Please Choose One
What's New | Conferences | Newsletters | Useful Websites | Search | Home


OLAC NEWSLETTER
Volume 20, Number 4
December, 2000




TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR

FROM THE PRESIDENT

TREASURER'S REPORT

OLAC MEETING MINUTES
CATALOGING POLICY COMMITTEE (CAPC)
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
OLAC MILLENNIUM COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT

CONFERENCE REPORTS
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT REPORT
M2=C2E
FUTURE OF LIBRARIES AND CATALOGING IN A NETWORKED MULTIMEDIA PUBLICATION ENVIRONMENT
COMPUTER FILES CATALOGING WORKSHOP
CORC (COOPERATIVE ONLINE RESOURCES CATALOG)
CATALOGING INTERNET RESOURCES
MAP CATALOGING WORKSHOP
MUSIC SCORE CATALOGING BASICS
WORKSHOP ON CATALOGING REALIA
SACO WORKSHOP
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING OF SOUND RECORDINGS
VIDEORECORDINGS WORKSHOP
POSTER SESSIONS
OLAC NACO FUNNEL NEWS
MEETING FOR OUTREACH/ADVOCACY
MUSIC OCLC USERS GROUP
ALCTS MEDIA RESOURCES COMMITTEE
NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALL FOR OLAC LOGO COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS
NANCY OLSON'S AV CATALOGING WORKSHOPS
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW



FROM THE EDITOR
Kay G. Johnson

 This issue of the OLAC Newsletter features the reports from the recent OLAC/MOUG conference in Seattle. The reports should be particularly interesting to those of you who were unable to attend this outstanding conference. You will also want to see Nancy Olson's column for the Q&A asked at the conference.

The OLAC Millennium Final Report is included in this issue. The membership voted strongly in favor of the committee's recommendations to change the OLAC Purposes and Objectives and logo. You maybe relieved to learn that the OLAC name has not changed, but a descriptive phrase will be added below the name. The descriptive phrase is meant to briefly explain OLAC's mission without detracting from the name. It is intended that the phrase may change in the future if it proves inadequate or confusing or OLAC's mission changes. For that matter, it is hoped that OLAC's Purposes and Objectives, name and logo will be continually examined (perhaps every 20 years?) in light of future cataloging trends.

One result of the Millennium Committee efforts is the need for a new logo. A committee will be formed to provide a new logo. If you want to volunteer, see p. 48 for details. Don't worry; you don't need to know how to draw. The committee will need t0 come up with a method of finding or creating a new logo, perhaps by reaching out to the membership or others.

Ian Fairciough's Outreach/Advocacy efforts are off to a strong start. The group that met at the OLAC/MOUG conference suggested outreach to under-represented groups and creating a new brochure for OLAC. Ian welcomes all of your suggestions. See p. 42 for his article and e-mail contact information.

It is with regret and relief that I announce my resignation as newsletter editor beginning in 2002. I have chosen to resign after a year in order to complete publication of the membership directory and the cumulative newsletter index. Also, I hope to create a smooth transition and assist my successor in any way possible. I won't say, "Goodbye," yet, and am happy to continue working with the fantastic contributors to this newsletter. A call for the new editor will appear in the March issue of the OLAC Newsletter.


**CONTRIBUTIONS DEADLINE FOR MARCH ISSUE IS FEB. 15, 2001**

Return to Table of Contents



FROM THE PRESIDENT
Lowell Ashley

The OLAC/MOUG 2000 Conference, held October 12-15 in Seattle, Washington, was a resounding success with 231 attendees from all over the U.S., Canada, and abroad. I offer a very hearty thanks to all of the speakers (Martha Yee, Sherry Vellucci, and Sheila Intner) and to the workshop presenters for their participation. Were it not for their generosity and dedication to cataloging, we could never continue to produce such an outstanding program of scholarship, opinion, and expert instruction at a cost that is indeed remarkably low, compared to many other conferences and workshops in the field of librarianship. Our hats are off to Conference Program Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee, both under the leadership of Cathy Gerhart, for their outstanding work and management of this conference, OLAC's ninth, held jointly for the third time with the Music OCLC Users Group. Reports of the conference sessions and workshops appear elsewhere in this issue, and I urge you to read them. Those of us who attended will refresh their recollections of this valuable program, and others can benefit from the rich offerings as well, through the work our diligent reporters. I especially hope those who have never been present at an OLAC conference will see what a stimulating and useful experience it is to attend.

Among the 231 conference attendees were about 130 first-timers, and over half were members of neither OLAC or MOUG. I have no doubt that many of them are now favorably disposed to join our organizations, if they have not already done so, and we extend a warm welcome the new OLAC members. It is not surprising that we had a good showing from Canada (I counted eleven), since Seattle is so close by, but there were three attendees who came quite a long distance:
two from Singapore and one from Hong Kong. It is probably true that there is not very much help for AV catalogers outside Anglo-American cataloging circles, and Ian Fairclough, our Outreach Advocacy Coordinator, will be exploring ways to better publicize the OLAC agenda and service to catalogers in the international arena.

It was a pleasure to welcome our third OLAC conference scholarship winner, Alice Mitchell of Appalachian State University Libraries in Boone, North Carolina. Our congratulations to Alice. She was selected from a pool of ten applicants, the largest number we have ever received for the award.

Special thanks are in order for our NACO-AV Funnel Coordinator, Ann Caldwell. Assisted by David Prochazka, Ann conducted another NACO training session at the OLAC/MOUG 2000 Conference, adding ten more fully trained participants to the NACO-AV Funnel Project, now the second most active of all of the NACO funnel projects. David has been appointed as the new Assistant NACO AV Funnel Coordinator, and he will be working closely with Ann to consult with participants, review contributions, and provide other necessary support for this major cooperative effort. OLAC and CAPC can take great pride in our sponsorship of this project, which began contributing records to the national authority file in 1996; but in the end, our gratitude must go to the individuals who make it happen, most of all to Ann Caldwell. Her library, Brown University Library, and its administration also deserve our thanks and recognition for their willingness to provide an extra measure of support for cooperative cataloging initiatives.

The excellence and clear vision of the OLAC Millennium Committee were again confirmed by the overwhelming support of the membership for its recommendations. We had a good return of the ballots that were sent out in August, and all of the proposals passed with a large majority. We will be moving to implement the approved change in the OLAC logo by forming a committee to solicit and evaluate proposals for a new logo.

As this is the last issue of the OLAC Newsletter for 2000, I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous new year, and I look forward to seeing you at our midwinter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, January 13, 2001.

Return to Table of Contents



TREASURER'S REPORT
First Quarter
Through September 30, 2000
Jan Mayo, Treasurer

          1st Quarter         Year-To-Date
OPENING BALANCE           $12,793.71
 
INCOME  
      Memberships $737.50 $737.50
      Dividends $156.70 $156.70
      TOTAL $894.20 $894.20
 
EXPENSES 
      Board Dinner $171.89 $171.89
      Conference Scholarship $337.00 $337.00
      Stipends $1,050.00 $1,050.00
      Account Fees
            Check fee $2.70 $2.70
           Annual fee $80.00 $80.00
      Postage & Printing $1,704.28 $1,704.28
      TOTAL $2,834.26$10,757.44
 
CLOSING BALANCE  $10,342.04


MEMBERSHIP FOR 2000:
      Personal: 407
      Institutional: 269
Total: 676


Return to Table of Contents



ONLINE AUDIOVISUAL CATALOGERS
CATALOGING POLICY COMMITTEE (CAPC)
OLAC CONFERENCE

Seattle, Washington
October 15, 2000

Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 A.M. by Meredith Horan, CAPC Chair. Members present included: Meredith Horan, Sheryl Holmes, John Felbinger, and Robert Freeborn (intern). Members Greta DeGroat, John DeSantis, David Reynolds and Iris Wolley, and intern Shelley Zhang were unable to attend.

  1. There were about 20 guests. Members and guests introduced themselves.

  2. Approval of minutes of the CAPC meeting of July 7, 2000, was deferred until ALA Midwinter, since the September issue of the newsletter has not yet been published.

  3. Introduction to CAPC (M. Horan)

    Chair Meredith Horan gave an introduction to the CAPC mission and activities. CAPC was founded in 1984 with Verna Urbanski the first Chair. CAPC represents the concerns of AV catalogers in matters relating to the formation and interpretation of national and international cataloging standards and related matters. CAPC has seven voting members, interns, and liaisons to MARBI and CC:DA. It meets in conjunction with ALA Annual and Midwinter conferences, on Friday evening. Volunteers to serve as members and project ideas are welcome.

  4. Subcommittee on Authority Tools (D. Proch~zka)

    Subcommittee Co-Chair David Proch~.zka reported that the bibliography will initially contain about 50 entries. It should be ready to present to CAPC for review by the end of this year. The bibliography will be an ongoing work, including both print and electronic resources, covering both AV-specific resources and music, It will exclude other subject-specific resources. Entries will be annotated to show what each resource is useful for. Each entry will include a standard way to cite the resource; Ann Caldwell will be putting these citations together. Copies of a written report by Co-Chair Iris Wolley are available on the OLAC web site.

  5. Subcommittee on Source of Title Notes for Internet Resources (M. Horan for M. Barrett)

    In about a month, CAPC members should expect to receive the report of this subcommittee for final comments, to make confirmation at ALA Midwinter.

  6. NACO funnel training (M. Horan for A. Caldwell)

    Meredith summarized Ann Caldwell's report that was presented at the Business meeting on Saturday Ten people participated in NACO authority training on October 12. Meredith expressed appreciation for the work Ann does in the AV Funnel Project and doing the training each year. David Proch~zka assisted Ann on Funnel training for the first time this year; the training went very well.

  7. Use of uniform titles for videos (M. Horan for G. DeGroat)

    Greta DeGroat is working on a discussion paper to be presented at the
    CAPC meeting at ALA Midwinter. Work on this subject is also going on
    through the PCC Policy Committee, so some coordination will be needed.
    Meredith will ask Greta to have her report ready for CAPC discussion at
    ALA Midwinter.

  8. Discussion of CAPC and future CAPC projects (M. Horan)

    A suggestion was made from the floor to have volunteers with expertise willing to answer cataloging questions via the OLAC web site. The OLAC listserv is currently used for this function; other suggestions were to consult back issues of the OLAC Newsletter on the web site (especially N. Olson's column), have N. Olson's books brought up to date, create a primer for new people or write training guides. Another suggestion from the floor was to have a help line that people could call for cataloging help.

    Meredith suggested ways to make CAPC more visible: Expand the information about CAPC on the web site, andlor create a CAPC brochure. Anyone interested in working with Meredith on publicity for CAPC should contact her.

    Sheryl Holmes suggested that CAPC discussions would be more fruitful if agenda items and references to relevant sections of cataloging rules etc. were made available ahead of time for study Meredith agreed to this, and offered to open discussions to others beyond the seven voting members of CAPC, although only the seven members could vote on issues.

    Meredith suggested a project on DVD cataloging, producing a primer or guidebook, and asked for volunteers to work on it. Martha Yee mentioned that coding for DVDs has not been finalized, and the vocabulary is not stabilized yet. OLAC might influence current policy about DVD cataloging. Robert Freeborn and Martha Yee volunteered to share information on DVDs.

    A thesaurus of MARC field 690 terms was suggested, to be used for hooks to holdings for Internet resources. Martha Yee said that this idea could be broadened to include other formats such as film, defining color processes, wide-screen processes, etc. We have never had good access to genre/form vocabularies. Such a thesaurus would probably be widely used. NLM~ MESH might be useful as a pattern for the structure of this thesaurus.

    At this point Meredith dismissed the guests with thanks for their attendance, and asked a smaller group of interested people to remain and discuss the project proposals in further depth.

    Meredith suggested that the DVD primer should have two parts: definitions/terminology, and a procedures manual. Showing how to use multiple chapters of AACR2 would be useful. This could start out small, and be an ongoing resource on the Web. Meredith asked those with an interest in a DVD guide to send her whatever information they have; she will collect it and present it at ALA Midwinter. Then CAPC will decide if this is something they want to pursue or not.

    Laurel Jizba discussed the importance of summary notes (520). Creating these is abstracting; old standards from LC are all the cataloging community has to work with. Meredith asked for submissions of information on summary guidelines or abstracting, to be collected and presented at ALA Midwinter.

    The final project discussed was subject/genre terms for electronic resources: creating a structured vocabulary with physical genre terms subdivided by subject disciplines. These have no national standards. They could be placed in a 690 or other locally-defined field. This type of access is often requested by library users. Looking at LCSH and ISBD-ER would be a good starting point. This will be discussed further at Midwinter.

The meeting adjourned at 9:18 A.M.

Respectfully submitted,


Nancy Holcomb
OLAC Secretary

Return to Table of Contents



ONLINE AUDIOVISUAL CATALOGERS
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
OLAC/MOUG 2000 CONFERENCE

Seattle, Washington
October 12, 2000

Minutes

  1. Call to Order, Introductions, Announcements (L. Ashley)

    President Lowell Ashley called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. Board members present included: Lowell Ashley (President), Kevin Furniss (Vice President/President elect),Jan Mayo (Treasurer), Meredith Horan (CAPC Chair), KayJohnson (Newsletter Editor), and Nancy Holcomb (Secretary). Past President Mike Esman was unable to attend. Guests included Sue Neumeister (Webmaster), Rebecca Lubas (Scholarship Committee member), Ian Fairciough (Outreach-Advocacy Coordinator), Cathy Gerhart (OLAC/MOUG 2000 Conference Chair), and Mark Scharff (MOUG)

    Kay Johnson has submitted her resignation as OLAC Newsletter Editor, effective after the December 2001 issue. The President thanked Kay for her service as the Editor for the past several years.

  2. Secretary's Report (N. Holcomb)

    The minutes from ALA Annual were not approved formally because the September issue of the newsletter has not yet been sent out. They will be approved at Midwinter.

    Meredith Horan raised the issue of including with the minutes a list of the people attending the meeting. This was done in the early days of OLAC, for the membership and CAPC meetings. The Board will consider reinstituting this practice in terms of cost/benefit and discuss it at Midwinter.

  3. Treasurer's Report (J. Mayo)

    Closing balance at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2000 was $12,793.71. The final count for OLAC membership as of 2000 is 676. The fourth quarter report is in the September issue of the newsletter. First quarter report of 2001 is elsewhere in this issue.

  4. Newsletter Editor's Report (K. Johnson)

    The September newsletter was delayed due to technical problems. The deadline for the December newsletter is November 15.

    Kay proposes some additions to the OLAC Handbook dealing with the OLAC calendar and newsletter-related matters. She passed out paper copies that the Board will discuss later via e-mail and wrap up at ALA Midwinter.

  5. OLAC Millennium Committee Recommendations (K. Johnson)

    There were over 83% yes votes for each of the five sections on the ballot. There were 166 responses out of 387 ballots. The ballot was required for sections 1 through 3 because the Handbook specifies a membership vote for proposed changes to the Bylaws. Sections 4 and 5 on the addition of the descriptive phrase to OLAC's name, and on changing the logo, were included on the ballot to assess the membership's wishes on these issues.

    One respondent requested switching "Internet" and "AV media" in the descriptive phrase after the OLAC name. After discussion the board decided to keep the phrase, "The Internet and AV Media Catalogers Network."

    A full report of the Millennium Committee's activities is elsewhere in this issue.

  6. Scholarship Committee Report (R. Lubas)

    There were 10 applicants for the OLAC Scholarship this year, all of them strong. The Committee had to do two rounds of choosing candidates before they determined a clear favorite. Alice Mitchell from Appalachian State University was this year's scholarship winner.

    The board discussed the possibility of spelling out more clearly in the Scholarship announcement how and when the award would be made, but came to no consensus.

  7. OLAC Outreach-Advocacy Coordinator (I. Fairclough)

    Ian gave some additions to the report he had submitted via e-mail and in print. An updated version appears elsewhere in this issue.

    Kevin Furniss mentioned the importance of having a centralized fundraising arm for conferences, including records of who has been contacted in various places, forms, etc. Fundraising needs to be a coordinated effort. In answer to a question, Ian said that the Outreach-Advocacy meeting to be held Saturday afternoon will be used to get feedback from attendees as to specific objectives and volunteers to take care of various responsibilities.

    Ian discussed the Washington Library Media Association (WMLA) and his work in making contact with school librarians. He suggested that we recruit among school librarians in th~ state where the next OLAC conference is held, for conference attendance. He described the curriculum materials used by teachers, and explained the difficulty of cataloging them; some are done as kits, some as books with accompanying material, etc. A workshop on cataloging curriculum materials would be useful if school media librarians attend the next OLAC Conference.

    President Ashley thanked Ian for the work he has done.

  8. OLAC/MOUG 2000 Conference Report (C. Gerhart)

    There are 231 people registered for the Conference. About 130 are first timers. About 30 registrants are MOUG members and 80 are OLAC members, so there are many who are not members of either organization yet. The conference has gone over budget on photocopying for the presenters. The division of conference expenses between OLAC and MOUG has not been decided yet; the two boards will work this out. A question and answer session will be held Sunday morning just before Sheila Intner's closing remarks. Handouts and presentations by as many workshop facilitators as possible will be placed on the OLAC Web site. Sue Neumeister and Kathleen Forsythe will work out details of this.

    Possible venues for the next OLAC Conference were discussed. Cathy will announce that a place for the 2002 conference is needed.

  9. New business:

    1. OLAC membership category for a "contributing member" (L. Ashley)

      Lowell Ashley asked the Board to consider establishing a new membership category for "contributing member" with the fee set higher than the regular membership dues. He will look into possible tax issues, and the Board will discuss further at Midwinter. Nancy Holcomb asked about the possibility of raising the dues since they are low compared to similar organizations. Kevin Furniss recommended assessing the dues structure every few years. Lowell mentioned that we have very few foreign personal members. Lack of publicity was cited as a possible reason for this. The Board asked Ian Fairclough to begin to publicize OLAC in English-speaking countries.

    2. OLAC Web site (L. Ashley; S. Neumeister)

      Lowell Ashley asked if it were possible to generate use statistics for the various documents on the OLAC Web site. Sue Neumeister will check into the possibility of a counter that could run a monthly count of hits and from what places (e.g. international) these hits come.

      Is there an interest in OLAC getting a domain name? Kevin Furniss volunteered to look into the possibility of registering a domain name for OLAC.

    3. Amend Bylaws (Art. VIII, Sec. 3) to allow Executive Board members to vote on board questions by e-mail (L. Ashley)

      The third sentence in Article VIII Section 3 currently reads, "Decisions regarding affairs of the organization may be determined by a majority of the Board of Trustees (Executive Board) by mail ballot or conference call which is documented in the minutes of the next regular meeting." The Board approved inserting "e-mail" as another means to vote, so the sentence will read as follows: "Decisions regarding affairs of the organization may be determined by a majority of the Board of Trustees (Executive Board) by e-mail, mail ballot, or conference call which is documented in the minutes of the next regular meeting."

      This change will be voted on by the membership. It will be included with the elections ballot in February or March 2001.

    4. Amend Handbook to allow appointment of editor for bibliography of AV authority tools (M. Horan)

      CAPC Chair Meredith Horan proposed adding the following sentence to the Handbook section on Cataloging Policy Committee (CAPC), I. Qualifications for serving on CAPC: "Each January the CAPC Chair shall appoint an editor for the bibliography of AV authority tools." The board approved adding this sentence in a separate paragraph before the last paragraph of that section.

  10. Online OLAC Membership Directory (S. Neumeister)

    Sue Neumeister distributed print samples of directory pages. Jan Mayo keeps the OLAC membership directory in a MSAccess database. Lowell Ashley mentioned that software called ColdFusion can generate Web pages from MSAccess. Once set up, it would be relatively easy to maintain.

    This directory needs to be password protected. Sue Neumeister has set this up at her institution, but the problem is getting the password distributed to only OLAC members. One~~possibility is to limit the OLAC List to members only, and distribute the ~piassword for the Directory via the discussion list. Another possibility would be to design it so each member sets up a personal password.

    Ian Fairclough and Sue Neumeister will work on creating messages to send to the OLAC List and Autocat, introducing OLAC and inviting people to become members.

  11. Closed session to discuss committee appointments (L. Ashley)

    The board discussed appointments to the Elections Committee and the Awards Committee during a closed session.

    Kay Johnson said that a committee needs to be appointed, probably at Midwinter, to look at the OLAC logo. She will announce this in the next newsletter.

  12. Adjournment

    The meeting adjourned at 10:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,


Nancy Holcomb, OLAC Secretary

Return to Table of Contents



ONLINE AUDIOVISUAL CATALOGERS
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
OLAC/MOUG 2000 CONFERENCE

Seattle, Washington
October 14, 2000

Minutes

  1. Call to Order, Introductions, Announcements (L. Ashley)

    President Lowell Ashley called the meeting to order at 3:47 PM. Current OLAC Board members present were Lowell Ashley (President), Kevin Furniss (Vice President/President elect), Jan Mayo (Treasurer), Meredith Horan (CAPC Chair), Kay Johnson (Newsletter Editor), and Nancy Holcomb (Secretary). Past President Mike Esman was unable to attend. There were 40 guests. Board members and guests introduced themselves. Lowell Ashley welcomed guests and invited them to consider becoming members of OLAC, if they are not.

    Resignation: Kay Johnson, OLAC Newsletter Editor, has submitted her resignation effective after publication of the December 2001 newsletter. We will be looking for a new editor for the newsletter during the next year.

    Nominations for the Nancy B. Olson Award are due by November 15, to be sent to the Chair of the Awards Committee, Mike Esman.

    Ann Caldwell, Coordinator of PCC's NACO AV Funnel Project, announced the successful training of 10 people in constructing authority headings on Thursday, October 12. The NACO AV Funnel Project is the second largest of the funnel projects; the Music Funnel Project is the largest. David Prochazka assisted with the training and will be helping with authority record revision.

  2. Secretary's Report (N. Holcomb)

    Approval of minutes from the Membership Meeting at ALA Annual in Chicago was deferred until Midwihter, because the Newsletter has not been received yet by the membership.

  3. Treasurer's Report (J. Mayo)

    The fourth quarter report of the last fiscal year is in the September Newsletter. The first quarter report for this fiscal year, which is through September 30, shows a balance of $10,342.04. Total membership for 2000 is 676. See first quarter 2001 report elsewhere in this issue.

  4. Newsletter Editor's Report (K. Johnson)

    The September Newsletter is currently at the printer's and should be received by the membership within a month. The deadline for contributions for the December Newsletter is November 15. OLAC/MOUG conference reports are due November 1. They should be sent to Mary Konkel.

    The cumulative index for Newsletter volumes 1-20 is due to be published next spring. A new membership directory will also be published before next spring.

  5. Committee Reports

    1. Cataloging Policy Committee (CAPC) (M. Horan)

      Meredith Horan thanked her predecessor Cathy Gerhart who chaired CAPC as well as chairing this conference committee. She announced that there will be some vacancies on CAPC and that she will be recruiting for members. She also gave a brief history of CAPC and announced the CAPC meeting Sunday morning. David ProchAzka, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Authority Tools, will be the first editor of the bibliography on authority tools, from now through 2001. An editor will be appointed annually thereafter. The Subcommittee on Source of Title Notes for Internet Resources, chaired by Marcia Barrett, will send a report to CAPC in another month, to be discussed at ALA Midwinter. Greta DeGroat will present a discussion paper on uniform titles for videos at Midwinter.

    2. 2000 OLAC/MOUG Conference (C. Gerhart)

      231 people attended the conference. About 80 are OLAC members, 30 are from MOUG, and the rest are not members of either group. About 130 are first-timers. This is the third joint conference with MOUG. Cathy Gerhart was applauded for her work on the conference.

    3. OLAC Millennium Committee (K. Johnson)

      This Committee has been studying the name, logo and purposes and objectives of OLAC since early 1998. A full report and results of the vote appear elsewhere in this newsletter. All of the work of this committee (research, survey) was done via e-mail. Kay thanked committee members Bobby Ferguson (Co-Chair), Judy Gummere, Rebecca Lubas, Scott Markham, Howard Pitts, Sheila Smyth , Robert Freeborn, and Barbara Tysinger. The President thanked the Committee for their work.

  6. Reports from Liaisons, Utilities, Library of Congress

    1. ALCTS Media Resources Committee (L. Ashley for W SuKantarat)

      Lowell Ashley reported on the Media Resources Committee. His report is printed elsewhere in this issue.

    2. AMIA (L. Ashley for Amy Wood)

      [Ed. note: If substantial, written report will be in next newsletter.]

    3. MOUG (L. Ashley for W. Sistrunk)

      See separate written report elsewhere in this issue.

    4. OCLC (J. Weitz)

      Jay Weitz had provided a written report for each conference attendee. He elaborated on some current items. Keyword searching changes went into effect last weekend. Many of the keyword indexes have been expanded with quite a few new indexes. The most important one of these for the AV and music communities is the indexing of the 024 field in a new Standard Number Index, giving direct access to Universal Product Codes, International Standard Music Numbers, International Standard Recording Numbers, and others. Full details about keyword searching can be found in Technical Bulletin 235 on the OCLC web site.

      Changes to WorldCat validation rules will be implemented soon. [These have since been installed.] One important change is the invalidation of multiple surname first indicator "2" in XOO fields. This indicator was made obsolete in MARC 21.

      Pinyin conversion has been going on since October 1. The entire LC authority file of Chinese headings has been converted from WadeGiles transliteration into Pinyin transliteration. Conversion of bibliographic records will begin within the next few weeks, starting with the most recent records and working back to zero.

      Technical Bulletin 239 in June 2000 announced that there is now the ability both to add new 856 fields to records without an 856 and to edit existing 856 fields. See the Bulletin for further details.

    5. LC (L. Ashley for N. Hendrickson)

      Lowell Ashley reported for the Library of Congress Liaison, Norma Hendrickson, on changes to MARC Distribution Services (MDS) practice regarding the distribution of records for electronic resources. Electronic resources are now coded in Type of Record (Leader/06) for the significant content, not based on carrier alone, according to the redefinition of "computer file" in Type of Record in July 1997. Beginning October 15, 2000, bibliographic records for monographic electronic resources will be distributed to MDS subscribers based on the Type of Record value, which reflects the nature of the content of the electronic resource. Thus, an efe~tronic resource that contains non-manuscript monographic textual content that is coded Type of Record "a" for "Language material" will be distributed with the MDSBooks service, containing LC's MARC database for book cataloging, not with the MDS-Computer Files service as before. For a full description of these changes see the "MDS Technical Notice," dated Sept. 25, 2000 (http://lcweb.loc.gov/cds/tfmds.html).

  7. New Business

    Kay Johnson introduced Alice Mitchell, winner of the OLAC Conference Scholarship. Her application was chosen from a field of 10 applicants. Rebecca Lubas, a member of the Scholarship Committee, said that this was the largest number of applicants ever. Alice expressed appreciation for the opportunity to attend the Conference.

  8. Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,


Nancy Holcomb, OLAC Secretary

Return to Table of Contents



OLAC MILLENNIUM COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT
Submitted by:
Robert Freeborn, Judy Gummere, Kay Johnson (co-chair), Rebecca Lubas, Scott Markham and Barbara Tysinger

Background and Charge of the Committee
The committee was formed by the OLAC Board at their meeting in June 1998. A call for volunteers was announced, and then President, Virginia Berringer, chose the committee members from the pool of applicants. The charge of the OLAC Millennium Committee as written in the September 1998 issue of the OLAC Newsletter is as follows: A committee should be formed immediately to examine OLAC's mission statement, goals, name, and logo. The committee will research the literature and trends in cataloging audiovisual resources and poll the OLAC membership. The committee's results will be unveiled at the OLAC Conference in the year 2000 where we will celebrate the upcoming new millennium and the 20th year of OLAC's existence.

The committee broke into pairs to search the literature about recent trends in AV cataloging and AV cataloging organizations. A membership survey was sent in late 1999. The final report based on the survey results and research was submitted to the Board at the recent ALA Conference in Chicago. The recommendations were revised slightly under the Board's guidance and released as a ballot to the membership in August 2000. The results of the ballot were announced at the OLAC Membership Meeting held in Seattle, October 2000.

Millennium Committee Recommendations
  1. Purposes and Objectives

    Current OLAC Purposes and Objectives:

    Section 1.       To establish and maintain a group that can speak for catalogers of audiovisual materials.
    Section 2. To provide a means for exchange of information about the cataloging of a audiovisual materials.
    Section 3. To provide a means of continuing education for catalogers of audiovisual materials.
    Section 4. To provide a means of communications among catalogers of audiovisual materials.
    Section 5. To work toward common understanding of audiovisual cataloging practices and standards.
    Section 6. To provide a means of communication with the Library of Congress.
    Section 7. To maintain a voice with the bibliographic utilities that speak for catalogers of audiovisual materials.
    Proposed Changes:

    Recommendations: Change sections 1 and 5 and combine sections 6 and 7. Proposed changes are in bold.

    Section 1.       To establish and maintain a group that can speak for catalogers of audiovisual materials. Audiovisual materials include, but are not limited to, sound and video recordings, electronic resources, three-dimensional artifacts and realia, kits, and graphic and cartographic materials.
    Section 5. To work toward common understanding of audiovisual cataloging practices and standards. These practices and standards can include, but are not limited to, ISBD, AACR, MARC and Dublin Core.
    Section 6. To provide a means of communication and advocacy with the Library of Congress, bibliographic utilities and other organizations.
    Section 7. [Deleted; information combined with Section 6.]

    Rationale:
    The membership stressed the importance of OLAC for education, networking, standards/rule interpretation and as an organization that can work with other cataloging groups to promote the interests of AV catalogers. There was no strong opinion to change the Purposes and Objectives, but there were concerns, particularly among the newer members, that OLAC's role in electronic resource cataloging is vague. The Millennium Committee's recommended changes to the Purposes and Objectives clarify the types of formats (section 1) and description practices and standards (section 5) of interest to OLAC. Section 6 was expanded because OLAC communicates with other library organizations, notably ALA and MOUG. Section 7 was deleted because it was found to be redundant with the expansion of section 6.

  2. Name
    Recommendation: Keep the OLAC name, but add a descriptive phrase to the name to be used prominently on publications and letterhead:
    Online Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc. (OLAC)
    The Internet and AV Media Catalogers Network
    Rationale:
    The survey results showed that 18 members felt the OLAC name accurately reflects its present and future missions, 9 disagree and want to change the name, 9 were neutral or undecided, and 6 did not respond. Research of other organizations showed "media" and "audiovisual" were used interchangeably "Nonprint" is used less frequently The membership and Millennium Committee see name-recognition value in continuing the OLAC name. There were concerns from both recent and long-time members that the OLAC name is somewhat vague and does not incorporate electronic resources. The addition of a descriptive phrase was suggested by a long-time member. The committee agreed the addition of a descriptive phrase on official publications would clarify and promote the purpose of OLAC.

  3. Logo
    Recommendation: Keep present logo temporarily but drop film reel in favor of a capital "0." A committee will be formed to come up with a new logo.

    Rationale:
    The survey responses were split between keeping the present logo and changing it to something else. The film reel proved to be the primary point of contention, with several arguing that the reel is too old a format to adequately represent OLAC's broad interests. One new member pointed out that she thought the organization's mission was limited to traditional audiovisual media based on seeing the name and logo on her supervisor's OLAC Newsletter issues. Once she began reading the issues, she realized the full value of OLAC and became a member. In studying the logos of other audiovisual organizations, the Millennium Committee was not impressed with any format graphical images. The recommendation to replace the film reel with a capital "0" maintains recognition value while not promoting one format over any other. The Executive Board supported a change in OLAC logo, and the currently proposed change is viewed as an interim measure toward the adoption of a new logo.

Ballot Results
  1. Purposes and Objectives, Section 1 Changes:
    YES      162       (97.6%)
    NO           4         (2.4%)
  2. Purposes and Objectives, Section 5 Changes:
    YES       155       (93.4%)
    NO         11         (6.6%)
  3. Purposes and Objectives, Combined Sections 6 & 7
    YES       164       (98.8%)
    NO           2         (1.2%)
  4. OLAC Name Descriptive Phrase
    YES       138       (83.1%)
    NO         27         (16.3%)
    (one abstention       (.6%))
  5. OLAC Logo Change
    YES       152       (91.6%)
    NO        13           (7.8%)
    (one abstention       (.6%))
There were 166 responses (43%) out of 387 ballots sent. Each measure passed well within the requirements of a two-thirds positive vote of the responding membership.

Next Steps

Changes will be effective in 2001. A committee will be formed to establish a new OLAC logo. See p. 48 of this newsletter for the call for volunteers.

The Millennium Committee thanks the membership and executive board for your interest and participation in examining OLAC's purposes and objectives, name and logo. The survey results provided essential information for the committee's final recommendations. The committee is very pleased with the high response rate to the ballot.

Return to Table of Contents



CONFERENCE REPORTS
Mary Konkel, University of Akron
Column Editor

** REPORTS FROM THE **

2000 OLAC/MOUG CONFERENCE
Seattle, Washington


OLAC/MOUG 2000
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT REPORT TO THE OLAC BOARD
Alice Mitchell
Appalachian State University

The OLAC Conference Scholarship enabled me to go to a city I have never seen and to interact with more peers than I have ever encountered before. As a new librarian and cataloger, I often feel that I am alone in my confusion about the complicated world of cataloging. At the conference, I met many other new catalogers as well as the seasoned professionals who shared their experience and expertise. I have gained a new respect for my profession as well as for myself as a member of that profession.

The conference provided much more than an opportunity to interact socially with other catalogers. The workshops I attended were excellent. The Realia Workshop with Nancy Olson was very helpful. At my library, I seem to end up cataloging all of the realia that comes in. In fact, if I see a piece of realia, I usually beg to catalog it. Ms. Olson gave so much advice in two hours that I feel I can handle anything that comes in. She stressed that the most important aspect of cataloging realia, or any materials for that matter, is providing patron access. If we sit in our offices and lament and worry over every little detail of an item, patron access is compromised. We have to do the best we can and get the material out to the patrons. Ms. Olson's advice is the most important thing I learned at the OLAC conference. In the few weeks that have passed since I was given this sage advice, I have become more productive in my cataloging. I am sure that Ms. Olson's advice about cataloging realia will prove beneficial the next time I have to catalog a weather station, a puppet, a human model, or whatever unique item arrives at my office door.

I also benefited greatly from Jay Weitz's Videorecordings Workshop. Due to a resignation, I have inherited the video backlog at my library. I have been cataloging videos for 6 months, so Mr. Weitz's advice was of utmost interest to me. I was pleased to learn how to catalog DVDs and also to hone my skills as a video cataloger. Serendipitously Mr. Weitz echoed Nancy Olson's advice to do the best we can and get the item out to the patrons. To receive such advice from two such luminaries of the cataloging profession makes it good advice indeed. I must also thank Mr. Weitz for my increase in productivity.

I attended Amy Weiss's Computer File Workshop. I have the benefit of working alongside Ms. Weiss at Belk Library, so I had seen the dry run of the workshop at home. I was very pleased to see the same presentation with other catalogers. Their questions and Ms. Weiss's insightful answers provided new knowledge about computer file cataloging. It was also helpful to me to see someone I know interact professionally with other librarians.

I enjoyed attending the keynote speeches and learning of the new trends in the cataloging world. I also enjoyed the luncheon during which I met librarians from all over the country. The poster sessions also allowed me to interact with and learn from librarians from many different areas of the country and from different types of libraries.

The experience of seeing Seattle also benefited me greatly. I am from a small town in the North Carolina Mountains and I do not often get the chance to visit a city that is not on the Eastern Seaboard. I enjoyed visiting Seattle landmarks and drinking several gallons of coffee in Seattle coffeehouses. All told, the OLAC Conference Scholarship was one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I know I will appreciate the insights I have gained for years to come.

Return to Table of Contents



M2 = C2E
(MUSIC METADATA = CREATIVE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT):
FORMULA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY)
Dr. Sherry Vellucci
St. John's University

Report by Sue Weiland
Ball State University

Sherry Vellucci spoke on the integration of science and the arts, especially music, and how changes in technology redefine what the library is and what role it plays. She first traced the evolution of the library. It began with physical, owned resources and a paper catalog, where the responsibilities of the library were clear and each functioned independently. With the advent of automation, cataloging became shared and we all saw each other's records. With integrated library systems, we lost some local control of collocation and display issues, but the library still consisted of physical resources and its role did not change appreciably. Now we are moving toward digital resources and digital libraries, where location is not a factor, the catalog accesses resources not owned, and there are other lists of electronic resources not reflected in the catalog. In academia, music departments are creating digital study materials. There is a blurring of boundaries. Where does the library begin and end? What is its function?

Libraries first tried to deal with the new digital environment by continuing in the automated mode-the InterCat project is an example-but the effort proved futile. New organizational concepts and structures for information providers and information itself were needed. Metadata is a step in that direction. Vellucci pointed out, however, that both the MARC record and the Dublin Core data set have inherent limitations in describing complex situations. She suggests that new system architectures may be needed to solve these problems.

Vellucci next described the "indecs" (interoperability of data in e-commerce) principles. People and companies involved with intellectual property rights and e-commerce need many of the same things libraries do, and the "indecs" principles define them: unique identification, complexity of relationships, and the need to have interoperability among all the different metadata schemes.

Vellucci closed with a brief description of two digital music libraries, the Variations project at Indiana University and the Multimedia Library at IRCAM in Paris. She also listed areas in music information retrieval that are in need of further research.

Sherry Vellucci's PowerPoint Presentation

Return to Table of Contents



THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES AND CATALOGING IN A NETWORKED MULTIMEDIA PUBLICATION ENVIRONMENT: SOME SPECULATIONS
Martha Yee
Cataloger, UCLA Film and Television Archive

Report by Karen Benko
Williams College

In her excellent keynote speech, Martha Yee set out to answer the question, "What might the future of libraries, and therefore of catalogs, be if all information is eventually distributed through networking?" The following is my attempt to summarize her many fascinating answers.

The Internet could be a party to which no one came. Content providers are nervous about piracy and with good reason. Prices could be so high that the market will be very small. For end-users, the Internet can be difficult to use. This problem is due to a total lack of cataloging. It could turn out that computers are not really common enough to allow the distribution of information through exclusively digital means. According to 1997 census information, only 36% of households have computers, and not all of those have Internet connections. The work of installing and maintaining Internet connections is a barrier to ubiquity that television, for instance, did not offer. The Internet also suffers from a lack of standards and from difficulty establishing authenticity and preserving materials.

Yee put forth some possible positive consequences of digital distribution, which librarians should support:

It could be easier and cheaper than existing methods; it could allow archival materials to be used without the possibility of damage or loss. Eventually equipment for using digital resources could be so common that it is no longer considered special; this could lead to a change in the physical description of items.

There are also some possible negative consequences: Materials could be aimed at mass markets, leaving small niches underserved; access could become so easy and cheap that libraries are left out of the loop; all information could become pay-per-view, as movies were when the only place to see them was in theaters.

Yee then spoke about the future of cataloging, which she defined as human intervention for information organization. She put forth the idea that artificial intelligence, or machine processing of information, could turn out to be such a failure that future generations will look on it as the 20th century equivalent of alchemy.

These speculations are based on two assumptions. The first is that authority control is central to what we do. If it is not carried out, human cataloging isn't much better than machine cataloging. The second assumption has two parts: people don't want to pay for human intervention for information organization, and they don't want to believe how expensive it is. These assumptions lead to three possible courses of action:
abandon human intervention;
provide human intervention only for a small elite; or
continue to use tax dollars to organize information (not necessarily information owned by/residing in a library).
Yee speculated on what people might mean when they use the poorly defined buzzwords "seamless interface" and "interoperability." One possible meaning is "let's not catalog or provide authority control anymore since we can't catalog everything." Of course, we never did catalog everything. A second possible meaning refers to a postulated single virtual catalog, selectively inclusive, in which librarians cooperate to provide authority control for all works of permanent value, so that everyone will have easy access to a permanent cultural record.

This leads to the question of personnel. Should/will this work be done by highly-educated, poorly paid middle-aged women, or undereducated, highly paid young men?

When the item being cataloged is an electronic document, the very nature of cataloging should be subject to examination. Using the author's name may not be the best way to identify the document. Part of our job should be to help users make the distinction between variations in copy or manifestation, versus variations between actual editions or expressions of a work. Many works may be works of changing authorship, and changing everything else, especially title. Should a URL be considered local? True of every copy? Is it publication/distribution information, or is it more like a call number? Should it go in the bibliographic record or the holdings record? What if different URLs lead to the same page?

Yee raised the following questions about multimedia: Does text accompany moving images, or do the moving images illustrate the text? How can we describe multimedia in a way that indicates the relative weight of text, sound, moving images, still images, and anything else that might be present? Presently the only way to articulate this very important information is through use of a summary note. In many cases, the content of an item should be treated according to AACR2 chapter 7 for moving images, while the carrier should be treated according to AACR2 chapter 9 for electronic resources. We would also benefit from a better analysis of the physical description area, so that content-related information is separated from carrier-related information.

Martha Yee's handouts

Return to Table of Contents



COMPUTER FILES CATALOGING WORKSHOP
Amy K. Weiss
Appalachian State University

Report by Rebecca L. Lubas
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Amy K. Weiss covered the cataloging of direct access computer files. She began the workshop with the basic AACR2R definition of these materials: computer files [available] via carriers (e.g. disks, cassettes, cartridges) designed to be inserted into a computer or its auxiliary equipment by the user. She reminded the attendees that although the new Chapter Nine rules that would effect the cataloging of these materials would be issued soon, they are not yet in effect. Many underlying principles of computer file cataloging will still be valid in the future.

MARC format selection is the initial, and perhaps greatest, challenge in computer file cataloging. Unlike other formats, a computer file can be cataloged on any kind of MARC record.

The definition of type of record code "m" was revised and narrowed in June 1997. Previously any direct access computer file (except for cartographic materials) would have been cataloged on a type "m" computer file record. As a result of this redefinition, catalogers must make a decision about the nature of the content of the material before selecting the type of MARC record that will be used for cataloging. Weiss handed out a worksheet that gave the group a chance to identify "true" type "m" computer files such as software and games from text documents (type "a"). The bottom line on this issue: "Don't stress over this. If you haven't a clue, use, type "m." Look and decide."

Weiss emphasized that when choosing a MARC format, it is useful to load the software and examine its contents. If you load computer files, you will be able to tell what they really contain. Often, the packaging exaggerates the contents. You may want to use a stand alone PC for software loading if possible. Weiss cautioned that "computer files are generally less troublesome to load than they used to be, but every now and again one will run into a program that will rewrite the Autoexec.bat file in some weird way and turn your PC into a large and unattractive paperweight. However, one might wish to reconsider adding such software to a circulating collection." While software loading may be time consuming and inconvenient, in the long run you are doing your patrons a service.

If you are not able to load computer files, never take the statements on the containers and accompanying materials at face value. Look at the guides for screen pictures and discussions of how to navigate in the file. Look for statements of the number of pictures or videos, evidence that information was reproduced from print sources, and anything else which will tell you what is really there as opposed to what they want you to believe is there. Statements like "develops eye hand coordination" or "fully interactive" are not meaningful in and of themselves. After all, books are also interactive and develop eye hand coordination because you have to turn the pages.

Weiss reviewed each area of the description, which is straightforward once the type of record is determined. She identified common occurrences in computer file cataloging. Titles for computer files tend to have more variation in capitalization (ex. WordPerfect) and inclusion of publisher's name (ex. Microsoft's Word for Windows).

A computer file should always have the following notes: The system requirements (538) and source of title (500). System requirement notes need to convey to the patron what equipment they need to run the file. The statement should be short and readable. A summary note (520) is highly recommended though not required. Subject analysis is not always ideal to describe contents of computer files, and a summary can be more exact.

The workshop ended with a discussion of access points and added entries. Normally a computer file will have title main entry as most often a number of individuals plus a corporate body are responsible for the work. Make as many title added entries as makes sense, as computer files have variations in spelling and spacing, and may have different titles on title screen, disc label, jewel case, and packaging.

Computer Files Cataloging handouts

Return to Table of Contents



CORC (COOPERATIVE ONLINE RESOURCES CATALOG)
Eric Childress, OCLC
Betsy Friesen, University of Minnesota
Dr. John V. Richardson Jr., UCLA

Report by Kelley McGrath
Ball State University

Childress began with a thorough introduction to CORC, a Web-based tool developed by OCLC to enable libraries to provide better access to electronic resources. CORC also represents a new type of development process for OCLC-- many units at OCLC, as well as member libraries, were involved early on in the design process, which OCLC hopes will permit a shorter lag time from idea to final product. CORC has four main modules:

The resource catalog contains bibliographic records for electronic resources. Records can be entered either in Dublin Core or MARC format. The authority file provides direct links to bibliographic records, allowing automatic global updates of headings in bibliographic records. The pathfinder database enables the easy creation and maintenance of subject bibliographies of Web resources. WebDewey contains DDC, suggests Dewey class numbers for Web sites, and provides DDC-to-LCSH mapping.

Friesen described the experiences she and her colleagues have had as participants in CORC. She emphasized the importance of involving public services. She also stressed the importance of starting slowly-- they began with minimal records, and the usefulness of having a clearly defined project. She also described a few of her favorite features, such as constant data, which makes the input of many similar records easier. She also likes the harvester, which creates a skeletal record by analyzing information from a Web page's HTML code. It is, however, only as good as the code it has to work with. Multiple record harvest allows the user to put in the URL for a Web site's main page and to create basic records for the various sub-pages linked from that page (like analytics). Another convenient function allows the cataloger to guess at the form of an authority heading which it then tries to match with the authority file.

Richardson focused on CORC Pathfinders. He suggested that pathfinders could bring reference and technical services together. He talked about the traditional reference pathfinder and the need to provide users with carefully selected introductory resources, rather than everything available on a given topic. He also described the experiences of the students in his class who were assigned to create pathfinders in CORC.

Childress then addressed some future directions for CORC. The session ended with audience questions and answers. One interesting question addressed the participation of public libraries in CORC. Although academic libraries currently dominate, the panelists felt that CORC's Pathfinder function could provide a valuable service for public and school libraries by cutting down on duplication of effort and helping with URL maintenance.

PowerPoint Presentations:

Introduction to CORC, Eric Childress
OCLC CORC Records: Practices and Applications, Betsy Friesen
OCLC CORC Pathfinders: Their Past and Future, John Richardson
CORC Next Steps, Eric Childress
Return to Table of Contents



CATALOGING INTERNET RESOURCES
Linda Barnhart
University of California, San Diego

Report by Karen M. Letarte
Southwest Missouri State University

This excellent and informative workshop presented by Linda Barnhart offered much practical information on cataloging Internet resources. The workshop covered several types of Internet resources, including websites, electronic books, electronic journals, and databases. The workshop's focus was to provide basic information on cataloging Internet resources from AACR2 and MARC 21. It also offered practical tips gleaned from the experiences of catalogers at UCSD, with real-life examples. Barnhart provided a handout that included lecture notes, cataloging examples for a variety of Internet resources, and a helpful list of resources.

She noted that Jay Weitz's document, Cataloging Electronic Resources: OCLCMARC Coding Guidelines, revised 9/00, is of particular interest. The document is available at: http://www.oclc.org/connexion/documentation/type.htm

Barnhart briefly discussed the rationale for providing access to Internet resources through the library catalog, noting that Web-based OPACs linking users directly to Internet resources allow libraries to provide "instant gratification" to users. She offered observations on why some librarians resist cataloging Internet resources. Tangibility is one issue, as Internet resources do not exist physically. Volatility of location and content are also problematic. The management of link maintenance poses further challenges, as well as the difficulty in deciding what level pages and sites should be cataloged a.k.a. their "granularity". Other barriers include the inaccurate perception that all sites require original cataloging and the fear of creating an "invisible" backlog. More judgment from the cataloger is required since the rules are less developed than those for other types of resources. On a positive note, the number of records for Internet resources in the national utilities is increasing.

The importance of assessing resources for cataloging was discussed. A site should be examined carefully to determine its characteristics, means of access, and restrictions. Is the site dynamic or static, a corporate site or a personal one? Another key consideration is its relationship to existing resources in the OPAC. A helpful tip is to look at the HTML coding, particularly the title tag, which shows what the creator thought the title should be.

Support for the equipment needs of Internet catalogers is an important consideration for institutions. Barnhart argued that Internet catalogers need state-of-the-art workstations with the most up-to-date software to optimize their access to electronic resources. She recommends the adoption of an annual replacement cycle for these workstations.

Strategies for defining and prioritizing categories of Internet resources for cataloging were suggested. Criteria for prioritizing resources for cataloging could include: format (such as electronic journals), subject, resources maintained on a local server, locally created or unique resources, and resources maintained by reputable organizations. Barnhart emphasized the importance of cataloging quality and content-rich resources that meet users' needs and priorities. For those who have not yet ventured into cataloging Web resources, she suggested a pilot project approach, with the definition of a target number of resources in an area of interest to users.

Subject cataloging of Internet resources is similar to that for any other format. Barnhart noted that no LCSH form subdivision exists for Websites, and cautioned against confusing topical and genre or form headings. Barnhart provided a list of subdivisions and applicable sections of the SCM. There is some debate about the desirability of classification for Websites. Barnhart noted that Internet resources must be clearly identified to prevent users from going to the shelves to find them. A possible solution is to include a class number only on the record, rather than a full call number.

Electronic book cataloging was briefly explored. Current cataloging practice treats these items as digitized reprints (LCRI 1.1lA). The catalog record is based on the original print version of the book, giving the reproduction information in a 533 note. Records also include the use of the GMD [computer file] in the 245, an 006 for the electronic aspects, an 007 for more physical details, and 020 $z for the ISBN of the print version.

One of the most interesting aspects of the workshop was the glimpse provided into the innovative cataloging practices at UCSD. The use of the composite record model, local subject cataloging practices, and the addition of "hooks" to facilitate retrieval by format are some examples. The workshop highlighted the many challenges of cataloging these highly complex and dynamic resources, while proving much needed practical information.

Cataloging Internet Resources handouts

Return to Table of Contents



MAP CATALOGING WORKSHOP
Susan Moore
University of Northern Iowa
and
Kathryn Womble
University of Washington

Report by Rod Pollock
University of Georgia


Susan Moore began the workshop with a review of resources accommodating the needs of cartographic catalogers. The most important of these resources continue to be:

Cartographic Materials: a Manual of Interpretation For AACR2 / prepared by the Anglo-American Cataloging Committee for Cartographic Materials. Chicago: ALA, 1982 (ISBN 0-8389-0363-0)

Map Cataloging Manual / prepared by Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress. Washington, DC: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1991 (ISBN 0-87071-361-2)
Natural Scale Indicator (clear plastic version)
($7.50 US dollars as of 10/20/00)
Clifford H. Wood, PhD
Professor of Geography
Director, Memorial University of Newfoundland Cartographic Laboratory
Dept. of Geography
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland Aib 3X9
Canada
http://www.mun.ca/geog/resources/muncl/products/msi.htm
The major distinctions between map cataloging and book cataloging (minus the mathematical and physical descriptions), were also pointed out by Moore. Beginning with the fixed fields, all cartographic materials (whether digital or not) are coded Type "e." When beginning to catalog a cartographic item, five initial determinations can help get you started on the right track. These decisions include determining if an item is 1) an atlas, 2) a single map sheet, 3) a map set/series, 4) a serial or 5) a digital map. It is also important to keep in mind that the chief source of information as it applies to cartographic materials is the entire map and "prominent" is defined to be anywhere on a map. With regards to the title proper, you are encouraged to bracket additional area (place name) information in the subtitle if it is not present in the title.

Kathryn Womble then discussed scale as it relates to map cataloging including representative fractions, verbal scale statements, graphic scales, nonrepresentative fraction scale statements, use of latitude in determining scale and the comparison with a map of known scale to determine scale. With a trusty natural scale indicator in hand, workshop participants were allowed to work through ten scale exercises. The group then reviewed and discussed the answers for each exercise.

Projection, the system used to represent information about the spherical surface of the earth on the flat surface of a map, was the next point of discussion. Projection information is transcribed from the map, its container, case, or accompanying printed material, so it is not necessary to understand the numerous different types of projections in order to catalog a map. Coordinates, the geographical grid lines used to pinpoint locations on the earth, were also discussed. It was noted that the latitude and longitude coordinates represented in field 034 are listed in the order of westernmost, easternmost, northernmost and southernmost extents (W, E, N, S), as appropriate.

Womble and Moore then demonstrated how to measure cartographic materials with thirteen examples sampling the spectrum of possibilities of map layouts and presentations. The various maps were held up and physically measured, from point to point with a ruler, graphically illustrating the many scenarios of cartography and maps on paper. Some map measurement points, among others, included: 1) measurements are given height x width rounded up to the nearest centimeter, 2) give the folded size if a map is designed to be folded, 3) if cartographic detail extends beyond the neat line, include it in the measurement and, 4) if there is no neat line, measure the "cartographic extent," which is up to and including the entire sheet.

Workshop participants received a handout on the dating of road maps, with tips for deciphering the codes of maps produced by Rand McNally and H.M. Gousha, as well as a handout regarding subject assignment for cartographic materials. Workshop participants were encouraged to not leave their natural scale indicators on the dash of their car on a hot, sunny day and to subscribe to the MAPS-L discussion list.

Maps handout (updated June 16, 2001)

Return to Table of Contents



MUSIC SCORE CATALOGING BASICS
Ralph Papakhian
Indiana University

Report by David Prochazka
University of Akron

Since most of the attendees already had at least a small amount of experience cataloging music scores, Ralph Papakhian, Head of Technical Services at the William and Gayle Cook Music Library of Indiana University was able to focus his presentation on issues that frequently cause difficulties for those who don't regularly catalog scores (and sometimes for those who do, as well). Attendees received a very well-organized handout, which was nearly 80 pages long. It combined excerpts from rules in AACR2 with LCRIs, Music Cataloging Decisions, OCLC's Bibliographic Formats and Standards, and the presenter's own observations and explanations. lt also incorporated reproductions of pertinent parts of published scores and screen captures of OCLC records, along with a 4 page bibliography of music cataloging tools, making the handout that much more useful.

The bulk of the presentation focused on difficulties encountered in describing music scores. The following topics received particular attention:
Keeping the focus on description of scores, Papakhian talked about many of the decisions a cataloger has to make when transcribing information into areas
1-4. He gave special attention to:
There were very interesting discussions about how to interpret various dates that might appear on a score, and also when it is appropriate to create a new record for something that might appear to be a copy at first glance. (Be aware that there are significant differences between OCLC's guidelines and the guidelines of the Library of Congress.)

Papakhian described the various kinds of information that might go into a physical description statement, pointing out differences between parts and various types of scores, along with what specific material designators are used for these types. He also talked about how to handle the diverse numbers that often appear on music scores. The session concluded with a comparison of how arrangements are handled differently in subject headings and uniform titles.

Scores handouts

Return to Table of Contents



WORKSHOP ON CATALOGING REALIA
Nancy B. Olson

Report by Verna Urbanski
University of North Florida

Nancy Olson's workshop on cataloging realia reflected the practical approach that keeps nonprint catalogers coming back to learn more year after year. Her one sheet handout provided a condensed version of what constitutes realia and what properties make realia unique enough to require special rules in chapter 10 of AACR2. One difference includes a scarcity of information. The cataloger must check attached tags and labels, containers and accompanying materials or, in the case of naturally occurring objects, just review the objects themselves and try to figure out their origin.

Most vivid of Nancy's advice: Don't overstudy what you're doing!!! Do something reasonable and get on with it (an echo of the famous Jay Weitz' "Don't agonize" warning in his video workshops!!). Nancy advises that, as with most cataloging, we need to start by identifying a title and then treat the rest of the record as a matter of multiple choice. Sometimes the process of elimination can be helpful with the cataloger deciding "this is not such and such."

Nancy cautioned that catalogers must be careful to distinguish between a naturally occurring object (such as a frog) and a toy representing the same creature. They will be cataloged quite differently, using different GMDs and sources of cataloging information. A cataloger error in this regard is at least bad form and can lead to the very worst sin in cataloging, misleading the patron. She explained the difference between the creator of the item and the manufacturer of an item and ask that we all catalog with the patron in mind by treating each item as unique.

The workshop ended with the participants working in groups to catalog various versions of Monopoly from the junior edition to the Elvis Presley (don't ask!!) edition. Throughout the workshop Nancy was peppered with questions from enthusiastic participants. I am sure some of those questions and her answers will turn up in her next OLAC Newsletter column.

Three-dimensional Artefacts and Realia Workshop handout

Return to Table of Contents

SACO WORKSHOP
Adam L. Schiff
Principal Cataloger at the University of Washington Libraries

Report by Sheila Smyth
Nazareth College of Rochester

This workshop was both practical and informative. Schiff began by describing SACO as a component of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC), which allows libraries to propose new LC subject headings and new LC classification and changes to existing LSCH and LCC. The submission process and approval steps were outlined, as well as the tools needed to determine changes. The SACO home page is: http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/saco.html and may be accessed to view tentative subject lists.

Libraries may want to participate, according to Schiff, because the existing LCSH and LCC are not always adequate or may not cover areas that are included in libraries. New disciplines and topics are always emerging. It was pointed out that headings should be as specific as the topic. SCM H 180, section 4 describes when catalogers should assign headings that are broader or more general than the topic that it is intended to cover. SCM H 187 instructs catalogers to establish a subject heading for a topic that represents a discrete, identifiable concept. When encountering new emerging topics and disciplines, current American usage is preferred for a concept. In such cases where there is no consensus among American authonties, SCM H 187 instructs catalogers to make an intuitive judgment based on available evidence and provide UF references from any significantly different terms that have been found under the same concept.

The fundaments of the MARC 21 authority format as it pertains to subjects must be known in order to create SACO proposals for subject headings. Proposals must be submitted with explicit MARC coding. Catalogers were referred to MARC 21 Format for Authority Data published by the Library of Congress for detailed explanations. Sample exercises included explanations and examples of coding for both OCLC and RLIN, when there were differences.

Schiff pointed out that the key to doing good authority work is the citation of sources. SACO proposals should contain at least one 670 field. Examples for print, nonprint and electronic resources citations with explanations were given.

Proposal forms for Subject Authority, LC Subject Headings Change, and LC Classification were examined. Change forms are available on the web at the URL listed above and may be emailed to: saco@loc.gov.

Schiff kindly offered to review proposals for catalogers beginning the process and is willing to answer questions. His email address is aschiff@u.washington.edu Adam Schiff is a gifted speaker who gently reassured and challenged participants to contribute to our profession.

SACO Participants' Manual

Return to Table of Contents

DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING OF SOUND RECORDINGS: A WORKSHOP
Mark Scharff
Washington University, Saint Louis

Report by Linda Swanson
Concordia College, Moorhead, MN

Mark Scharff, Music Cataloger, Gaylord Music Library distributed a detailed handout compiled by Michelle Koth, Catalog Librarian at Yale University Music Library, and Margaret Kaus, Music Cataloging and Reference Librarian, George F. DeVine Music Library University of Tennessee.

Scharff began with a general concept of sound recording cataloging. The first step is always to identify the intellectual content of the item at hand. All other decisions flow from the answer to this question. From this general beginning, the presenter addressed specifics in a number of areas. Rather than proceeding on a field-by-field basis, he instead made note of troublesome or confusing areas in the catalog record.

Music Recordings Spoken Word Recordings
Unpublished Sound Recordings
Subject Analysis
Series


Sound Recordings Workshop handout (same used in 1998)
Web version forthcoming

Return to Table of Contents



Return to Table of Contents



VIDEORECORDINGS WORKSHOP
Jay Weitz
Consulting Database Specialist, OCLC

Report by Alice Mitchell
Appalachian State University

The Videorecordings Cataloging Workshop at the OLAC/MOUG 2000 Conference was an enjoyable educational experience for all who attended. Jay Weitz focused on the issues in video cataloging that seem to give catalogers the most trouble, including AACR2 rules, sources of information, the input of new records into OCLC, and the cataloging of DVDs.

Weitz began by reminding catalogers of the basic rules of videorecording cataloging. Sources of information are the title frames of the video, or the container and labels. Works of mixed responsibility receive a title main entry. A basic understanding of AACR2 rules is of fundamental importance in the cataloging of videorecordings.

Next, Weitz discussed the problematic issue of input of new records into OCLC. Catalogers often feel unsure about the video records they find in OCLC. What differences justify a new record? Weitz provided guidance in the form of a list of justifiable versus unjustifiable differences. For example, justifiable differences include: differences in color/black and white, sound/silent, significantly different length, different format (ex. VHS/DVD), changes in publication dates for reasons other than packaging alone, and dubbing/subtitles. Unjustifiable differences include: absence or presence of multiple distribution or publication dates if at least one date matches the item. Catalogers were reminded that it is perfectly all right to trust their own judgment in cataloging decisions.

The lengthiest portion of the workshop focused on the cataloging of DVDs. The many questions asked by the audience reflect the widespread confusion about cataloging new formats. Weitz provided an overview of the DVD and laser optical disc format and highlighted the features of DVD, including the huge capacity of information that this format is able to store. Weitz then discussed more technical information about cataloging DVDs. The GMD for DVD is [videorecording] and the SMD is videodisc(s). There has been discussion among catalagers about changing the GMD to [DVD]. However, the decision to change the GMD to DVD may be made locally, but it is not standard practice for records added to OCLC. The $c of the 300 field is 4 3/4 in. The 538 field is DVD, plus bracketed information detailing any special sound, color, etc. Often DVD releases of films contain extra information and film footage. If there is a substantial amount of new material such as trailers, outtakes, interviews, etc., use the release date of the DVD as the date, use date type s in the fixed field, and include a note about the release date of the original version. If the DVD is strictly a release of the same version as VHS, consider it to be a new release on a different format and use date type p in the fixed fields. DVD releases that include extra information and footage can be confusing when it comes to the playing time. For moving images, give the playing times as they would be given for a videocassette. If there is more than one section of the DVD and there are multiple playing times, state the durations in a note and add them together for the time section of the fixed field.

In closing, Weitz again reminded us that we must trust our judgment and do the best we can without becoming mired in details.

Videorecordings Workshop handouts

Return to Table of Contents


POSTER SESSIONS

Report by Amy K. Weiss
Appalachian State University

The poster sessions at the 2000 OLAC /MOUG conference showcased innovative approaches to catalogs, and cataloging of a variety of materials.

In "Cataloging in 2020" Evelyn Pypes presented a multidimensional future catalog, with information presented in a manner akin to contemporary Web pages. Visual images, numerous access points and more flexible searching will all enrich the catalog.

Evelyn Pypes's handout

The Digital Initiatives Program at the University of Washington shows how this multidimensional approach is fast becoming a reality. The CONTENT software created by the University of Washington Engineering Department provides a framework for Web access to visual collections. The librarians of the Metadata Implementation Group act as consultants to help CONTENT clients to create consistent, high quality metadata frameworks appropriate for their collections. The Implementation Group librarians also create metadata for UW collections mounted using the software.

Digital Initiatives Program handouts:
The increasing importance of film as a cultural artifact was demonstrated by Diane Warner's presentation on classification of feature films using the Library of Congress literature classification schedules. Feature films are usually classified in a "dump number" and arranged in alphabetical order by title. At the Texas Tech International Cultural Center Library, the films are classified by language, country, and time period, as well as sub-arranged by the director (substituting for the author) and title.

Diane Warner's handout

J. Robert Willingham also focused on the cataloging of feature films. He showcased his useful guide to feature film cataloging, noting that feature films require many more notes and added entries than do most educational films.

J. Robert Willingham's handout

Innovative approaches to cataloging were showcased by Bobby Bothmann from the University of Minnesota and Sue Ann Gardner from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Gardner, using an approach first suggested by David Allen, has used the Dublin Core elements to create a concise catalog record for maps, which condenses the description but offers full subject access. This appears to be a useful way to offer access to maps, which are frequently left uncataloged because of the complexity of standard map cataloging. The University of Minnesota libraries decided to catalog their NetLibrary books as reproductions. They used macros to add information about NetLibrary holdings to existing records for materials held by the library, and enhanced NetLibrary-produced catalog records for materials that are available only through NetLibrary.

Sue Ann Gardner's handouts / Additional information

Jeanne M. Piascik of the University of Central Florida libraries explored cataloging of special format science materials. She showcased a traditional cataloging approach to these non-traditional materials, such as a full sized unisex human torso.

Jeanne Piascik's PowerPoint Presentation

Librarians from Coastal Carolina University demonstrated managerial innovation and personal flexibility. When Coastal Carolina University discontinued contracting with the University of South Carolina system for cataloging services in 1995, there was a backlog of over 5,000 media items in need of cataloging. Public services personnel, especially Assistant Head of Public Services Margaret Fain, were cross-trained and the library was able to eliminate the backlog in four years.

Cross Training PowerPoint Presentation

Overall, the poster sessions highlighted the many ways in which audiovisual catalogers are using innovative approaches to cataloging media materials in order to better serve library users.

Return to Table of Contents


OLAC NACO FUNNEL NEWS

At the Seattle OLAC/MOUG meeting 9 librarians representing 8 institutions received NACO training and became new members of the OLAC NACO funnel project. An additional AV cataloger whose institution was already a member joined the group to also receive training.

Those who received training were: Bobby Bothmann (University of Minnesota Libraries), Kevin Furniss (Denison University), Margot Lucoff (Berkeley Public Library), Tim Markus (Evergreen State College), Sandy Roe (Minnesota State University Mankato), Wendy Sistrunk (University of Missouri-Kansas City), Karen Stephens and Mary Wise (Central Washington University Library, and Carolyn Walden (University of Alabama at Birmingham). Linda Owen (University of California at Riverside) also received training although a representative from her institution had been trained several years ago.

MARC-2 1 symbols for these new members are:
University of Minnesota Libraries MnU-WSF
Denison University OGraDAV
Berkeley Public Library CBAVU
Evergreen State College WaOENPC
Minnesota State University Mankato MnManMSU
University of Missouri-Kansas City MoKU-MAV
Central Washington University Library         WaEICNP
University of Alabama at Birmingham ABAU-MHS
In other funnel news, for the (government) fiscal year, it was a banner year, statistics-wise:

New headings: 4,131
New series: 4
Changed headings: 1,086
Return to Table of Contents



MEETING FOR OUTREACH/ADVOCACY
PLANNING AT OLAC-MOUG CONFERENCE

Ian Fairclough, OLAC Outreach/Advocacy Coordinator

Sixteen conference attendees were present at a meeting held on Saturday October 14th for the purpose of planning outreach and advocacy activities for OLAC. The meeting took the form of a discussion, with seats arranged in a circle (sort of) and people brainstorming ideas to the group. This lasted for some forty minutes. Towards the end, the coordinator asked people to commit themselves to specific objectives.

Among the ideas that arose were: Having an OLAC booth at the exhibits at conferences such as those of the American Library Association and state library associations, Public Library Association, and so forth. Linda Owen mentioned the Council of Library Media Technicians and state programs such as the Reading Forward program in Illinois. We could advertise in Library Mosaics (perhaps someone would write an article for publication) and announce OLAC's activities in LIBSUP-L, the discussion list for library support staff. In this context, the OLAC brochure was discussed: In particular, pointed out Joanna Fountain, library school students need something they can keep and refer back to. Lowell Ashley mentioned that OLAC will have a committee appointed to arrange a contest for a new OLAC logo. Barbara Tysinger encouraged people td take brochures to any workshops they are presenting at; she will be reporting on the OLAC conference to the Health Science OCLC Users Group. Kay Johnson suggested that OLAC provide an award to enable a school librarian to attend. People might write articles for the newsletters of various groups, in particular targeting school library media people. Ian Fairclough observed that the OLAC conference actually coincided with the Washington state conference of such people (Washington Library Media Association) but that his efforts to arrange some sort of rapprochement during the conference had fallen through.

When it came time to identify specific objectives, people volunteered commitments as follows. Ginny Boggs (Skokie Public Library, Illinois) proposed to contact people in the "Reaching Forward" program in the Chicago area. Reaching Forward is for library technical assistants, and they are currently planning a conference at which OLAC might conduct a cataloging workshop. Ginny has agreed to make this contact by end-November. Barbara Tysinger (Health Sciences Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) will report by end-November on the OLAC conference to the OALC Health Sciences User Group. Linda Owen will serve as contact person for the library support staff discussion list and will send information to Library Mosaics, as well as recruit a speaker from OLAC for the next conference of the Council of Library Technicians (June 2001). Kay Johnson will get cost estimates for a full color brochure for OLAC. She also volunteered to serve on the brochure committee (after publication of the OLAC directory). Judy Gummere volunteered to assist with writing the text of the brochure. Joanna Fountain requested old issues of the OLAC newsletter, to distribute to her library science students on an ongoing basis, and Jan Mayo has provided these for her.

As coordinator of outreach/advocacy activities, I must say how profoundly gratifying it has been to receive such a positive response to my request for help. Opportunity abounds for development of the society in numerous directions. If you have an idea, please drop me a line at ifairclough@aol.com. Thank you.

Return to Table of Contents


MUSIC OCLC USERS GROUP
Liaison Report
Submitted by Wendy Sistrunk
MOUG/OLAC Liaison
University of Missouri--Kansas City

MOUG stands for Music OCLC Users Group. Current Executive Board members are:

Jean Harden, Chair (University of North Texas)
H. Stephen Wright, Past Chair (Northern Illinois University)
Debbie Herman-Morgan, Treasurer (University of Hartford)
Mickey Koth, Secretary/Newsletter Editor (Yale University)
Margaret Kaus, Continuing Education Coordinator (University of Tennessee)
Jay Weitz, OCLC Liaison
Approximately 30 registered MOUG members attended the joint OLAC-MOUG meeting in Seattle, Washington, Oct. 12-15, 2000. Chair Jean Harden presided over the business meeting. Elections of 2001-2002 officers will be coming up soon. Ballots will be mailed with membership renewal forms mid-November. Work continues on creating a MOUG Distinguished Service Award to acknowledge significant professional contributions to music users in OCLC. Nominations for this award will be solicited in Spring 2001. The award will be presented at the 2002 meeting. MOUG may invite OLAC to host another joint meeting in the future.

A call for new participants in the NACO Music Project went out, and 13 members were accepted into the program. The NMP Board will be reviewing criteria for institutional vs. individual membership.

The 7th edition of The Best of MOUG is now available for purchase ($20 North America, $30 overseas). The Best of MOUG is a listing from the Library of Congress Name Authority File of select prolific composers, such as J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, etc. Also included is a list arranged by thematic number for select composers. This paper tool has proved very helpful for the music cataloger.

The next scheduled MOUG meeting will be held in New York City, Feb. 20-21, 2001. Several interesting sessions are being lined up including a pros & cons session on CORC, a public services meeting on First Search, an "Ask MOUG" session, and a refresher on OCLC macros, to name a few. Plans are being made for the 2002 meeting in Las Vegas, and Continuing Education Coordinator, Margaret Kaus, seeks program ideas. Please check out: http://www.musicoclcusers.org/ for updated information on MOUG conferences and activities.

Return to Table of Contents


And a remainder from the ALA Annual Meeting Reports...

ALCTS MEDIA RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Submitted by Wichada Sukantarat
University of Vermont
wsukanta@zoo.uvin.edu

Sunday July 9, 2000 (8:00-9:00 am.)

At the Sunday morning meeting Diane Boehr, ALCTS MRC Chair started with introductions. The minutes of January 18, 2000 were approved. The remainder of the discussion centered on a program proposal for the ALA 2001 annual conference.

Title: Digital Audio/Digital Video: Is Your Library Media Center Digital Ready?
Abstract: The Internet is becoming a major distribution method for digital audio and video media. College students are flooding networks downloading MP3 files to play on their computers, or redistributing them on the Internet. Now that we have experienced the e-journal and e-book revolution, are e-movies or e-music the next big thing? How will audio and video be marketed to libraries in the future? What hardware and software does your library need to digitize existing analog collections? What impact will the availability of digitized audio and video have on the library's audiovisual collection and collection development? How can libraries identify purchase, describe and provide access to digital audio and video? Will emerging copyright and licensing restrictions for these materials permit use in a library environment? This program will suggest ways that libraries can prepare for this next wave of World Wide Web development.

There will be three speakers in a two-hour time slot. The target audience is management level to practical level, including collection development and Media Center staff. This program will be co-sponsored with the Network Resources and Metadata Committee and ALA Video Round Table. Cecilia Tittemore and Brian McCafferty agreed to serve as co-chairs and continue program planning.

Note: There was a discussion on licensing and copyright issues. A suggestion to include these issues in the program proposal was made.

Tuesday July 11, 2000 (9:30a.m.-12:30p.m.)

Diane Boehr, ALCTS-MRC Chair started with introductions followed by the Liaison reports.

David Reser, LC Liaison to ALA/ALCTS/MRC reported on six pilot projects at the Library of Congress. One of the major projects is the BEOnlinePlus (BEOnline+) Project for Remote Access Electronic Resources. The Library of Congress participated in the OCLC CORC Project, using CORC automated cataloging in the selection, description, and provision of access to Internet resources. The BEOnline+ Web site is: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business/beonline/

The Library of Congress continues plans to implement the digital preservation of audio and video collections, and the digital delivery of content to the National Audiovisual Conservarion Center in Culpepper, VA.

The other important project is "Pinyin Conversion." Starting October 1, 2000, libraries throughout the country began to romanize Chinese according to the new Pinyin guidelines.

Another project at LC is "Subject Headings for African Americans." The Cataloging Directorate revised the dated subject heading "Afro-Americans" and headings of the type "Afro-American" to "African Americans." Work to change the more than 580 subject authority records began in Fall 2000. Changes to bibliographic records will begin in 2001.
Report from Eric Childress (OCLC):
Report of the liaison (Mark Scharff) from the Music Library Association:
The last part of the Tuesday meeting was about long-term Committee goals. There were discussions about preservation issues on sound recordings, computer files, and CDs. There was a suggestion to gather issues from the reports of representatives and liaisons and include them into the ALCTS MRC scope and agenda.

Return to Table of Contents



NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Barbara Vaughan, Column Editor


CALL FOR OLAC LOGO COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS
As a result of the recent OLAC Millennium Committee ballot, OLAC needs a new logo. Are you creative? Are you good at inspiring creativity in others? If so, OLAC needs you for the new OLAC Logo Committee. The charge of the committee is to provide a new OLAC logo by a method chosen by the committee and approved by the OLAC Board.

If you are interested in participating on the OLAC Logo Committee, contact the OLAC President by April 1st, 2001 at one of the following addresses:

Lowell Ashley
Cataloging Services
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
National Museum of Natural History
Room 30
Washington, D.C. 20560-0154

E-mail: ashleyl@sil.si.edu
Return to Table of Contents


NANCY OLSON'S AV CATALOGING WORKSHOPS
Workshops on cataloging audiovisual materials and electronic resources will be offered in 2001 at San Jose State University January 2 1-26 and (tentatively) July 16-20, and at the University of Pittsburgh July 30-August 3. Workshops will be taught by Nancy B. Olson, retired professor and cataloger from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The workshops will cover descriptive cataloging and MARC 21 coding and tagging of videos (including DVDs), talking books/audiobooks, maps, puppets and other two- and three-dimensional materials, and electronic resources including CD-ROMs, books with discs, interactive multimedia, and Internet resources, following the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition, 1998 revision, with recent JSC-approved changes. The textbook used will be Cataloging of Audiovisual Materials and Other Special Materials, by Nancy B. Olson (4th ed., 1998). Both these books are required texts for the workshop: the Olson book will be available for sale at each workshop. Those with access to an OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards, or the OCLC Cataloging Internet Resources, or the ALA Guidelines for Bibliographic Description of Interactive Multimedia will be asked to bring these documents as well.

Professor Olson received from ALA the Esther Piercy award in 1980 and theMargaret Mann citation in 1999 for her work teaching and writing about cataloging. She cataloged audiovisual and computer materials at Mankato State for 30 years, retiring in 1999.

Enrollment in each workshop is limited to 30, and spaces are still available at each workshop. Attendees must have some background, either coursework and! or experience, in basic book cataloging using AACR2 -- this workshop is an advanced cataloging experience. Participants are invited to bring items to be cataloged, problems, and questions.

The workshops may be taken as workshops, or for graduate credit. For costs, registration information, housing and school information, contact

Blanche Woolls, Director
School of Library & Information Science
San Jose State University
San Jose CA 95192-0029

phone: 408-924-2490
email: bwoolls@wahoo.sjsu.edu

Sue Webreck Alman
Coordinator of Professional Development
School of Information Sciences
University of Pittsburgh
505 IS Building
Pittsburgh PA 15260

phone: 412-624-5142
email: salman@mail.sis.pitt.edu
Return to Table of Contents



EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW
ABOUT AV CATALOGING
PLEASE ASK!
Nancy B. Olson


A joint OLAC-MOUG question and answer panel was held just before Sheila Intner's traditional closing wrap-up of the Seattle conference. Sheila Smyth served as moderator and the panel included Sheila lntner, Martha Yee, Jay Weitz, Ralph Papakhian, and Laurel Jizba.

The first question was about cataloging documents that appear electronically on a news web page and disappear at some time in the future when displaced by new news. The individual documents do not have separate URLs while on the web page. They may or may not appear elsewhere later. I was listening to the tape of this session and think 1 heard someone say to 'put these in backlog (and lose them?) There was considerable discussion of the various aspects or issues represented by this question. Laurel suggested printing the document out. Jay pondered the question for awhile, then suggested that, if you know or strongly suspect it is going to disappear, and you want access to it, you print it out and catalog it as a print reproduction of an electronic document. You would include the URL of the web page (and a note giving the date when the item was viewed or printed). Sheila pointed out the similarity to vertical file or newspaper clipping file material where we traditionally provide limited access to intellectual content -- someone suggested the printout could go in such a file.

There was discussion of archiving the document, or its being archived from some source, as well as the difficulties involved in finding it from any archive.

The second question was something about "levels of granularity" though I couldn't hear most of the question. Discussion brought out the question being about different levels of analysis for certain materials as well as how to handle relationships between such materials, and will there be a standardized way to handle these. I think everyone on the panel got into this discussion. Martha talked about the part-whole relationship as being similar to many moving image situations. Several people pointed out that one institution might want to catalog something as a whole, while others might want to catalog the individual parts, or just one or a few of the parts. Jay pointed out that URLs could serve as a kind of link to other parts of a site. Laurel said they have some local guidelines for handling this kind of decision, and that LC has some guidelines, including a decision not to catalog publisher sites.

The third question was about relator codes for music. The questioner pointed out that some OCLC records have these and some don't and are we supposed to use them. Jay Weitz replied that relator codes are optional and that, if your local system cannot use them, or you don't anticipate your local system being able to use them, you have no obligation to add them to a record.

DVD -- DVD-ROM
I have received information that DVDs that contain films are not to be included in the revised chapter 9 of AACR2. While that abbreviation (DVD) has been included as one of the specific material examples in drafts of the revisions, the overall introduction to the revised chapter emphasizes that only material requiring a computer or computerized device is to be covered by the revised chapter 9 (in addition to remote access titles, of course). From some of the correspondence and emails I have received, it looks like those involved in the revision process may be using the term "DVD" to cover both DVDs and DVD-ROMs. But the introductory material makes it clear that anything used in a DVD player would not fall into this chapter.

UNLISTED TRACKS ON CDS
 It was pointed out in a recent Autocat message that some new CDs of popular music contain more tracks that are listed Qfl the paper inserts. It was explained that this was a "new trend" in which performers are not listing all their tracks to give their fans a "pleasant surprise." I would hate to say we'd have to listen to each such CD to develop an accurate content note.

ENHANCED AUDIOBOOKS
 I saved an article from the July 30, 2000, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Tara Bradley-Steck, on what are being called "enhanced audio tracks." These are more than the standard audiobook. Acorn Media Publishing, Inc., has produced several of these. Two are based on the PBS Mystery! series of Inspector Morse, and Cadfael, and another is based on the Masterpeiece Theater production of Rebecca. These are not, however, tapes of the productions, though the original cast is used for each, and sound effects and theme music are included. Narration has been added, in some cases explaining scene changes, context, and gestures.

I have not seen any of these, though I suspect I would still catalog them as audiobooks, explaining carefully in notes the features that make them "enhanced." Each would also need a uniform title added entry for the original television program.

Contact Nancy B. Olson at
P0 Box 734, Lake Crystal MN 56055
avnancyc~ic. mankato. inn. us
(please put in the subject line "Question for Nancy")
Phone: 507-726-2985

Return to Table of Contents



Last modified: June 23, 2004
URL: http://www.olacinc.org/newsletters/dec00.html
HTML version created by Sue Neumeister (neumeist@buffalo.edu)

Return to OLAC Newsletter index