BCC2004/LC2004
SMCD New Hires:
Arrearage Reduction Efforts:
In CY2003 SMCD staff processed and removed from the arrearage commercially-available 101,726 discs and tapes. In
addition, Recorded Sound Section staff of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS) processed
50,847 principally non-commercial discs and tapes. The result: 152,573 items off this arrearage in CY2003.
Arrearages for SMCD are defined as sound recordings. Some highlights:
Last year's News From LC gives many details about the collection and its processing.
Other parts of the workflow have also been created and have begun to be employed which include: exact match loading,
revision of multipart workflow with concessions from CPSO, processing Retro-CDs (pre-ILS CDs), updated use and structure of
loading MUZE files, and use of in-house quality control software.
Score and Book Cataloging:
Authority Work:
Related Activities:
--Gene DeAnna, Team Leader, Recorded Sound Cataloging Team
MBRS Staff Highlights:
In June 2003, Gregory Lukow was named chief of MBRS. Lukow had served
as the Division's assistant chief, with acting duties, since January 2001.
NAVCC in Culpeper: Throughout 2003, MBRS staff continued
intensive planning for the National Audio- Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) in Culpeper, Virginia, being developed in
collaboration with the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI). In August 2003, the Library, PHI, and the Architect of the
Capitol signed a three-way Implementation Agreement covering the construction of the Center by PHI and its transfer to the
government when completed. Construction began immediately following the signing of this agreement. The Collections
building and Central Plant will be completed in June 2005, at which time MBRS will be able to relocate its recorded sound,
videotape and safety film collections to Culpeper. Phase 2 is scheduled for completion in March 2006, at which time MBRS
staff and the nitrate film holdings will be relocated to the new facility.
Key acquisitions: Acquisitions in the Moving Image Section
included the original kinescope collection from the Ed Sullivan Show, the seminal American television variety
program (1948-1971); the concluding portion of the Frederick Wiseman collection; and seventeen nitrate negatives of the
original Lone Ranger television program. Additional digital copies in the Coca-Cola Broadcast Advertising
Collection were received, including archival film and video elements for significant works. Related to the Coca-Cola
acquisition, the Library announced the first two winners of the Coca-Cola Fellowship for the Study of Advertising and World
Cultures: Dr. Julio Moreno of the University of San Francisco and Dr. Christopher Anderson of the University of Indiana.
Recorded Sound Section acquisitions included the Arch Oboler Collection
of radio scripts, music scores, motion pictures, manuscripts and personal correspondence from one of the most respected
writers of dramatic plays in the heyday of radio drama; NBC Radio Discs consisting of 500 sixteen-inch transcription discs
of live music broadcasts of the best and most popular jazz and popular dance bands from the 1930s and 1940s; the conclusion
of the Ann H. Sneed Collection of unique live performances amassed during Sneed's tenure as producer of the International
Art of Jazz series on Long Island; and a unique collection of audiotape interviews with Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the
outspoken daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.
National Preservation Boards and Foundations: MBRS continued to
administer the activities of the National Film and Recording Preservation boards. In January 2003, the Library announced
the Librarian's selection of the first 50 recordings to the new National Recording Registry. Also during the year,
legislation was introduced in Congress seeking reauthorization of the National Film Preservation Act with significant
higher levels of federal grant support for the NFPB's charitable affiliate, the National Film Preservation Foundation.
Digital Audio-Visual Digital Prototyping Projects: With new
digital audio workstations, the Division has begun creating digital preservation files, rather than relying exclusively on
analog tape as the reformatting target medium. The Recording Lab continued to set up a high speed SAN for centralized
recording, editing and batch processing of digital audio files. A digital object metadata system for sound recordings was
also refined; the system captures METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard) digital-object metadata in Oracle and
Java application hosted in ITS servers. Java tools produce the XML output from the database. A digital workstation for
recorded sound researchers was established in the Performing Arts Reading Room, including interim access management
protection to protect copyrighted content.
MIC: Moving Image Collections: The Division continued to
collaborate with the Association of Moving Image Archivists and developer sites at Rutgers, Georgia Tech and the University
of Washington in the development of the MIC: Moving Image Collections gateway project. The Library will serve as permanent
host of the project, which will become a key access program of the NAVCC in Culpeper following completion of its
development through a National Science Foundation grant. A Library of Congress Project Manager for MIC was hired under
contract in July 2003.
--Henry J. Grossi, Reader Services
Music Division Staff Highlight:
Henry J. Grossi appointed Head, Reader Services.
Key Acquisitions:
I Hear America Singing:
Lectures, Symposia, and Master Classes:
Educational Outreach:
Reference and Instructional Services:
--Geraldine Ostrove, Cataloging Policy and Support Office
Descriptive Cataloging:
LCRI/MCD Working Group: A Music Cataloging Advisory Group
Working Group has worked throughout the year converting the current MCDs into proposed LCRIs so that we may have one less
piece of documentation to write, update, distribute, and maintain. In the process, many of these guidelines were
rethought, rewritten, or eliminated. The finished production is expected for further CPSO review in early 2004. The
Music Cataloging Advisory Group (MCAG) has members from the Special Materials Cataloging Division, Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, the Folklife Center, and the Music Division.
Classification News:
Class M Revision: With CPSO at the lead the entire M class
schedule was examined, focusing on improving captions, scope notes, and organizational presentation. Obsolete classes are
to receive their own appendix. There were a sizable number of corrections, additions, restorations, changes, and
deletions, mostly to captions and notes.
From the CPSO Annual Report FY2003:
Joint Steering Committee: The increased pace of activity in the
JSC required descriptive specialists to devote a significant portion of their time to fulfilling the Library's
responsibilities within this international body. CPSO's work concerns not just official representation of LC, but the
development, drafting, and review with catalogers at LC of the sections of AACR2 that are under discussion. That work
extends to the implementation of AACR2 at LC, which inevitably involves the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations
(LCRIs). Among the major tasks that occupied CPSO was preparation of drafts for chapters and other sections of AACR2,
including such issues as incorporation of FRBR concepts and terminology, consistency across Part I, review of a draft
Introduction, use of conventional terminology for physical description of non-book materials, electronic resources,
continuing resources, and incorporation of authority control. CPSO staff also proofread the entire 2002 revision of AACR2
twice. CPSO staff wrote the particularly lengthy documentation for LCRI 2002 Update, No. 2, which incorporated Amendments
2001 to AACR2. The LCRIs pertaining to the 2002 Revision of AACR2 began to appear in LCRI 2002 Update, No. 2 and No. 3.
The redrafted chapter 12, previously ‘Serials’ and now ‘Continuing Resources,’ required CPSO to
participate in extensive reviews as the chapter evolved and to write clear, comprehensive documentation to train our
catalogers to use it.
LCRI 25.5B on uniform titles for motion pictures, television programs,
and radio programs: Since the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS) uses
Archival and Moving Image Materials, 2nd ed. (AMIM2) in cataloging moving image materials, there has been little guidance
in LCRI 25.5B with respect to the AACR2 approach to the application of uniform titles to these materials. CPSO has been
aware of this lacuna for some time, the most recent reminder being questions stimulated by an attempt by LC's Cooperative
Cataloging Team to develop an FAQ on uniform titles and a paper written by Greta de Groat, Stanford University (Discussion
Paper--Uniform Titles for Moving Image Materials OLAC CAPS Meeting ALA Midwinter, 2001). CPSO, working with the Program for
Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Standing Committee on Standards (SCS) has attempted to address this lacuna for PCC libraries.
A revised draft of LCRI 25.5B attempts to address the concerns expressed in comments on a first draft reviewed at the
beginning of 2003 and is available for comment at
http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/25_5b2.html. Comments should be sent by January 15, 2004 to the CPSO email account,
cpso@loc.gov.
Punctuation/spacing LCRI: In December 2002, a series of e-mails
raised certain questions about spacing as stated in LCRI 1.0C and in the MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data. In
response, CPSO revised LCRI 1.0C on punctuation/spacing. The revision forms part of the next LCRI update package now in
press. As a preview, an explanatory statement and the revised LCRI 1.0C have been mounted on the CPSO Web page at:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/. For LC staff, the revision incorporates the
LC/CONSER practice for recording temporary/uncertain data and no longer calls for leaving three spaces when recording
holdings or dates within angle brackets, thus normalizing practice for integrating resources, monographs, and serials.
Unicode planning and multi-script decisions for cataloging policy:
In September and October 2003, the Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO) initiated preliminary meetings with
the Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division and the Serial Record Division team leaders, assistant chiefs, and other
key cataloging staff handling non-roman materials to begin discussing plans for LC's policies regarding including original
scripts in authority records, reviewing non-roman script policies for bibliographic records, and working with RLG and OCLC
on those policies to stay in synchronization nationwide. The Library of Congress reaffirms its goal to provide non-roman
data in its bibliographic and authority records. During several decades of card production, the Library provided original
scripts in bibliographic description and lost that capability when automation was introduced in the late 1960's. Since the
mid-1980's, the Library has input parallel original script descriptive data into bibliographic records created through RLIN
for monographs (JACKPHY languages, i.e. those in Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, and Hebrew/Yiddish scripts )
and OCLC for serials (CJK languages and Arabic). CPSO, the Cataloging Distribution Service, and the Network Development
and MARC Standards Office are finalizing plans for the inclusion of non-roman captions and possibly other data using
Unicode in the LC Classification schedules. As CPSO prepares to develop the cataloging policies related to Unicode
implementation, it proposes to involve all stakeholders in the decision process to prepare for this opportunity. Comments
and suggestions are most welcome and should be sent to Barbara Tillett, Chief, CPSO
btil@loc.gov.
Subject Headings: Among the largest projects of the past year
were the reformulation of headings for battles and the change from the heading ‘Handicapped’ to ‘People
with disabilities.’ Now, headings for battles are structured in the same way as other events headings and are no
longer an exception. Along with the direct exchange of terminology to ‘People with disabilities,’ many related
headings were also revised.
BatchCat: BatchCat, a software package developed outside of LC
and augmented internally at LC, is able to change large numbers of bibliographic records that all need to be modified in
the same way. The Cataloging Directorate automation liaison has been testing it; the Subject Heading Editorial Team (SHED)
began experimenting with it in August 2003, and during this fiscal year used it for several projects. With the aid of some
customizing, the projects were completed without error and in an amount of time far below that of the manual methods that
would otherwise have been used: BatchCat processed an average of 440 records per hour as compared to an estimated 9 records
per hour for manual corrections. Some of the larger projects were:
Old Heading New Heading Records Changed Australian aborigines Aboriginal Australians 3,700 Afro-American[s] African American[s] 14,700 Handicapped children Children with disabilities 2,852 Mentally handicapped children Children with mental disabilities 1,962 Moving-picture Motion-picture 2,011 Moving-pictures Motion pictures 3,205 Moving picture music Motion picture music 1,368
The BatchCat experiment is preparing the way for a Database Maintenance Team in CPSO.
For even more information from the Cataloging Policy and Support Office please see:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/annrep03.html
--Catherine Hiebert Kerst,
Folklife Specialist, American Folklife Center
The American Folklife Center's Archive of Folk Culture celebrated its
seventy-fifth anniversary in 2003. The Archive of American Folk-Song, now the Archive of Folk Culture in the American
Folklife Center (AFC) was founded in the Library of Congress on July 1, 1928. The Folk Archive was the brainchild of Carl
Engel, head of the Music Division, and the Archive's first head, Robert W. Gordon. This year, the Center was engaged in a
number of events and activities commemorating the event, including a variety of public programs throughout the year; a
special concert by Odetta (November 13, 2003); the creation of an “Illustrated Guide to the American Folklife
Center,” with accompanying compact disc of sound recordings from the Archive selected by the reference staff
(forthcoming, 2004); and an open house in December 2003.
Processing and Arrearage Reduction: During fiscal year 2003,
new collections have continued to arrive in the American Folklife Center and there are twenty six collections in various
stages of processing. The Veterans History Project now includes more than 10,000 collections, with approximately 125 new
collections arriving each week. The processing of the Joel Halpern, Dunaway/Seeger, Leadbelly/Lomax, Julie McCullough/
Folklore Society of Greater Washington, Todd Sonkin Migrant Workers, Anne and Frank Warner, and Sam Eskin
collections have been completed. The Save Our Sounds Recorded Heritage Preservation Project is now in its third
year; considerable progress has been made on all of the eight SOS collections earmarked for digitization. Processing and
digitization work on the individual collections to date includes the following collections: Eloise Hubbard Linscott
Collection; American Dialect Society; Don Yoder Collection; International Storytelling Collection; James Madison Carpenter
Collection; Eleanor Dickinson Collection; Zuni Storytelling Collection; and Pearl Harbor Collection. The processing
and arrearage reduction efforts in the Center will be greatly enhanced by the forthcoming appointments in 2004 of a new
cataloger and two new processing technicians.
New Finding Aids Online This Year:
National Digital Library Program Presentations: In 2003, a new
web site entitled Courage, Patriotism, Community was posted. It includes a presentation of the American Folklife
Center's Local Legacies Project and “Experiencing War,” a selection of materials collected through the Center's
Veterans History Project was put on the Internet. In addition, an expanded version of the Center's presentation of the
World War II “Man on the Street Interviews” has been put online as an American Memory project under the title:
After the Day of Infamy: The “Man On the Street” Interviews.
Ethnographic Thesaurus Project: In December 2003, the American
Folklore Society, working in partnership with the American Folklife Center received a 3-year grant of $484,000 from the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to complete the development of an Ethnographic Thesaurus.
The Folklife Center has carried out work on this project so far, and
has joined with the Society, which received and will manage the Mellon Foundation grant. An NEH Chairman's Grant awarded to
the Society in 2001 supported recent work on this project. Among other things, grant funds will support the work of four
contractors (a lexicographer, a database manager, and two subject-area specialists) on the project.
Significant 2003 Acquisitions:
Cataloging Directorate New Hires: The Cataloging
Directorate has nearly completed the process of recruiting and hiring approximately 48 new catalogers and two new Dewey
classifiers authorized in the fiscal 2002 hiring plan. This is the largest number of “regular postings,” or
hiring from applicant pools that included external candidates, that the directorate has had in more than a decade. For each
posting, a position description and job analysis were submitted through AVUE, the Library's automated position management
system. Nearly every cataloging team in the directorate will obtain at least one new cataloger through this process. Five
new catalogers will be added to the Computer Files and Microforms Team, Special Materials Cataloging Division, including a
cataloger with Spanish language expertise. The following teams will gain two new catalogers: Law, Germanic and Scandinavian
Languages, and Religion, Philosophy, and Psychology teams, Social Sciences Cataloging Division; Rare Book Team, Special
Materials Cataloging Division; Hebraica and Southeast/South Asia teams, Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division; and
Hispanic Team and Children's Literature Team, History and Literature Cataloging Division. The Special Materials
Cataloging Division has hired three new catalogersfor music and sound recordings. The directorate chose to recruit
catalogers from outside the Library, at the cost of foregoing or postponing needed hiring in other positions, in order to
obtain critically needed language skills. As of June 9, 2003, 25 new catalogers were on board, including four new
catalogers with Chinese language skills and three with Arabic. Overall, our selecting officials report that the quality
of the applicant pools has been outstanding.
Bibliographic Enrichment Advisory Team (BEAT); see also Electronic
Resources Cataloging:
The Bibliographic Enrichment Advisory Team (BEAT) is a Cataloging
Directorate initiative aimed at developing tools to aid catalogers, reference specialists, and searchers in creating and
locating information. Major components of the team's work are enriching the content of Library of Congress bibliographic
records, improving access to the data the records contain, and conducting research and development in areas that can
contribute to furthering these efforts. Additional information regarding BEAT and its projects may be found at
http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/beat. Updates on several of the 18 projects now
underway are given below.
Abstracts and annotations: LC reference staff have created a
Web-based annotated bibliography, A Guide to the Microform Collections in the Humanities and Social Sciences Division,
(available online at http://www.loc.gov/rr/microform/guide/)
describing many of the Library's microform collections. However, the bibliographic records for these collections do not
carry the same extremely descriptive data as is found in the online Guide. Accordingly, this project is adding the text of
all the annotations to the underlying LC catalog record for those collections that have been assigned a Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number (the LCCN). This will result in the record carrying a much fuller description of the collection
identified in the catalog record, and should be very useful in helping researchers who find the entry assess and utilize
that collection.
ECIP Tables of Contents (TOC): In a new aspect of this project,
using programming by three BEAT Team members, a Web-based TOC is created for virtually all ECIP records that contain TOC
data. A hot-link in the TOC file is made to and then from the underlying record in the LC Catalog. The programs handle
most diacritical marks, and also enrich the TOC Web display by adding such LC subject headings as were applied by
cataloging staff. In addition to this new development, table of contents data are added in about 30 percent of the
bibliographic records by staff in the course of the regular ECIP cataloging process. This means that for some titles, data
will be available on the Web as well as within the record itself. As of December 2003, approximately 12,000 ECIP TOC
records had been added to the Web server.
Links to Book Jackets: BEAT staff plan to link images of dust
jackets to titles in the ONIX Descriptions and ONIX TOC initiatives. Initially, there will be links to approximately 2,300
dust jacket images, and it is anticipated that the number will grow as publishers can provide that data through existing
BEAT channels. This further enriches the data that LC provides to searchers about cataloged materials. This project will
be implemented in early January 2004.
Pre-1970 Congressional Hearings: This recently approved project
will improve access to approximately 2,000 pre-1970 Congressional hearings, improving service to the Congress and thus
addressing an important objective in the Cataloging Directorate's strategic plan. Other benefits to be derived include
central, as opposed to dispersed availability of the hearings, better access to the content of the items, improved
cataloging describing these hearings, and the addition of other information concerning alternate data source
availability. This initiative will be undertaken through the collaborative efforts of four Library units: Collections
Access, Loan and Management, Congressional Research Service, the Cataloging Directorate, and the Law Library. The
methodology to be employed consists of identifying and retrieving approximately 2,000 items that make up the body of these
hearings, reclassifying them into class KF in the Law schedule and upgrading the cataloging for the items. In addition,
the project will arrange to make digital copies available for hearings in poor physical condition.
Review Data: Three Initiatives Adding Review Data to LC Catalog
Records:
Web Access To Publications in Series: This project has several
facets, the first of which is to link many “working paper/discussion paper” type serial publications to their Web
based electronic versions. By linking to these electronic versions, LC can provide more timely, comprehensive, and cost
effective access to these series. In a second area of activity the Library's Serial Record Division is creating electronic
serial records for a number of high research value monographic series that have not been represented in LC's catalogs,
thereby opening up a rich, new source of information for researchers who may now access electronic versions of these
items. So far, these efforts have provided access to the full, electronic texts of more than 18,000 individual monographs
As a further enhancement, a pilot project has been launched to create electronic resource records for the individual
monographs of selected series. A number of links to examples and further description of this project can be found on the
BEAT Web page at http:// www.loc.gov/catdir/beat/ beat.html.
Questions about this project may be directed to project chair, Gabriel Horchler.
Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS):
Cataloger's Desktop Web-Based Training: An online training
course is now available for CDS's Cataloger's Desktop (CD-ROM). Cataloger's Desktop Web-Based Training covers the most
important features, contents, and functions of Desktop. The training course is free at
http://www.loc.gov/cds/desktop-training. Cataloger's Desktop
contains the full text of AACR2 (2002 revision) and virtually all of LC's cataloging manuals on a single CD-ROM. A Web
version is planned for 2004. Cataloger's Desktop is sold on an annual subscription basis. A demonstration CD-ROM is
available free on request from CDS (cdsinfo@loc.gov).
Classification Web: CDS's new Classification Web service
introduced in June 2002 now has over 1,300 subscribers. The subject correlation feature (correlations between LC
Classification and LC Subject Headings) is especially popular. Thirty-day trial accounts are available at no charge.
Subscription rates start as low as $375 per year. An online tutorial and order information are available at
http://classweb.loc.gov. An advertisement for Classification Web appears in the
June 2003 issue of American Libraries.
Integrating Resources Cataloging Workshop Training Manuals:
Training manuals for the newest Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program course, Integrating Resources Cataloging
Workshop, were published in May. Under the auspices of the CONSER Program, SCCTP provides authoritative training materials
and trained serials experts to enable broad-ranging education in the field of serials cataloging. CDS publishes the
training manuals in PDF format so that libraries and networks offering the courses may replicate the desired number of
manuals for participants in a class. Pricing and order information for Integrating Resources and other SCCTP training
manuals in PDF format may be found on the CDS Web site at http://www.loc.gov/cds.
Instructions for sponsoring an SCCTP training session and arranging for a trained instructor are available at
http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/home.html.
Cataloging in Publication Division (CIP):
New Books: a project to link highly desirable auxiliary
information such as author biographies, images of book jackets, and summaries or additional subject terms to the catalog
records for forthcoming books, got underway this year with the selection of two developers, Patricia Hayward and Eugene
Kinnaly, on September 22. The CIP Division consulted closely with the library and publishing communities to resolve issues
essential to the development of New Books. Based on this input, CIP staff, with Information Technology Services, reached
two decisions about the direction of New Books. First, the New Books system would use the unabridged Book Industry
Standards and Communications subject terms for subject access to New Books records. Second, New Books would be integrated
into the ECIP home page, effectively converting the ECIP home page to a New Books/ECIP home page. This approach should
require less initial investment than developing a separate site and separate workflow; more important, the integrated
approach will be more user friendly for both publishers and catalogers.
Electronic Resources Cataloging:
LC Pilot of OCLC's Connexion Digital Archive System: LC is in
the process of testing the OCLC Digital Archive. LC staff from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Office of
Strategic Initiatives (OSI), the Digital Reference Team (DRT), MINERVA, and SMCD have been testing the system by
harvesting and archiving individual sites identified and selected by reference selectors. The outcome of the pilot is to
determine if the OCLC system would be useful for the LC archiving projects.
TrackER (Digital Resources Traffic Manager): Computer Files
& Microforms Team staff, Special Materials Cataloging Division, have been working with Information Technology Services
(ITS) to develop an online workflow system to assist with the distribution of digital resources for cataloging. The design
is based on the Electronic Cataloging in Publication (ECIP) traffic manager system. TrackER, the new system, is designed
to assist with the distribution of electronic resources and track them from the time they are submitted into TrackER
throughout cataloging. TrackER will also generate statistical reports. CF&M coordinated a group of potential users of
the TrackER from various divisions across directorates to assist with testing. The group reviewed the first phase of
development and submitted comments to the development team. Demos of TrackER's beta version have been presented by the
development team-Allene Hayes (SMCD), Stan Lerner (ITS), and Tanya Brown (PSC). Although it is still in development, the
TrackER system is now in production and is indeed a work in progress.
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Finding Aids:
The Library lists its EAD finding aids at
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/faid/faidfrquery.html. Recently improved
searching and display features provide access to almost 14 million items in more than 200 online finding aids from 7
special collection divisions in the Public Service Collections Directorate. In addition to the Manuscript Division (MSS,
the main contributor), the EAD approach is working well for the Performing Arts and Folklife archives, and for extensive
contents and folder lists of Prints and Photographs, Geography and Map, and Recorded Sound collections. The LC ILS provides
collection level summary records that point to the finding aids. RLG harvests the documents for its Archival Resources
site to provide a 'union catalog' of finding aids. Next steps include upgrading to the new XML version of EAD and
providing PDF paper copies for reading rooms. For additional information, contact LC's EAD Technical Group, co chaired by
Ardie Bausenbach (Automation Planning and Liaison Office; email abau@loc.gov and Mary
Lacy (MSS).
E-Serials Cataloging Recommendation (Acquisitions Directorate):
This spring, acting Associate Librarian for Library Services Beacher
Wiggins charged a study group led by Maureen Landry, chief of the Serial Record Division, to recommend an approach to
cataloging the influx of 5,000 to 7,000 new electronic serials that the Library expects to receive in the next few years.
The study group included catalogers, acquisitions specialists, reference librarians, and cataloging policy specialists.
The group recommended that LC expand the use of the single-bibliographic-record approach to cover all electronic serials,
at least for the next three years. (Under this recommendation, LC would not routinely catalog serial titles in aggregators
at all, unless the titles themselves met the criteria for inclusion in the LC permanent collections.) The study group
considered it essential for “blind” URLs in CONSER records - that is, URLs that are not valid for LC - to be
stripped out of the bibliographic records before loading into the LC Integrated Library System. Working, LC-valid URLs
would then be added to the holdings records. An implementation group will consider how to accomplish these changes.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC):
Since Jan. 2003 NUCMC staff have produced 1,630 RLIN bibliographic
records describing collections held by repositories located in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. A new NUCMC program brochure has been designed as the result of a
spring semester Montgomery College intern project. The brochure was designed to reach potentially eligible archival and
manuscript repositories located across the United States and its territories. Printing of the brochure has been approved
and it should be available soon. “Hits” on the NUCMC Web site
http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc since the beginning of the fiscal year totaled 50,796. NUCMC continued to receive praise
for its provision of the gateways providing free searches in the RLG AMC file and the OCLC Mixed Materials file. Fiscal
year to date searches on the RLG gateway alone totaled 69,645.
Pinyin Romanization:
Library staff members are actively pursuing some sixteen pinyin
conversion and cleanup tasks. Records for instrumental music, videocassettes and motion pictures are being converted, as
are subject headings, chronological subdivisions, and the most frequently used descriptive headings on non Chinese
records. Discrepancies between the results of the machine conversion and the romanization guidelines are being resolved.
Search strategies are being pursued that will identify records that have strings of unconverted romanized Chinese text.
Former headings on converted authority records will be systematically searched against access points on bibliographic
records. A description of all sixteen projects may be found on the Library's pinyin home page, at:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/cleanup.html.
Portals Application:
Library of Congress Portals Applications Issues Group (LCPAIG), a group
charged with pursuing work item 2.1 in the Cataloging Directorate's Action Plan to address the challenges of providing
access to Web resources, has had an active agenda in the latter half of 2003. Since the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto
in June, LCPAIG members completed and issued two key documents:
Both of these documents are available on the documents page within the
LCPAIG Web site,
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/lcpaig/documents.html. This page also includes links to additional resources which staff may
consult for further information about the LC Portals Applications Issues Group and its activities and to learn more about
portals and OpenURL:
The Web site is divided into sections which include the goals, tasks,
documents and members of LCPAIG. This is followed by other pages with numerous links to federated search portal and OpenURL
resolver products and the vendors and organizations which supply them, portal products used by academic and educational
institutions, and a selection of Federal government agency and academic institution Web portals and subject
“gateways.” The Web site also includes sections devoted to portal and OpenURL standards, reports and information
about portals available online from several national and international library organizations, and links with abstracts of
dozens of Web articles on portals and OperURL resolvers.
Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Activities:
INTCO (International PCC): International membership in the PCC
expanded dramatically in fiscal year 2003 through the formation of the 11 member NACO-MEXICO funnel, which included members
from libraries in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela as well as Mexico. Sixty three non U.S. institutions, working
individually or in funnel projects, contributed a total of 36,288 new name authority records (21.7 percent of total PCC
production), 14,579 revised name and series records (28.54 percent of total modifications); 1,013 new subject authority
records (28.87 percent), and 53 revised subject authority records. The British Library, as part of its preparation for a
new integrated library system in 2004, began a project of contributing new or revised headings for place names within the
United Kingdom. The final report of the Task Group on International Participation in the PCC has been issued and is now on
the agenda of the PCC Steering Committee.
NACO: Two new libraries have joined NACO (the name authority
component of the PCC), and two existing funnel projects have recruited one new member each. NACO-MEXICO and the Virginia
NACO Project were created, bringing 19 new institutions into the PCC. Following the October course “Train the NACO
Trainer,” regional NACO trainers have begun to apply their skills in the classroom for their own and other libraries.
Of particular note is the activity in South Africa, where Hester Marais offered retraining to her GAELIC South Africa
Project and did a NACO orientation session for the University of Botswana. New trainers at LC are delivering NACO-based
name authority training to new LC hires on a regular basis. NACO training documentation and sessions are constantly
revised by LC and PCC staff to meet the needs of groups receiving training. A subcommittee of the Standing Committee on
Training is preparing the third edition of the NACO Participants' Manual. In line with the new PCC procedures adopted in
2002, the NACO program is increasing communications with its members. Every NACO institution can monitor its contributions
on the statistics page of the PCC Web site. Institutions with low production have received letters to encourage them to
reach their contribution goals for the year. A “Train the PCC Series Trainer” course is scheduled for late
October 2003, followed by a PCC NACO Series Institute. The goal is to equip experienced PCC catalogers to share the
responsibility for series training, following the models of NACO and BIBCO.
SACO: SACO is the subject authority component of the PCC. A
PCC Task Group on SACO Program Development, charged with examining present and future parameters of the program for
participants, is to make its preliminary report by ALA Annual, June 2003 with a final report to be submitted in time for
consideration at the annual PoCo meeting, November, 2003. Training in subject analysis and Cataloger's Desktop has been
conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis. UC, Berkeley also received
training in LC classification in a separate workshop on the use of LC call numbers, and a demonstration of Classification
Web. A SACO funnel for Hawaii is contributing proposals.
Strategic Plan:
The Cataloging Management Team held a facilitated retreat on March 10
and 11, 2003, to develop a strategic plan for fiscal years 2003 through 2008. The plan, which has been approved by the
acting Associate Librarian for Library Services and was presented to staff on May 20, includes six strategic goals and
thirty initiatives. The six strategic goals are:
The six goals state the work that the Cataloging Directorate needs to
do to carry out its mission during this entire period, covering both new initiatives and the ongoing operations of the
directorate. Ongoing operations include cataloging production, support for cooperative cataloging programs, leadership in
cataloging policy, and support for all Library programs, particularly affirmative action, effective staff management and
recognition, the Library's security plan, and professional development.
Legislation:
H.R. 3261 - Database and Collections of Information
Misappropriation Act. This is the current version of database legislation that has been under consideration in one form or
another since 1996. The current version is limited to a prohibition on republication of time-sensitive data that was
generated or gathered through a substantial expenditure of money or time. It contains a number of fair use-like
exemptions, and the prohibition does not cover government-generated databases. The bill has been marked-up by the
Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, and is likely to pass the full Judiciary Committee, as its Chairman, Rep. James
Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), is a co-sponsor and supporter of the bill. ALA's position on the legislation is that, “if
passed, H.R. 3261 would protect anyone who either creates or maintains a database from unauthorized use of the information
included in it. This bill challenges the traditional notions of ‘fair use’ and seeks copyright like protection
for the facts within the database. Facts have never been eligible for copyright protection. Furthermore, the bill could
create perpetual ownership rights in a wide variety of data.”
H.R. 1066 - “BALANCE” Act. This legislation, which
was introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), would amend section 107, the fair use
provision of the Copyright Act; add a new exemption for works in digital form; introduce a “digital first sale”
doctrine; and add a general “fair use” style of exemption to the anticircumvention provisions of section 1201.
It has not been taken up by the IP Subcommittee, and is unlikely to move in this Congress.
H.R. 2601 - Public Domain Enhancement Act. This bill, which was
introduced by Representatives Lofgren and John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.), would impose a maintenance fee of one dollar that
is due fifty years after publication of a work and every ten years thereafter until the copyright expires. Failure to pay
the maintenance fee would result in termination of copyright protection. Since the imposition of a maintenance fee to
retain copyright is incompatible with the Berne Convention, the fee would not apply to foreign works. The bill has been
referred to the House IP Subcommittee, which has taken no action.
Amendment to Section 407. The Copyright Office was asked by the
Librarian to draft legislation that would revise the mandatory deposit provision of the Copyright Act (section 407) to
assist the Library in acquiring Web sites and other content on the Internet. The draft provision was modeled on an
existing provision that permits the Library to record radio and television broadcasts. The proposal has been forwarded to
Congress. No action has been taken at this time. (See also “Amendment to Copyright Deposit Law” under
Congressional Relations Office.)
Case: Kelly v. Arribasoft. This case involved a photographer who
objected to the inclusion of some of his photographs in a visual search engine on the Internet. The search engine database
included copies of the photographs that had been reduced in size (“thumbnails”), and also displayed full-sized
images that were retrieved from the photographer's Web site without any of the surrounding context. The district court
found both activities to qualify as fair uses of the photographs. The court placed great emphasis on what it considered
the “transformative” nature of the defendant's use of the images. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed
the district court as to the thumbnails, but reversed as to the display of the full-sized images, holding that the district
court should not have reached that issue at that stage of the proceedings. The fair use analysis applied by the district
court and the court of appeals - particularly its statements equating repurposing with transformative use - is somewhat
unorthodox when viewed alongside most other fair use cases.
Rulemaking/Studies:
DMCA Anticircumvention Rulemaking: On October 28, the Librarian
issued a Final Rule under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1)(C), pursuant to the
recommendations of the Register of Copyrights, exempting four classes of works from the prohibition against circumventing
technological protection measures that control access to those works. The Copyright Office had conducted the rulemaking,
which commenced with publication of a notice of inquiry in October, 2002. The Office received 51 written comments
proposing a class or classes of works for exemption. Supporters and opponents of these proposals filed 338 reply
comments. Six days of public hearings were conducted in Spring 2003 in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California.
Following the hearings, the Office sent follow up questions to some of the hearing witnesses, and responses were received
during the summer. The entire record in this and the previous section 1201(a)(1)(C) rulemaking are available on the
Office's Web site. The four exempted classes are:
A number of other classes of works that were proposed were rejected by
the Register in her recommendations.
Report on Legal Access Issues Related to the NAVCC: A Copyright
Office attorney was detailed to the Office of General Counsel to examine legal issues related to making motion picture,
broadcasting and recorded sound collections available to patrons once the physical artifacts have been relocated to the
National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. The report examines three proposed activities:
transmission of digitized material from Culpeper to Capitol Hill; transmission of digitized material from Culpeper to other
remote locations; and webcasting of older sound recordings in the Library's collection. It then makes a number of
legislative and non-legislative recommendations. The recommendations are currently being reviewed within the Library.
Book Storage Modules at Fort Meade, Maryland: The first
book storage module of a thirteen-module facility that the Library is preparing on a military base outside of Washington
opened in November of 2002. General collection books are currently being inventoried, cleaned and processed into the first
book storage module. The 50 degree Fahrenheit, 30% relative humidity high-bay storage modules will store books in
covered boxes. Books stored in the facility since it's opening are being retrieved twice daily for use on Capitol Hill.
The second module will open in 2005, with two additional modules and a cold storage facility for photographic materials
opening in 2007. Programming and design of these modules will be completed in 2003. Two of the modules will also house
boxed paper-based Special Collections materials and the cold storage facility will house photographic collections including
the extensive microform collections of the Library of Congress.
Conservation: In fiscal 2003, conservators surveyed
7,074,700 special collection items for treatment, digitization, exhibition, and relocation to off-site storage. Staff
treated 12,000 books, paper, photographic and mixed media materials and rehoused 313,000 items. The 1507 Waldseemuller Map
of the World (Cosmographia Mundi) was analyzed and placed into a preservation-quality protective housing for exhibition and
storage. The exhibition case uses passive methods to achieve environmental stability. Fiber optic lights were used in the
exhibition to assure long-term preservation of the map. To support the Library's exhibition and loan program, conservators
processed more than 310 items from eight divisions for 34 external loans and more than 500 items for eleven exhibitions at
the Library.
National Audiovisual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia:
The NAVCC will enable the Library for the first time to consolidate its existing moving image and recorded sound
collections in a single, centralized facility. Currently these collections are housed in four states and the District of
Columbia. The NAVCC will have Preservation Laboratories for all audiovisual formats. The Center will include a Digital
Audio-Visual Preservation System that will preserve and provide research access to both newly acquired born-digital
content, as well as digitized analog legacy formats. This new Digital Preservation System is contributing greatly to the
Library's overall development of a digital preservation strategy and content repository. It is serving as a test bed for
research and innovation of the Digital Lifecycle for audio-visual formats, and as such is a key asset in advancing the
goals of the NDIIPP (National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program). In August 2003, the Library,
the Packard Humanities Institute, and the Architect of the Capitol completed a three-way Implementation Agreement governing
the project. This agreement covers the construction of the NAVCC by PHI and its transfer to the government when
construction is completed. Construction work on the NAVCC site began immediately following the signing of this agreement.
The Collections building and Central Plant will be completed in June 2005, at which time the Motion Picture, Broadcasting,
and Recorded Sound Division will be able to relocate its recorded sound, videotape and safety film collections to
Culpeper. Phase 2 is scheduled for completion in March 2006, at which time MBRS staff and the nitrate film holdings will
be relocated from Washington and Dayton.
Preservation of Digital Assets: To support the Library's
digital preservation efforts, the directorate developed a technical plan that employs digital tools extending the range of
preservation services and options available to collection stewards. The plan focuses specifically on the development of
digital reformatting capabilities; hybrid approaches to preserving content that use both analog and digital approaches; and
applied digital preservation research. Building partnerships is a top priority in the plan, and during 2003 several
important collaborations were forged. The first of these involved a collaboration with the Department of Energy's Lawrence
Berkeley Laboratory to develop a proposal for a two-dimensional imaging device for horizontally modulated recording media.
The second involved an interagency agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct a series of
life-expectancy tests on compact disc (CD) and digital versatile disk (DVD) media. The third collaboration involved a
series of planning meetings with scientists from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. These
discussions focused on developing tools and strategies for preserving and providing sustained access to diverse databases,
and the commissioning of research regarding preservation repository architecture, including definition of aspects that
constitute a “trusted repository.” Planning is underway for a series of pilot projects and position papers on
these topics.
In September 2003, the Preservation Directorate issued a paper
reporting its research on the life expectancy and aging of CD media. The paper is available on the directorate Web site at
http://www.loc.gov/preserv
Digital Reference: The Digital Reference Team is charged
with the reference support for the Library's digital collections and spearheads the Library's digital reference
initiative. With Question Point as the access point for reference inquiries, the team provides both text-based and chat
services via the Library's Web site at http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ and
http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask memory.html. To this end the
team has answered nearly 8,000 queries from Question Point and 773 contacts via chat since January 2003.
Additionally the Digital Reference Team is the public interface for the
Library's digital collections. The team designs and presents demonstrations, on-site and off-site workshops, and video
conferences for members of Congress, distinguished guests of the Library, visiting scholars, and educators. Opportunities
for video conferencing and Web-casting are continually expanding. In the past four months the team has conducted 30 video
conferences for 570 students, teachers, and librarians, including a scheduled session of the annual meeting of the Texas
Library Association. On-site presentations and workshops welcomed 40 groups with 670 participants. Working with the Center
for the Book the teams continues to create and update the “Read More about It” selections targeted for general
readers and younger students
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/collections/book/cntrbook.html. Other activities of the team, such as Journeys and
Crossings and Telling America's Stories, are further outlined on the Virtual Programs and Services page
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program.
Educational Outreach: The Office of Strategic
Initiatives continued to reach out to the education community through its electronic programs. Web sites such as America's
Library, Today in History, and the Learning Page provide educational materials to teachers and their students as well as
the general public. The Library's newest Web site, the Wise Guide, continued to serve as a gateway to all of the Library's
online initiatives by offering monthly articles based on those other Web offerings.
Meeting of Frontiers: The Library's international
cooperative digital library projects expanded this year to include both new projects and new partners. The National Library
of Russia and the Russian State Library continued to contribute digitized historical materials to Meeting of Frontiers, a
Russian-American bilingual Web site. Launched in 1999 and funded by congressional appropriation, Meeting of Frontiers is
part of the Library's Global Gateway Web site, a portal to the Library's unparalleled global information that also provides
links to information from other sources worldwide. Global Gateway is an initiative to create digital partnerships between
the Library of Congress and leading libraries around the world.
Recent additions to the Meeting of Frontiers collections are from the
Library of Congress; the State and University Library of Lower Saxony of Göttingen, Germany; the National Library of
Russia; and the Russian State Library. The site now includes more than 330,000 digital images. Meeting of Frontiers is
the world's largest bilingual collaborative library site.
MINERVA:
Collections: The Library of Congress's MINERVA Web
Preservation Project, in collaboration with WebArchivist.org of the State University of New York Institute of Technology
and the Internet Archive, created the Election 2002 Web Archive
http://www.loc.gov/minerva/collect/elec2002/index.html
with additional funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts through the University of Washington Center for Communication and
Civic Engagement.
The Election 2002 Web Archive is a selective collection of nearly 4,000
sites archived between July 1, 2002 and November 30, 2002. The initial March 4th, 2003 release of the Election 2002 Web
Archive includes Web sites produced by congressional and gubernatorial candidates. Future releases will include party,
interest group, press, government, civic, and other selective Web sites related to the 2002 national and statewide
elections. Additional materials will be made available as the collection is processed for long-term preservation.
The MINERVA project has also recently collected Web sites relating to
the 107th Congress, September 11 Remembrance, and the War on Iraq. These collections are currently in
production, and will be made available on the MINERVA Web site
http://www.loc.gov/minerva as processing, cataloging, and other access-related tasks are completed.
In order to better manage the labor-intensive notification and
permissions process necessary for creating LC Web archives, the MINERVA team worked with staff from the Office of Strategic
Initiatives to develop an online database system to enable more efficient mailing and tracking of Web sites identified for
collection. This system was first used for the War on Iraq collection and further development to improve and refine the
tool will continue into the next year.
In April 2003, the Library of Congress completed a Collections Policy
Statement for Web Site Capture & Archiving. This CPS is now available on the Collections Policy Commitee Web site,
http://lcweb.loc.gov/acq/devpol.
Cataloging: As we collect thematic sites, we create
collection level AACR2/MARC catalog records for each theme in order to represent these items in the LC Integrated Library
System (ILS). For each theme we have collected thousands of sites. Building upon traditional methods, we are in the process
of supplementing the collection level metadata by experimenting with the creation of title-level descriptive metadata for
each Web site within the collection using the Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS). (See under Operations Directorate,
Network Development and MARC Standards Office.)
National Digital Library Program: During fiscal 2003,
the National Digital Library Program (NDL) continued to receive widespread praise as a provider of free, high-quality,
educationally valuable American cultural and historical resources on the Library's American Memory Web site. Digital
conversion activities at the Library of Congress are the product of an integrated program coordinated by the Public Service
Collections, Area Studies Collections and OSI in cooperation with other Library divisions and other repositories. At
year's end, more than 8.5 million items from the Library of Congress and other institutions were available online or in
digital archives. In fiscal 2003, seven new multimedia historical collections were added to the American Memory Web site,
bringing the total to 123. Seven existing collections were expanded with approximately 344,000 digital items. One of the
seven new American Memory collections this year was the result of a Library of Congress-Ameritech award. The new
presentation brings the total number of collections made available through this program to 23 and concludes the
LC-Ameritech project. Beginning in 1997, the Library of Congress sponsored this three year competition with a gift from
the Ameritech Corporation to enable public, research and academic libraries, museums, historical societies and archival
institutions (with the exception of federal institutions) to digitize American history collections and to make them
available on the Library's American Memory Web site. Those digital collections complement and enhance the Library's online
resources. Thirty three institutions received $1.75 million of support to digitize 23 projects.
The ILS Office has continued success in expanding access and improving
service for users of the Library of Congress databases. The introduction of new hardware to support the ILS has improved
overall performance. Specifically, the implementation of a second copy of the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) on a new
more powerful server made possible a 64 percent increase in the number of simultaneous OPAC users, while the number of
customers who could not be accommodated has declined by 80 percent.
Congress ional Research Service (CRS) Voyager: The CRS
Voyager application ramped up to full production in fiscal 2003, now utilizing the acquisitions module and the “New
Books” add on feature.
Copyright Office and Voyager: The ILS Office is
assisting the Copyright Office in its plans to migrate from the current COPICS environment to a Voyager database.
ERMS Module: In response to the changing demands of our
digital library and in recognition of the inherent limitations of a single ILS application, the Library purchased the ERMS
module from Innovative Interfaces in September, 2003. It will be used to track over 20,000 subscriptions for electronic
resources used by the Library. The module will note both acquisitions information and licensing rights; it is based on the
evolving Digital Library Federation standards.
Library of Congress Authorities: July 1, 2003 marked the
first anniversary of the Library of Congress Authorities (authorities.loc.gov), a permanent service that provides free
access to LC's authority data via the Web.
NLS/BPH and Voyager: In January, 2003 the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) migrated to LC's ILMS environment. The NLS Database became
available via the Web in May, 2003.
OpenURL Software: Staff in the ILS Office have completed
functional requirements for the acquisition of OpenURL software, considered to be a vital architectural piece for future
implementation of a portal project. ILS funds have been committed to complete the purchase of this software in early
fiscal 2004. (See also “Portals Application” under General Cataloging News.)
Voyager and Telework: At the beginning of fiscal 2004 the
ILS staff completed testing of hardware and software for use by LC teleworkers. It is expected that teleworking will
expand somewhat in fiscal 2004 as additional hardware and software become available.
Voyager Version 2001.2 and Unicode: Although plans for
implementing the 2001.2 version of Voyager are currently suspended, the Library has moved forward in testing the Unicode
release of Voyager, now in the Early Release stage of development. Two staff members are on the Endeavor Acquisitions Task
Force that is providing guidance for Voyager Release 5.0, which will follow the Unicode release.
Z39.50: Efforts continue to improve the Z39.50 module to
accommodate more users in an efficient manner. A second full copy of the LC Database (LCDB) is maintained in a separate
partition of the ILS server. All incoming Z39.50 traffic is directed to this second copy while all Web OPAC traffic is
directed to the “live” copy.
Digital Archive Storage and Access System Specifications under
Development: NLS has completed plans for security and temperature control for housing archival copies of the
digital files that make up DTBs. In addition, NLS has completed a review of “legacy”titles—audio books that
are already part of the NLS analog cassette collection. NLS has begun a multiyear process of identifying the titles that
will be converted to digital format for distribution as DTBs. Thousands of legacy titles have already been identified for
conversion.
Digital Audio Book Production to Begin: To ensure that
NLS has an adequate store of digital materials available when it begins its transition from analog to digital distribution,
all contractors producing audio books for NLS will begin converting their studios in early 2003, culminating in 100 percent
digital mastering in two years.
Digital Mastering Systems Developed: NLS continues
experimenting with a digital recording system in its in-house studios, where several dozen books have been completed in
digital format. A second recording system has been installed to allow comparison of important features.
Digital Talking Books Report: Issued on May 1, 2002, a
new report on converting the talking-book program to a digital format brings up-to-date information on the progress of this
major undertaking. The fifty-four-page volume, Digital Talking Books: Progress to Date—May 2002, updates the digital
project's first report, Digital Talking Books: Planning for the Future, issued in July 1998. Its publication coincides with
the adoption of the ANSI/NISO standard.
Internet Audio Magazine Delivery to be Developed: At
fiscal year's end, NLS announced its plans to launch a pilot program in 2003 to test the delivery over the Internet of
digital audio magazines presented in real human speech. A small group of eligible readers will be selected to participate
in the program, working closely with the NLS engineering group to develop a successful system. For test purposes, the NLS
magazine program offers a combination of relatively small audio files; direct, timely delivery to users; and an existing
delivery system—the Web. NLS presently produces and issues forty-four magazines in audio cassette format.
Mystic Seaport Initiative: NLS joined Mystic Seaport,
Connecticut's famed seventy-three-year-old Museum of America and the Sea, in a major initiative. From January 1, 2002,
through December 31, 2003, the two advanced accessibility for blind and physically handicapped individuals and provided
materials in special formats.
NDMSO is the focal point for technical library, network and digital
standards and related planning in Library Services. Highlights of fiscal 2003 included: 1) increasing use of the MARC
Toolkit, which includes MARCXML, MODS and various transformations; 2) endorsing the Metadata Object Description Schema
(MODS), a simpler XML companion to MARCXML, and Metadata for Images in XML (MIX) bu the METS Editorial Board, as an
extension schema; 3) development and maintenance responsibilities for the Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard
(METS), an important standard for repository management of digital objects, working with the METS Editorial Board in the
release of version 1.3; 4) finalizing version 1.1 of the Z39.50-International Next Generation (ZING) protocol, SRW, that
evolves the widely implemented Z39.50 information retrieval protocol to a new Web definition service; 5) assuming
coordinating responsibility for four areas assigned to the Library of Congress as part of the International Federation of
Library Associations and Institutions/Conference of Directors of National Libraries Alliance for Bibliographic Standards
(ICABS): Marc 21, Z39.50/SRW, metadata and XML schemes, and persistent identifiers; 6) completing requirements for a
content management system for Library Services's Web site, in collaboration with the Office of Strategic Initiatives; 7)
opening the “Courage, Patriotism, Community” Web site with a new experimental approach to the underlying
technology, to make the digital items more easily repurposed and open the way to support various object behaviors; and 8)
further developing an Internet Technical Training cuuriculum for LC staff.
Copyright Records: LC is progressing with work to
migrate copyright registration descriptive information from a proprietary non-MARC system to a standard MARC 21 platform
by the end of calendar 2004. The records, after migration, should be more compatible with traditional MARC 21 records.
The Copyright file includes more than 30 million records.
MARC 21: The 2002 edition of the MARC 21 Concise
Formats was published in April 2003. It includes all of the 2002 updates to the MARC 21 formats. The 2003 edition of the
MARC Code List for Languages was published in May 2003. This new edition contains 24 code additions and 5 changed code
captions. Understanding MARC Authority Records was published in June 2003 as a companion to the popular
Understanding MARC Bibliographic. Understanding MARC Authority Records introduces the MARC 21 authority format to
librarians and students who are not familiar with MARC 21 authority records. It uses the same structural organization as
the Understanding MARC Bibliographic document, however, it includes comprehensive information and descriptions of
MARC 21 authority records, along with many useful examples. In addition the 7th edition of the Understanding
MARC Bibliographic was published during the first week of June 2003. It includes a few expanded explanations and
updated examples of MARC 21 bibliographic records.
MARC 21 Records for Acquisitions: The Library of
Congress now receives MARC 21 bibliographic records for non-U.S. imprints from 24 sources covering 29 countries. All of
these sources are booksellers who have developed the ability to export bibliographic data in the MARC 21 format. LC is
working with its new vendor in Serbia to assist them in producing MARC 21 bibliographic records for the titles they
supply. LC is also working with East View, its vendor in Russia, to help them expand their MARC 21 records service to
include titles in languages other than Russian and Ukrainian. Test records for titles in Belorussian and Moldavian have
recently been analyzed. Some work on character encoding remains to be done. East View also supplies materials in
languages of Central Asia. All of LC's foreign MARC distribution services have been retired, the flow of records having
changed so that most of these records now go into OCLC and/or RLIN for use by libraries in copy cataloging. Some of the
vendors whom LC has assisted in developing a MARC capability also provide resource data to the utilities for copy
cataloging and other functions.
Unicode Implementation: LC is actively testing the
results of character conversion of its MARC 21 bibliographic, authority, and holdings databases as part of a project to
migrate to Unicode sometime in calendar 2004. LC is working with Endeavor Information Systems, Inc., its library system
vendor, to test the conversion to Unicode, as well as system functionality in a Unicode environment. Part of the testing
involved the creation of a robust set of test records to test the MARC 21 format and MARC-8 character repertoires.
Access to CRS information: Just prior to winter recess,
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and other co-sponsors introduced H.R. 3630, which would require the Congressional Research
Service (CRS) to make publicly available its issue briefs, reports, and authorization and appropriations-related products
that are generally available to members of Congress. Public availability would be accomplished through the Web sites of
members of Congress. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a similar resolution, S. Res. 54, early in the 108th
Congress. These legislative proposals have taken on higher profile since the House Administration Committee announced the
end of a pilot program that provided, over selected members' Web sites, full access to CRS reports with search capability.
Amendment to Copyright Deposit Law: The Librarian has
requested Congress to permit the Library to collect and preserve digital materials by capturing or “harvesting”
them directly from the Internet before they become unobtainable. This would be accomplished by creating a new section
under the copyright act to enable the Library of Congress to reproduce copyrighted works from the Internet for preservation
purposes and use in the Library's collections. This request is modeled on the Library's current authority to fix and
reproduce television and radio programming. Congress created this authority in 1976 because it believed the Library of
Congress should be authorized to acquire and preserve “a permanent record of television and radio programs which are
the heritage of the people of the United States and to provide access to such programs to historians and scholars without
encouraging or causing copyright infringement.” The requested language also adapts the mandatory deposit provisions
of the copyright act to new electronic technologies and media of expression - where the ability of the Library to collect
preserve the materials is all the more important due to the inherently ephemeral nature of electronic works.
Film Preservation: The National Film Preservation
program, including the National Film Registry, was last reauthorized in 1996 [P.L. 104-285]. The current authorization
expired in October 2003. Bills to reauthorize the program were introduced in the House by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and
Howard Berman (D-Calif.) (H.R. 3569) and in the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) (S.1923). The Library has asked
Congress to reauthorize the program for a 10-year period, and to increase the federal matching funds for the Film
Preservation Foundation.
USA Patriot Act Amendments: Section 15 of the USA Patriot
Act, enacted soon after the events of 9/11/2001, permits law enforcement officials to seek a wide variety of records,
including library patron records, without formal judicial supervision. The ALA, in consultation with a group of civil
liberties organizations, has urged Congress to narrow the scope of some of the authority included under the USA Patriot
Act. Several bills to accomplish this purpose, some with bipartisan support, have been introduced, including: S. 1158, the
Library and Bookseller Protection Act (Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.); S. 1552, the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act
(Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.); S. 1507, the Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act
(Sen. Dianne Feingold, D-Calif., and others); S. 1709, the Security and Freedom Ensured Act, (Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho;
Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; and others); and H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act (Rep. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt.).
Currently on Exhibit:
American Treasures and The Dream of Flight: The “American
Treasures” exhibition showcases some 300 items that represent the breadth and depth of the Library's American
historical materials. Featured in the gallery's Top Treasures case and the central portion of the exhibition through April
24, 2004, are some 85 items that trace the story of mankind's desire to fly, from classical times to the beginning of the
20th century … “The Dream of Flight” draws heavily on the Library's premier collection of Wilbur and
Orville Wright papers and includes an entry from Orville Wright's diary describing in detail the four powered flights on
Dec. 17, 1903; the telegram from Orville Wright to his father announcing their success at Kitty Hawk; and film footage of
Wilbur Wright's performing demonstration flights in Europe in 1909. Other items describe earlier attempts to take to the
sky, from mythological creatures to hot air balloons. On view in the Southwest Gallery and Pavilion of the Thomas
Jefferson Building from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday. For additional information, call 202 707-3834. Bob Hope and American Variety: The Bob Hope Gallery of American
Entertainment is a permanent rotating exhibition gallery that features exhibitions that survey the evolution of 20th
century forms of American entertainment--vaudeville, the musical stage, radio, motion pictures, and television--with a
specific focus on the American variety tradition. The Gallery includes items from the Library's Bob Hope Collection,
materials from the rich and varied Library collections, as well as objects borrowed from the Bob Hope Archives in Los
Angeles. Included in the exhibition are interactive stations on early vaudeville, radio, film, and television, and an area
where visitors are able to search Bob Hope's jokes and learn how he used them. On view in the Jefferson Building
Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. For additional information, call 202 707-4604. By Securing to Authors: Copyright, Commerce, and Creativity in
America: The exhibition features a wide range of items that have been copyrighted in America, including original Ken
and Barbie dolls, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, and a statue of the “Maltese falcon” that was
used in the film of the same name. On view in the James Madison Building, 4th floor (Green/Blue Corridors), Monday-Friday,
8:30a.m. to 5 p.m. “Churchill and the Great Republic:” This is the first
comprehensive exhibition of Churchill material in the United States. Churchill and the Great Republic explores the
life and career of Sir Winston Churchill and emphasizes his lifelong links with the United States. Displayed in the
Northwest Gallery of the Thomas Jefferson Building, the exhibition will be on view through June 26, 2004. It is presented
at the Library of Congress in conjunction with the Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, U.K. The exhibition includes more
than 200 items, ranging from an historic letter written by Churchill's ancestor the Duke of Marlborough, in 1706, and the
9-year-old Churchill's 1883 report card (which indicated that he was at times “very naughty”) to handwritten
notes passed between Churchill and Averell Harriman as they rode in a noisy bomber to the 1942 Churchill-Stalin
conference. Two items will be on display for the first time. The first is a previously unknown letter from Churchill to
his cousin, the 9th Duke of Marlborough, about his participation in the battle of Omdurman (1898). The second is a version
of the world globes made in 1942 and sent to Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt by U.S. Army Chief of Staff George
Marshall as Christmas gifts to facilitate war planning. “The Earth as Art:” The exhibition features
30-by-30-inch high-resolution prints of colorful images from Landsat 7, on view from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday,
in the corridor outside the Geography and Map Reading Room on the B level of the Madison Building. Also on display in that
area is a large model of the northern metropolitan area of Los Angeles and the adjacent San Gabriel Mountains that
illustrates the global terrain mapping capabilities now provided by orbiting spacecraft. For additional information,
call 202 707-8542. The Gerry Mulligan Collection: Located in the Performing Arts
Reading Room Foyer of the James Madison Memorial Building (1st floor), this exhibit features Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996), a
well-known saxophonist, jazz innovator, composer, and arranger. The central focus of the exhibit is Mulligan's gold-plated
baritone saxophone, which was donated with his papers to the Library of Congress. A recent addition to the exhibit is a
clarinet once owned by Mulligan. On view 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. For additional information, call 202 707-4604.
Here to Stay: The Legacy of George and Ira Gershwin: This
ongoing exhibit in the Library's Gershwin Room of the Jefferson Building celebrates the legacy of the illustrious musical
team. A platform in the center of the room evokes the working studios of the two brothers and includes George's piano and
desk, Ira's desk, and other historic memorabilia such as Ira's pen, George's metronome, the Congressional medals awarded to
the pair, and self-portraits by each of the Gershwins. In September 2003, twenty-three exhibition items were changed for
conservation reasons. New items of special interest include a chewing gum wrapper autographed by George Gershwin and a
rare informal snapshot taken in London that shows George playing the piano in his bathrobe. On view in the Jefferson
Building (near the Coolidge Auditorium) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Sat. For additional information, call 202 707-4604. Other Online Exhibits and Web Sites of Interest: Annette Kaufman discusses A Fiddler's Tale
(http://www.loc.gov/locvideo/kaufman/) Courage, Patriotism, Community
(http://www.loc.gov/rr/courage/) To celebrate Memorial Day, the Library
of Congress launched “Courage, Patriotism, Community,” a new Web site featuring compelling veterans stories,
inspiring patriotic music, and unique community traditions:
Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America
(
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lewisandclark/lewisandclark.html) Stagestruck!: Performing Arts Caricatures at the Library of Congress
(http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/stagestruck/)
During the early 20th century, performing arts caricatures came of age as an art form in the United States as celebrities
of song, stage, and screen were transformed into popular icons of American culture. Caricatures played a prominent role in
the dramatic rise in circulation enjoyed by numerous popular magazines and daily newspapers after 1900, when a new
generation of cartoonists and illustrators transformed famous faces into vivid likenesses that set the standard for future
creators. News From LC Contributors: Report prepared by Stephen Yusko with the assistance of Henry Grossi
(Music Division) and Catherine Hiebert Kerst (American Folklife Center). Special thanks to Joe Bartl for providing text in
section 1. Much of the information in sections 2, 4, and 6-14 in this year's
News was abstracted from the ALA/CLA Annual Conference Update (June 2003) and the ALA Midwinter Conference Update
(Jan. 2004). Please see the following for comprehensive information:
Return to the 2004 Documents Menu
Last updated April 4, 2004
This exhibition is on the Library's Online Gallery at:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/wb-home.html
This exhibition is on the Library's Online Gallery at:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/
Special Note: There will be a special half hour “Treasure Talk” on this exhibition Wednesday at noon,
Feb. 11, 2004. Library curator Daun Van Ee, historical specialist in the Manuscript Division, will give a special tour
of this just-opened exhibition. Meet at the Northwest Gallery of the Jefferson Building. For additional information, call
202 707-9203 or 202 707-4604.
This exhibition is on the Library's Online Gallery at:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/churchill/
This exhibition is on the Library's Online Gallery at:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earthasart/
Pianist and art collector Annette Kaufman discusses “A Fiddler's Tale: How Hollywood and Vivaldi Discovered Me,”
a book she co-wrote with her husband, violinist, and art collector Louis Kaufman. Louis Kaufman was violin soloist in
nearly 500 films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, such as “Casablanca,” “Gone with the Wind,” “The
Diary of Anne Frank,“ “Wuthering Heights,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” and “Spartacus.”
After performing the violin solos for Ernst Lubitsch's 1934 film “The Merry Widow,” Kaufman became the most
sought-after violin soloist in Hollywood. Kaufman was largely responsible for bringing the once-forgotten music of Antonio
Vivaldi to its current worldwide popularity. He made the first commercial recording of a then little-known collection of
violin concertos by Vivaldi called “The Four Seasons.” This recording won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1951.
Contents: Prologue -- Before Lewis & Clark -- Lewis & Clark -- After Lewis & Clark -- Exhibition Overview --
Object Checklist -- Public Programs -- Virtual Tour & Animations
ALA Annual 2003: http://www.loc.gov/ala/an03-update.html
ALA Midwinter 2004: http://www.loc.gov/ala/mw04-update.html
Return to BCC Historical Documents Menu
Return to BCC Home Page