SCATNews
Newsletter of the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing

Number 13,
June 2000
ISSN: 1022-9841

IFLA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
13-18 August 2000

The August IFLA Conference is fast approaching, and we have much to do to prepare for a successful meeting. I congratulate those working groups who have been hard at work via email getting ready for further discussions during the conference. So far, I have requested rooms for the following:

Sunday, Aug. 13
9:00-12:00 - OPAC Display Working Group

Monday, Aug. 14
11:00-14:00 - FSCH Working Group
14:00-17:00 - Metadata Working Group

Tuesday, Aug. 15
9:00-12:00 - ISBD Review Group

Wednesday, Aug. 16
12:00-15:00 - ISBD(S) Working Group
14:30-17:00 - Metadata Working Group
(TIME MAY BE CHANGED)

We think these meetings will be held in the IFLA Division IV room, and I will send out updated information when I get further news.

I have compiled the following from the IFLA preliminary schedule of presentations, programmes, meetings, and events. I think they are sessions you may find of interest. Particularly note those that are for our Section, marked with ** below.

Saturday, August 12
11:30-14:20 Standing Committee on Cataloguing meeting 1 **

Sunday, August 13
8:30-10:20 Unicode
9:00-12:00 - OPAC Display Working Group in Division IV's Room **
10:30-12:20 Metadata Discussion Group
11:00-15:50 URI's
pm: Exhibition opening

Monday, August 14
8:30-10:30 Division IV Open Forum **
11:00-14:00 - FSCH Working Group **
11:30-13:30 Digital Libraries Discussion Group start up meeting
13:30-15:30 FRANAR
14:00-17:00 - Metadata Working Group **
pm: Conference reception and folklore performance

Tuesday, August 15
9:00-12:00 - ISBD Review Group **
12:30-15:00 Authenticity of digital data

Wednesday, August 16
9:00-11:00 Library automation and digital libraries
12:00-15:00 ISBD(S) Working Group **
14:30-17:00 - Metadata Working Group **(TIME MAY BE CHANGED)
15:30-18:00 Section on Cataloguing's Programme **
Speakers:
John Byrum on the ISBD Review Process
Ingrid Parent on the ISBD(S) Progress
Eeva Murtomaa on work with the ICA on authority records
Chaim Seymour on local cataloging issues in Israel
pm: Cultural evening at Israel Museum

Thursday, August 17
8:30-12:30 Metadata Workshop ** (Section on Cataloguing)

Friday, August 18
8:00-10:15 Standing Committee on Cataloguing meeting 2 **
12:45-14:45 Division IV Coordinating Board meeting

Have a safe trip and see you soon!

Barbara Tillett
Chair
Section on Cataloguing

Task Force on Guidelines for OPAC Displays

Following the discussions held at the Bangkok Conference, several more drafts of the Guidelines have been prepared and sent to the Task Force. A number of questions have arisen, which we intend to discuss via email. The most recent draft was sent to the Task Force at the end of April. It is hoped that decisions on the final version to be prepared for a vote will be made soon.

For more information see under: http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s13/guide/opac-d.pdf

Pinyin conversion status report

The Library of Congress continues to coordinate pinyin conversion with the bibliographic utilities OCLC and RLG, as well as with professional organizations. Day 1 for pinyin romanization will occur on October 1, 2000. After that day, systematic romanization of Chinese will be carried out by the Library of Congress according to new pinyin guidelines in all library operations. New bibliographic and authority records created by other American libraries will also follow pinyin romanization guidelines.

OCLC will convert approximately 170,000 name and series authority records with Wade-Giles terms in the headings to pinyin romanization, beginning in August. Converted authority records will be coded "c" in the 008/07 field. OCLC is now preparing a conversion program, based on specifications prepared by the Library. Candidates for conversion will be identified in a series of extensive manual reviews and machine scans of the name authority file. Tests of the conversion program will be conducted on a carefully selected test file. Classification changes will be made as subject authority records are manually converted by the Library of Congress, beginning in July. The Library will include converted authority records in the daily NACO distribution to OCLC, RLIN and the British Library, as well as in other authority products.

The Library of Congress sent draft specifications for conversion of bibliographic records to the utilities last year. RLG has begun to test its conversion program on a test file that will also be used by OCLC. The two organizations are working together to achieve uniform results in their conversion efforts. A "pinyin marker", placed on converted bibliographic records in the 987 field, will tell whether the record has been completely converted or needs to be reviewed further. RLG will convert approximately 2,000,000 Chinese bibliographic records in its RLIN database, beginning in August with those held by the Library (and related clusters). OCLC will begin to convert its WorldCat file in October, starting with the most recent Chinese records. The Library will begin to load and distribute its converted bibliographic records in September. As soon as converted records become available, the Library will initiate cleanup tasks associated with the project.

John D. Byrum

The Future of Cataloging: Insights from the Lubetzky Symposium

Working Group on Form and Structure of Corporate Headings: State of the art

The FSCH Working Group began in 1995 to examine the 1980 IFLA standard Form and Structure of Corporate Headings to see how it might be revised. The initial goals were to modify a number of multi-interpretable rules, to reconsider the phenomenon of 'constructed headings', i.e. to make room for more userfriendly 'natural' forms of name, and to meet modern requirements of the international exchange of information.

The first discussions concentrated on the presumed purpose(s) of FSCH. Can one standard serve two functions, even if these often seem contradictory: 1. facilitate the exchange of corporate name forms by offering rules for the creation of a 'universal control form' per body; 2. be a useful guide for setting up international rules for 'uniform headings', in spite of the fact that per country national headings are often moulded according to national needs and traditions as to form, language, word order, and the like?
In 1997 the working group decided to try and find out whether the two functions could be united. A 'text model' for the revision of rules 1-24 was distributed. Revolutionary in the sense that it went a long way to meet the less professional conditions outside national bibliographic agencies, this text lead to very interesting discussions, but could not reconcile all differences of opinion.

During the Amsterdam 1998 conference a turning-point was reached. The FSCH WG concluded that requiring the world to all use the same form of (uniform) heading is not a feasible option, and instead proposed to the Section to support the recommendations of the IFLA UBCIM Working Group on Minimal Level Authority Records and ISADN, i.e. for international sharing of (national) forms of headings. The Section approved of this new approach.

One of the steps to be taken to facilitate the design of a future virtual international authority file is to gain insight in the name structures, word orders, and punctuation patterns of corporate headings as these are actually occurring in bibliographic practice. The collecting of examples started with a try-out by a few members of the FSCH Working Group. After the Bangkok Conference in 1999 the other S.C. members were invited to participate in the exercise.
The outcome, a survey of form categories and further form specifications, will give examples from possibly 12 countries and will show that in spite of an obvious lack of uniformity, certain patterns can be discovered. Though the survey is definitely not meant to analyse and compare rules, an interesting side effect of it will be that it will also give some picture, though incomplete, of the application of rules for corporate bodies in various countries.

The results will be discussed in Jerusalem. In addition, the working group will have to seek cooperation with FRANAR, the new Working Group on Functional Requirements and Numbering for Authority Records, and discuss the terms for a successful follow-up, in order to enable a consultant to construct practical guidelines to facilitate the adequate listing of corporate names in an international authority file.

ISBD Review Group

In the ISBDs, national bibliographic agencies are requested to "prepare the definitive description containing all the mandatory elements set out in the relevant ISBD insofar as the information is applicable to the publication being described." To facilitate implementation of this principle, the ISBDs designate as "optional" those data elements which are not mandatory when applicable; in the case of particular ISBDs, see the Outline (0.3) to ascertain which data elements are optional. Therefore, the main task in reconciling the requirements of the existing ISBDs with the FRBR recommendations for the "basic level national bibliographic record" has entailed a review of the ISBD data elements which are mandatory to make optional any which are optional in FRBR. (In no case is a data element mandatory in FRBR but optional in the ISBDs.) As before, any data element not specifically qualified in the Outline as "optional" is to be considered mandatory. (In addition to changes reflected in the Outline, the text of the ISBDs will need to be edited to replace "is [or are] transcribed" with "may be given"in the case of any provision where treatment becomes optional as a result of reconciliation with FRBR.)

The ISBD Review Group has now concluded its review of the International Standard Bibliographic Description for Monographic Publications (ISBD(M)), last revised in 1987. The changes which the Review Group proposes to make in the next iteration of this standard are listed below.

ISBD(M):
International Standard Bibliographic Description
For Monographic Publications
Revised edition. 1987

CURRENT ISBD(M)	CHANGE TO
1.3 Parallel title	1.3 Parallel titles(s)(optional)1
1.4 Other title information	1.4 Other title information (optional)
1.5 Statements of responsibility First statement Subsequent statement	1.5 Statements of responsibility First statement Subsequent Statement (optional)
2.3 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition	2.3 Statements of responsibility relating to the edition (optional)
2.5 Statements of responsibility followingan additional edition statement	2.5 Statements of responsibilityfollowing an additional edition statement (optional)
5.2 Illustration statement	5.2 Illustration statement (optional)
6.2 Parallel title of series or sub-series	6.2 Parallel title(s) of series or sub-series (optional)2
6.4 Statements of responsibility relating tothe series or sub-series	6.4 Statements of responsibility relating to the series or sub-series (optional)3
8.3 Terms of availability and/or price (optional)	8.3 Terms of availability and/or price (optional)4
In the Specification of Elements section of ISBD(M)
Note area	Note area
7.1.2 Notes on the nature, scope, literary form, purpose or language of the publication	7.1.2 Notes on the nature, scope, literary form, purpose or language of the publication5
7.2 Notes on the edition area and the bibliographic history of the publication	7.2 Notes on the edition area and the bibliographic history of the publication6

Notes

¹Parallel titles should be included in the basic record to the extent that they are essential to the accurate identification of the item or are considered important to the user of the catalogue.

²Parallel titles of series should be included in the basic record to the extent that they are essential to the accurate identification of the item or are considered important to the user of the catalogue.

³Statement of responsibility for the series is considered a basic requirement only in cases where the series title alone is insufficient to identify the series.

⁴A note on source for acquisition/access authorization is considered a basic requirement only in cases where the manifestation is likely to be difficult to obtain through normal trade sources.

⁵A note is necessary only if the form of expression cannot be inferred from other elements of the description and a note on language only if the linguistic content of the expression is significant and where the language of the content cannot be inferred from other elements of the description.

⁶Notes on preceding/succeeding works, supplements, etc. are given when the relationship is such that the use or understanding of the publication described is dependent on a knowledge of the related publication. A note on the related publication is also given when the publication described contains a revision.

You are invited to submit your written comments regarding these changes to indicate your approval or your reservations by directly your comments as soon as possible to:

John D. Byrum, Jr. Chair
ISBD Review Group
Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D. C. 20540-4380
USA

If you prefer you may fax your comments to Mr. Byrum at +202-707-2824 or Email them to .

The ISBD Review Group appreciates your interest.

Library of Congress BECites+ Project

The project does so in the first instance by placing an annotated bibliography on the WWW and including: for monographic works cited in the resulting "webliography," links to their scanned tables of contents, indexes, and back-of-book bibliographies (or to as many of these elements as are present in any given work); and for journal titles, links to online indexing resources covering those journals, along with information about print indexes to these journals. In addition, links to other related online guides and Internet resources of reference value are included, as available. Finally, for each work included in the "webliography," a link to the record for that work in Library's OPAC is included.

Enhancement of the catalog records in the online catalog is accomplished by inserting links in the individual catalog records for each monographic work included in the "webliography," to its scanned table of contents, index, and back of book bibliography, as well as a link to the online "webliography" in which the work is cited. For serial titles, a link is included in the catalog record to the online "webliography" citing the journal title.

The first BECites+ guide, Business History Resources, produced in 1999, represents a revision and expansion of a print guide on the topic which originally appeared as Chapter 13 in A Guide to Finding Business Information at the Library of Congress (compiled by Richard F. Sharp. Humanities and Social Sciences Division. Library of Congress 1995). Other projects have now been launched to produce webliographies related to U. S. immigration and the presidential papers of Thomas Jefferson.

Explanation of what makes the resource imaginative or unique BECites+ guides represent a substantial departure from merely transferring a print bibliography to the Web. As illustrated by the first BECites+ guide, these guides allow the Library to exploit the linking capabilities of the WEB in the following ways:

They provide focus for and increase the depth of organized information available to researchers about a topic by providing additional information about the content of works cited in the bibliography through online access to their tables of contents, indexes and back-of-the book bibliographies.

This enhanced content information is available both to researchers who first encounter the citation through the bibliography on the Web as well as to those who come across the catalog record for one of the works cited in the "webliography" during a traditional search of the Library's OPAC.

They allow researchers who locate a catalog record for one of the titles included in the "webliography," to go directly to the full text of the guide where they can find additional annotated citations enhanced with links to tables of contents, indexes and back-of-the-book bibliographies for other related works on their topic of interest.

They permit easy linking to the full text of related library guides or pages, including those produced by other administrative units within the institution, which provide more in- depth or related information, as illustrated by the links in Business History Research to:

Selected Pre-1974 Company Annual Reports on Microfiche in the Library of Congress
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business/anrpts.html

Special Collections in the Library of Congress Relating to Business, Economic, and Labor History
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business/beschome.html

Trade Catalogs in the Library of Congress
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/main/trade.html

Selected Dun & Bradstreet Publications in the Library of Congress (in process)
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business/dunsindex.html

Program for Cooperative Cataloging Current International Developments

With NACO training in September of 1999, Trinity College Dublin joined the British Library and other British copyright depository libraries in participating in both the name (NACO) and subject (SACO) authority components of the PCC. The British Library gives every indication of continuing as the leading PCC producer of both names and subject authority records, with an expansion of authority record production among current cataloging staff and in training new hires.

The past few months have shown a heartening sign of expansion beyond institutions traditionally thought of as part of the English-speaking AACR world. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has started NACO participation with such enthusiasm that there are growing hopes for an expansion of PCC membership in Asia. Possibilities in the Middle East and Africa have resulted in the certain membership, with NACO training in July and August 2000, of 17 institutions in the Union of South Africa.

Statistics from international PCC members for fiscal year 1999 included 17,614 new name authority records and 820 new subject authority records contributed to the Library of Congress Subject Headings. International members were responsible for nearly 14 per cent of the new name authority records produced by NACO institutions, and over 41 per cent of all new subject headings. Tentative mid-year statistics for fiscal year 2000 indicate that production of name authority records will remain fairly level. Production of subject authority records, however, will profit from increased activity by participants, coupled with recent efficiencies implemented within the Library of Congress, to show a potential increase of 10 per cent. Looking back to 1992, the international PCC partners have created 55,000 name authorities and updated more than 18,000 such records; additionally, they have created 3,500 new subject headings and updated more than 500 existing subject headings.

Section on Cataloguing, Members of the Standing Committee

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