BCC2005/SDC/3
Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access
ALA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, June 25 and 27, 2005
Reported by Kathy Glennan, Chair, Subcommittee on Descriptive Cataloging
The Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA) met in two sessions during the ALA Annual meeting in Chicago, Ill. The Chair, Mary Larsgaard (University of California, Santa Barbara), led the discussions.
This report focuses on items of interest to the music library community. For more information about the meeting and for reports about activities mentioned below, please see the CC:DA web page at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/jca/ccda/index.html.
Reports
Library of Congress (Barbara Tillett, LC liaison to CC:DA)
(Full report at: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/jca/ccda/docs/lc0506.pdf)
The Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) is conducting a Cataloging Documentation Survey from mid-June until the end of July. They want responses from both internal LC catalogers and CDS customers. To participate, go to http://www.loc.gov/cds/survey/ CDS is also querying subscribers about whether there is a continuing need for the CD-ROM version of Cataloger’s Desktop. Visit the CDS website (http://www.loc.gov/cds/) for new cataloger training products, available as PDF files.
LC continues to obtain more cataloging metadata from machine-readable sources.
In this report, the Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO) published its query and communications policy. CPSO also announced that the Music Cataloging Decisions (MCDs) have been absorbed into the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRI) beginning with LCRI 2005 Update, no. 1.
LC plans to implement the Voyager with Unicode release within the next 6 to 8 months; this update will allow for search and display of non-Roman scripts.
Staff news:
Jon Newsom retired as chief of the Music Division on June 3; Sue Vita has been named its acting chief.
ALA Publishing Services (Don Chatham, Associate Executive Director)
The 2005 Amendments for AACR2 are now available. To facilitate the creation and marketing of the successor to AACR2 (now called RDA, for Resource Description and Access), the Co-Principals of the AACR Fund are searching for a Project Manager whose duties will include developing and implementing a project plan, managing the project schedule, and organizing and coordinating consultation with stakeholder communities. A full position description was posted on AUTOCAT on July 10, 2005.
Joint Steering Committee (Jennifer Bowen, ALA Representative)
(Full report at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/jca/ccda/docs/jsc0506.pdf)
Based on the constituency comments on the draft of AACR3, Part I, the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) decided to take a different direction in the development of the rules. One initial sign of the change is renaming the new code from AACR3 to RDA. They are looking for a more progressive approach in the creation of the rules and involving more stakeholders (library administrators, system developers, metadata developers, the Program for Cooperative Cataloging, etc.).
This change of direction has affected the “best case” publication timetable as follows:
The focus of RDA will be as a content standard, not a display standard. ISBD descriptions and punctuation will likely move to an appendix, instead of being imbedded in the rules. The relationship between RDA and the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) will go beyond terminology. The chapters will be grouped according to the FRBR user tasks. In addition, the purpose and scope statements will take FRBR principles into account. In spite of these changes, the goal remains to create a cataloging record using RDA that will be fully compatible with the ISBD standards.
JSC constituencies are currently looking at issues relating to the simplification of rules in AACR2 Chapter 21 and a possibility for simplified rules for Area 4. Upcoming issues include technical description of digital media, levels of description and access, archival resources, and musical presentation.
The next JSC meeting will be held in London in October. The agenda includes reviewing the first draft of RDA, part I.
Discussion of RDA issues
CC:DA spent significant time discussing concepts for Part I of RDA, including possible changes to the sections for sources of information, preferred sources of information, levels of description and the elimination or simplification of “special” rules from AACR2 Chapter 21.
The Committee also brainstormed about RDA as an electronic product. To retrieve rules related to particular materials, extensive metadata will need to be included; this level of detail may need JSC review. Other desirables included saving local compilations, making personal annotations, and including images along with transcription examples.
Interpretive manuals, along the lines of Cartographic Materials: A Manual of Interpretation for AACR2, may be supported by the JSC for RDA.
Other
Because the program session on AACR3/RDA was well received, with 500-600 attendees, CC:DA will investigate how to continue to offer similar update, question and answer sessions at upcoming ALA meetings without actually committing to developing an official “program.” For links to the presentations from the three speakers on this program
visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/alcts/alctsconted/alctsceevents/alctsannual/AACR3prog.htm
Due to changes in scheduling meetings at ALA, future CC:DA meeting times will change slightly. However, the Committee still plans on meeting on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings.
CC:DA’s agenda for Midwinter in San Antonio will focus on the draft of RDA, Part I.
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Last updated September 10, 2005