BCC01/Auth/6

Authorities Subcommittee
2001 Annual Report

Members:  Terry Simpkins (Chair), Anita Breckbill, Ann Churukian, Robert Freeborn, Margaret Kaus, Ralph Papakhian, Jeanette Thompson, Edie Tibbits, David Sommerfield (LC Representative)

The membership of the Subcommittee underwent several changes at the 2001 MLA meeting in New York City. Chairmanship passed from Mark Scharff (Washington University) to Terry Simpkins (Middlebury College), and the LC liaison seat passed from Joe Bartl to David Sommerfield. Rebecca Dean's (OCLC) term also expired; she was replaced by Robert Freeborn (Penn State University). Many thanks to those who served on the Subcommittee, and welcome to the new folks.

There was also substantial discussion at the MLA open meeting over the role(s) of the authority file (i.e., is it a maintenance tool for local catalogs, an informational tool to provide enhanced access to users, or both?). In November 2000, the PCC Standing Committee on Standards formed a group to look at this very question: the Task Group on the Function of the Authority File http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/tgauthfile.html. Though the Authorities Subcommittee has no direct role in this Task Group, we have reviewed the group's charge and sent comments to the chair, which were acknowledged with thanks and forwarded to the other members of the group. It is hoped that the Authorities Subcommittee will also play some role in shaping the Task Group's final report.

The Authorities Subcommittee once again has focused primarily on assisting Mickey Koth in maintaining the "Types of Compositions for Use in Music Uniform Titles" document, located on the Web at http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/types.htm. The efforts this year have thus far been directed at proofreading each entry and checking all cited bibliographic and authority examples for accuracy. Where necessary, entries were also re-evaluated in an attempt to ensure that the cited examples were representative of how each term is actually handled.

In June, the Subcommittee chair attended ALA in San Francisco, acting as liaison to the LITA/ALCTS Authority Control in the Online Environment Interest Group and to the ALCTS Media Resources Committee.

Finally, it is with great sadness that I note the passing of Subcommittee member Edie Tibbits (East Carolina University) on September 15, 2001. Though I only knew her professionally and for a brief time, her knowledge and enthusiasm for the work of the Subcommittee was apparent from the start. She will be missed.

Submitted by Terry Simpkins

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Last updated February 18, 2002