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Cataloguing Section

ISBD Review Group

Activities:
September 2003 - July 2004

Second General Revision Project:
The object of the "Second General Review Project" is to bring the ISBDs into conformance with provisions of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records that define the basic-level national bibliographic record.

To date, three ISBDs have been revised and republished, two more are expected to be revised and republished this year, and thereafter work has begun on additional two, as indicated in the table below:

Name of ISBD: Status:
ISBD (M) 2002 revision published on IFLANET.
ISBD(CR) 2002 revision published by Sauer and on IFLANET.
ISBD(G) 2004 revision published on IFLANET.
ISBD(A) Study Group to be appointed in Sept. 2004; draft for worldwide review requested by Spring 2005.
ISBD(ER) Worldwide review conducted, resulting in issues to be discussed and resolved during the Buenos Aires 2004 Conference
ISBD(NBM) Preparation of revision underway. Ready for worldwide review in 2005.
ISBD(CM) First draft of a revised version has been prepared. Following editorial review, it will be ready for worldwide review Autumn 2004.
ISBD(PM) Review to be initiated in 2005
ISBD(Component Parts) An electronic version of the 1988 edition was published on IFLANET in Sept. 2003.

The Review Group is pleased once again to acknowledge the leadership of Dorothy McGarry in assuming primary responsibility for editorial oversight of the texts undergoing revision.

Mapping ISBD Elements to FRBR Entity Attributes and Relationships
With the encouragement of the Cataloguing Section chair, the ISBD Review Group proposed development of a document to map ISBD elements to FRBR entity attributes and relationships. The FRBR Review Group endorsed this initiative and shared in the review of the work to achieve this mapping, a task that was performed on contract by Tom Delsey with generous funding from Die Deutsche Bibliothek and the British Library. Following the approval of the Cataloguing Section's Standing Committee membership, the mapping was posted to IFLANET in early August, with announcements to interested groups and discussion lists. The importance of this document is demonstrated by its clear exposition of the relationship between two of IFLA's most significance publications in the area of bibliographic control and access.

Future Directions of the ISBDs Study Group
At the Berlin Conference in 2003, the Review Group decided to form a Future Directions of the ISBDs Study Group, with Dorothy McGarry as chair. The Study Group has been charged:
  • To consider the uses and values of an ISBD that combines into a single document provisions for the entire Family, with different chapters for the information specific to a particular type of material;
  • To improve consistency of terminology and content throughout the ISBDs;
  • To consider administrative issues related to the Review Group's growing workload; and
  • To assign priorities to new and ongoing projects to ensure timely, balanced completion of Review Group's agenda.
    • Apropos its first charge, discussions have been initiated with officials at Die Deutsche Bibliothek regarding the possibility of funding for a project to produce the text for the combined ISBD. The Study Group will meet in the course of the Buenos Aires Conference and also will establish a working relationship with the International Cataloguing Code Working Group.

Material Designation Study Group
At the Berlin Conference in 2003, the Review Group also decided to appoint a Material Designation Study Group, with Lynne Howarth as chair. (In some regards, this Study Group will continue the Review Group's investigations regarding treatment of publications in multiple formats.) This Study Group is asked to deliver a preliminary outline of problems and issues for presentation to the Review Group at the second of its 2004 meetings, taking into account relevant recommendation from the first IME ICC Working Group 5. Further input to be considered is work anticipated by the Joint Steering Committee as it develops AACR3. The Study Group will meet during the Buenos Aires Conference to begin its deliberations and decide on "next steps", whether in the form of a statement of tasks for the Study Group to accomplish in 2005 or in the form of recommendations for Review Group consideration/approval/implementation.

Treatment of Publications in Multiple Formats
The Review Group established a Study Group, chaired by Lynne Howarth, to investigate problems related to treatment of publications in multiple formats within the Family of ISBDs. In particular, three issues are under consideration:
(1) the use of multiple ISBDs and the use of multiple general material designations ([gmd's]),
(2) the order in which elements for multiple formats should be treated, and
(3) the number of bibliographic records to be created for multiple versions.

A number of proposed additions or changes to the ISBD(M) text were issued for world-wide review in the Fall of 2002, following which the Study Group prepared a detailed summary and analysis of responses. The Study Group then prepared a statement of recommendations for consideration by the Review Group which was circulated via e-mail in Spring 2003. However, the Review Group was unable to reach consensus on disposition of the recommendations at that time, and it was decided to discuss them in the course of the Berlin Conference. The goals is to come to conclusions as to each of the three problem areas, to develop revisions, additions and follow up actions, including the possibility of consulting further with those parties who responded to the original proposals, by the end of 2003. A decision then will need to be made as to whether to implement successful proposals as part of the work remaining to complete the Second General Revision Project or to initiate a Third General Revision Project later, with publication of interim guidelines in the meanwhile.

ISBD Series Study Group
To address another area of interest, the Review Group in 2002 established the ISBD Series Study Group. This effort reflected concerns that some inconsistencies and ambiguities appear to have developed regarding the rules for recording information in Area 6 for Series and related information presented in Area 7 for Notes. The Study Group's mission is to set out how these areas are treated in all the ISBDs and then propose a common phrasing for the rules examined. The Study Group will also take into account relevant prescriptions from AACR2 and the ISSN Guidelines. This Group, working under Françoise Bourdon and Joëlle Bellec, circulated a proposal to the Review Group late in 2003 and is preparing its response to the resulting comments and suggestions. The co-chairs report that the recent revision of ISBD(G) helped their work as well. This Study Group also will meet during the Buenos Aires Conference, with a focus on reviewing examples supplied by the membership.

Cooperation with Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR
The ISBD Review Group continued its consultations with the Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR. The JSC chair provided a list of topics under consideration by the JSC that pertain to aspects covered by the ISBDs, and these have been shared with the Review Group and its three Study Groups.

Submitted by: John Byrum, Chair
ISBD Review Group
August 13, 2004