gallery will include items from the Library's newly
acquired Bob Hope collection, objects from the rich and varied collections of Motion
Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound, Manuscripts, Music, Prints and Photographs, and
Rare Book and Special Collections Divisions.
Report prepared by Phillip De Sellem with the assistance of Linda Stubbs (SMCD), Eugene
DeAnna (MBRS), Ruth Foss (Music Div.), Catherine Hiebert Kerst (AFC), Geraldine Ostrove
(CPSO), and Susan Vita (SMCD).
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Last updated February 21, 2000