From the INSIDE HIGHER ED web site (July 28, 2006):

Calling Melvil Dewey
Efforts to simplify catalog systems at the Library of Congress may soon make scholarly research a lot more complicated. Many librarians argue that moves by the nation's oldest federal cultural institution could hinder the ability of professors and students nationwide to gather information.... Read more...

LOCAL: MQCC Standards revisions regarding series (July 28, 2006)

Impact of LC series authority control decision:

• The revisions to MERLIN Quality Control Committee standards 4.3 , 5.2.1 , and 5.7 proposed by MU were approved with minor revisions. Felicity has posted the new versions on the standards web page. All agreed it would be helpful for cataloging centers to record in the authority record any local decision to no longer control a given series.
• UMKC plans to continue controlling series (past, present, & future) and to establish new series authority records via NACO.
• The proposal to discontinue controlling unnumbered series was discussed. No consensus was reached, except that there is likely to be more variation in series treatment from one MERLIN cataloging center to another.

ALA submits testimony against Library of Congress cataloguing changes (July 27, 2006)

(WASHINGTON) The American Library Association (ALA) submitted testimony today to the Committee on House Administration regarding the Library of Congress' decision to cease the creation of series authority records and treat all series only via transcription in bibliographic records.  ALA 's testimony voiced concern about both the fact that the Library of Congress' decision was made without sufficient consultation with the broad library community  and the direct negative financial impact the decision will have on America 's libraries and library users. ALA also expressed concern about rumors of more extensive cuts in the Library's cataloguing services being contemplated.... Read more

LOCAL: (The following statement and attached draft of revisions/changes to standards for series were sent to MERLIN Quality Control members Tuesday July 11 for consideration at the upcoming July 28th meeting):

Hi all-

The attached document proposes revisions to MERLIN standards for series bibliographic description (4.3), series authority records (5.2), overlay protection of local information in national-level authority records (5.7), and some other clean-up items. The primary NEW proposal is 5.2.1.11.4, to provide a formal way to document a local decision to no longer maintain the SAR or control a series previously traced. The proposed standard states:

5.2.1.11.4. Series no longer maintained. Subsequent to June 1, 2006 (the implementation date for the LC decision to discontinue tracing series and to discontinue establishing and maintaining series authority records), MERLIN cataloging centers should use tag 690 to record a decision to no longer maintain a series authority record (SAR) or to trace and control a series heading (Example: 690 SAR not maintained; series not controlled, <date>|5UMC).

Additional "topics" in the attached document propose wording for decisions previously made, but not yet added to the standards:

5.2.1.11. Local note

5.2.1.12. Overlay protection for local practice on national level series authority records Under 5.7 Local Information in LC Authority Records-revise heading; renumber existing statements; add 5.7.2. Guidelines for protecting local information --(for authority records in general).

MU Catalog department has a table of codes for overlay protection, if MQCC desires to link to it.

Another series-related topic that MU would like to discuss at the July 28 meeting is the feasibility of discontinuing "series" control for unnumbered series (don't trace, don't make SAR), with possible exception of series for which exact title index of 490 0 will not provide "reasonable" collocation.

Norma

OCLC's Response to the Library of Congress Decision (June 21)

Summary from ALA Copy Cataloging Discussion Group Minutes (June 26)

• Allow 4xx/8xx data in member copy to remain if the record is to be overlaid by LC copy
• Adjust the hierarchy of record precedence to include the most complete record. An LC ELVL4 must have PCC in the 042 to rank high; those without will be ranked lower in the hierarchy. OCLC will retain other PCC records over an LC record without an 042 PCC designation
• 4xx and 8xx fields will be added to the list of fields that a full level cataloging member can enrich. They will be allowed to add/delete/modify 4xx/8xx
• OCLC's Quality Control Section will continue to maintain and create series statements
• BSS will be reviewed on series
• CIP upgrade unit will continue to modify serials data
• Suppliers of records to OCLC will continue to verify and update series data

From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [mailto:PCCLIST@loc.gov] On Behalf Of Carolyn Sturtevant Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 2:49 PM
To: PCCLIST@LISTSERV.LOC.GOV
Subject: [PCCLIST] At-Large series documents

Posted to multiple lists.

BIBCO folks, Here's a link to the CONSER-at-Large agenda.  CONSER and BIBCO-at-large meet in the same room, and I have listed the series discussion as a joint activity, roughly from 8:30 to 9:30 am.  Les Hawkins' agenda has the series starting about 8:45 am, and he has four documents that may be of interest to any attendees.  Since they are available on the CONSER web site, I'll just give you the links.

http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/at-large06agenda.html

LC serials cataloging (PDF)

Report of the UC Shared Cataloging Program Advisory Committee Series Subgroup (PDF)

Proposal: Series Practice (PDF) (Handout)

Series Panel Discussion (PDF) (Handout)

See you in New Orleans !  Carolyn

Carolyn Sturtevant
BIBCO Coordinator
Library of Congress
202-707-4551
202-252-2082 fax
cast@loc.gov

from LC CATALOGING NEWSLINE (Online Newsletter of Bibliographic Access Library of Congress) Volume 14, no. 3, June 2006

LC SERIES DECISION
     On June 1, 2006, the Library of Congress ceased to create and update series authority records and ceased to provide controlled series access points in the original bibliographic records that it produces. The Library will continue to record series statements, as found on the items being cataloged, in its new original bibliographic records; controlled series access points will not be added or modified when existing bibliographic records are updated for other reasons.

     The LC series decision and related new LC policy concerning its implementation are available on the Library of Congress Web site at < http://www.loc.gov/catdir/series.html > [June 2006], < http://www.loc.gov/catdir/delay.html > [June 2006], and < http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/series.html > [June 2006].

     Director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Beacher Wiggins announced this decision on April 20. The Library originally intended to implement the decision on May 1, but postponed implementation until June 1 in response to concerns expressed by other organizations that needed time to plan for the impact of the decision on their own operations. In his announcement Wiggings noted that the Library considered taking this step more than a decade ago, but decided against it at that time because of some of the concerns raised about the impact of such a decision. The environment has changed considerably since the 1990s, as indexing and keyword searching in integrated library systems have grown more powerful and can provide adequate access through series statements provided only in the 490 field of the MARC 21 bibliographic record.

     The Library of Congress intends to work with its cataloging partner organizations and the larger library community to mitigate the impact of its decision. Managers at LC have already worked with OCLC, Inc., to help ensure that OCLC members can maintain controlled series access in their own catalogs if they consider this an important service to their users. Library of Congress staff members plan to attend many events at the upcoming American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans , La. , where the impact of the series decision will be discussed. A list of such events is presented in an accompanying article.

LC SERIES DECISION AT ALA ANNUAL
     The recent LC decision to cease providing series authority control in its original cataloging has been placed on the agenda at the following events during the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans , Lousiana, June 23-26, 2006. The list is believed to be complete as of June 10, 2006.

Friday June 23

 ALCTS Technical Services Directors of Large Research Libraries ("Big Heads"). June 23, 9:30 am-12:30 pm, Marriott New Orleans at the Convention Center, Crescent A/B. LC representative: Beacher Wiggins. Recorder: Angela Kinney.

ALCTS Forum on the LC Series Authority Record Decision. June 23, 4:00-6:00 pm, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Rooms 386-387.

Panelist from LC: Beacher Wiggins. Also: Mark Watson, Chair of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging; and Glenn Patton, OCLC Director of WorldCat Quality Management. Moderator: Cynthia Whitacre, chair of the ALCTS Cataloging and Classification Section (CCS).

Saturday June 24

Joint Workshop on Series in Bibliographic Records Pilot. June 24, 1:30-3:30 pm, New Orleans Marriott, Mardi Gras A-C. (Closed meeting.)

ALCTS CCS Catalog Management Discussion Group. June 24, 1:30-3:30 pm, Hilton New Orleans Riverside , Grand Salon 4.

Sunday June 25

Joint ALCTS CCS/PCC Series Authority Workshop Pilot, "The Process of Series Authority Control." June 25, 8:00-10:00 am, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Rooms 333-334. (Closed meeting.)

ALCTS CCS MAGERT Map Cataloging Discussion Group. June 25, 8:00- 10:00 am, Loews New Orleans Hotel, St. Tammany Room. Speakers from LC: Seanna Tsung, Rod Pollock.

CONSER-at-Large. June 25, 8:00-9:30 am, Sheraton New Orleans , Napoleon Ballroom D3. Chair: Les Hawkins.

Joint CONSER/BIBCO Session. June 25, 9:30-10:00 am, Sheraton New Orleans , Napoleon Ballroom D3.

BIBCO-at-Large. June 25, 10:00-10:30 am, Sheraton New Orleans , Napoleon Ballroom D3. Chair: Carolyn Sturtevant.

GODORT (Government Documents Round Table) Cataloging Committee. June 25, 10:30 am-12:00 p.m. June 25, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel-- Maurepas Room. LC member: Sara Striner.

ACRL Rare Book and Manuscript Section MARC for Special Collections Discussion Group. June 25, 10:30 am-12:00 pm, Hilton New Orleans Riverside , Belle Chasse Room.

LITA/ALCTS ACIG (Authority Control in the Online Environment Interest Group). Program on "Questioning Authorities: Adapting Authority Control to the Changing Needs of Library Users." June 25, 1:30-3:30 pm, Hilton New Orleans Riverside , Grand Ballroom C. Speaker from LC: Beacher Wiggins.

ALCTS Creative Ideas in Technical Services Discussion Group.

Sunday, June 25, 4:00-5:30 pm, Hotel Monteleone--Vieux Carre. Breakout topic no. 1: Library of Congress' decisions on series titles.

ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) WESS (Western European Studies Section) Catalogers' Discussion Group. June 25, 4:00-5:30 pm, Astor Crowne Plaza , Bienville Room. "Rethinking Tech Services Form and Function at the Library of Congress: Donald Panzera.

PCC Participants' Discussion Group. June 25, 4:00-6:00 pm, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Rooms 338-339. Chair: Mark Watson. Moderated panel discussion on "The Future of Bibliographic Control in the Cooperative Environment:" Panel members will include Deanna Marcum, Library of Congress, Associate Librarian for Library Services; Beacher Wiggins, Library of Congress, Director, Acquisitions & Bibliographic Access; Mark Watson, PCC Chair and University of Oregon, Associate University Librarian for Collections & Access; and Bob Wolven, Past PCC Chair and Director of Library Systems and Bibliographic Control, Columbia University.

Monday June 26

ALCTS CCS Heads of Cataloging Discussion Group. June 26, 8:00- 10:00 am, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Rooms 398-399.

ALCTS CCS Policy & Planning Committee. June 26, 8:00-10:00 am, Hilton Riverside , Burgundy Room. LC report: Beacher Wiggins.

ALCTS CCS Copy Cataloging Discussion Group. June 26, 10:30 am- 12:00 pm, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Rooms 398-399. LC report: Judith Mansfield.

Wednesday June 28

ALA Executive Board. June 28, 2:00-5:20 pm, Hilton New Orleans Riverside , Marlborough Room. LC report: Deanna Marcum.

OCLC's Response to the Library of Congress Decision on Controlled Series Access

From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [mailto:PCCLIST@loc.gov] On Behalf Of Patton,Glenn
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2006 10:42 AM
To: PCCLIST@LISTSERV.LOC.GOV
Subject: [PCCLIST] OCLC statement on series

OCLC's Response to the Library of Congress Decision on Controlled Series Access

June 5, 2006

Since the Library of Congress announced its decision to discontinue providing controlled access to series in bibliographic records and to discontinue creation of series authority records, OCLC staff have been discussing possible actions to ease the effects of this decision with our member libraries, with participants in the Program for Cooperative Cataloging and with Library of Congress staff.  At the May 2006 OCLC Members Council meeting, discussions with the Cataloging and Metadata Interest Group were particularly helpful in forming OCLC's response.

We are now ready to announce actions in several areas that will assist in maintaining controlled series access in WorldCat records:

1. Changes will be made to the software used to load Library of Congress records into WorldCat so that, if the existing WorldCat record contains controlled series access (either field 440 or fields 490, first indicator '1,' and an 8XX field) and the incoming LC record contains only a series statement (field 490, first indicator '0'), the controlled series access will be retained.  To be implemented July 10, 2006.

2. Since, as part of the change in series practice, the Library of Congress will cease to use the 042 code 'pcc' in records for monographs and integrating resources, OCLC will also adjust the hierarchy that governs which record takes precedence when incoming records are compared with existing WorldCat records to insure that a PCC record is not bumped by a record not meeting PCC standards.  To be implemented June 11, 2006.

3. OCLC will change existing Database Enrichment capabilities (http://www.oclc.org/support/tips/worldcat/tip7.htm ) so that fields 440, 490, and 8XX can be added, changed or deleted by any user with a full-level cataloging authorization.  This will allow cataloging users to, for example, change series treatment in LC records to match existing authority records.  To be implemented in the next few months.

4. OCLC staff in the Quality Control Section will continue to make changes to series treatment in master records in response to requests from libraries made through any of the usual reporting methods.  Staff in the unit are NACO participants independent in series and can, as needed, create and maintain series authority records related to the records they are upgrading.

5. OCLC staff will review statements about Library of Congress Rule Interpretations and practices in Bibliographic Formats and Standards, 3 rd ed., to clarify that OCLC member libraries are not required to follow LC's decisions on controlled series access.  Updates will be made to the web version of BFAS once review has been completed.

6. OCLC staff in the CIP Upgrade Unit (located at the Blackwell's Book Services warehouse in Blackwood , NJ ) will continue to verify series information as part of the CIP Upgrading process and will, as necessary, change Library of Congress records to reflect appropriate controlled series access.  Staff in the unit are NACO participants independent in series and will, as needed, create and maintain series authority records related to the records they are upgrading.

OCLC also receives upgraded CIP records from a variety of external sources and has asked those suppliers to continue verifying series access points against the authority file and to adjust coding of records as necessary to provide appropriate controlled series access.

We hope these steps will help OCLC member libraries in their efforts to provide controlled series access to their users.

Glenn Patton
Director, WorldCat Quality Management Division
pattong@oclc.org

PCC Statement on LC Series Authority Record Change

PCC Libraries are encouraged to continue series work following established standards (see last paragraph)

UMKC will continue to create Series Authority Records to the OCLC authority file (NACO), will download those records into MERLIN for everyone's use.

-----Original Message-----
From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [ mailto:PCCLIST@loc.gov ] On Behalf Of Mark Watson
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 2:44 PM
To: PCCLIST@LISTSERV.LOC.GOV
Subject: [PCCLIST] PCC Statement on LC Series Authority Record Change

"The Program for Cooperative Cataloging is an international cooperative effort aimed at expanding access to library collections by providing useful, timely, and cost-effective cataloging that meets mutually-accepted standards of libraries around the world."

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) has been and continues to be a successful and dynamic program. Its achievements are based on the voluntary cooperation of member libraries that range from small to large to very large, including the Library of Congress. All of these libraries agree to adhere to established standards when creating records that will be stamped with the imprimatur of the PCC. While each member library is expected to meet a certain threshold of production each year, there is no expectation that every record produced will conform to PCC standards. This is a vital and important point. Each PCC library is accorded the freedom and the right to determine its own internal policies and procedures and the level to which its total cataloging output will conform to PCC conventions.

There is nothing in the PCC guidelines to abrogate a member's flexibility to contribute nationally as well as to accommodate local needs and practices.

In recognition of this fundamental aspect of PCC participation, the PCC Policy Committee (PoCo) formally recognizes and supports the right of the Library of Congress (LC) to make cataloging decisions in its own best interest. In this regard, PoCo is treating LC the same as it would any other member library and is unwilling to take a stand against LC's decision to discontinue series authority control. Taking this position may sound strange to some given the consternation expressed by segments of the library community; however, the stance makes sense given the type of organization that PCC strives to be. Were a poll to be conducted, it would not be surprising to find nearly as many different opinions about the series decision as there are PCC trained catalogers. Therefore, if consensus exists, it does so only on the point that all PCC members participate at a level that works for them.

That said it is impossible to ignore the fact that this particular change in LC cataloging policy has widespread ramifications-especially in a context where, until now, there has been a one-to-one correspondence between LC and PCC standards. Over the past several weeks, many thoughtful documents have detailed the potential impacts of the decision, sparking debate about end-user interest in controlled series access, the cost/benefit of providing it, the amount of additional effort that may be required to perform series work that LC will no longer be doing as well as developing policy and maintaining needed documentation. These are issues that will continue to engage the PCC and the bibliographic community at large for some time to come. Several meetings at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans-the ALCTS Forum on the Library of Congress Series Authority Record Decision (Friday, 6/23, 4:00 p.m.) and the PCC Participants Meeting (Sunday, 6/25, 4:00 p.m.), will be devoted to continuing the dialogue on these topics.

For the moment, PoCo wants to make it clear that PCC series policy remains unchanged. Member libraries that believe value is derived from series authority control are encouraged to continue this work in accordance with established guidelines and procedures. The Policy and Operations groups, along with the three standing committees, will continue to work together with the PCC Steering Committee, including the Library of Congress as it executes its role as the PCC Secretariat, in order to facilitate this transition to a future without LC series control.

Submitted by Mark R. Watson, Policy Committee Chair, 2005/06 on behalf of PoCo(mrwatson@uoregon.edu).

Letter from [ARL-DIRECTORS] to Deanna Marcum (Associate Librarian for Library Services, Library of Congress) regarding series decisions

25 May 2006

Deanna Marcum
Associate Librarian for Library Services
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue SE
Room 642
Washington DC 20540

Dear Deanna:
I write to inform you, officially, that the Association of Research Libraries endorses the decision by the Library of Congress to discontinue providing controlled series access in the bibliographic records that LC catalogers produce and to stop creating series authority records. This endorsement was forthcoming during the ARL Business Meeting held on 19 May in Ottawa, Ontario, following your report on the issue.

Because many of our member institutions are also engaged in rethinking the provision of bibliographic services in an increasingly digital environment, ARL supports the Library of Congress' efforts to redesign its services in order to focus better on the needs of the end-user-the individual researcher-and to streamline processes in order to make information accessible more conveniently and more quickly.

As we have worked together for many years now, ARL looks forward to working with the Library of Congress, the staffs of our libraries, and others to consider changes in bibliographic services that would best serve our users. I was pleased to learn at the Business Meeting last week in Ottawa that you plan to proceed with constituting an Advisory Committee to work with you and your LC colleagues in developing your bibliographic services strategy. I'm happy to identify ARL Directors to participate in that Committee, and shall call you next week to discuss possibilities.

Sincerely,

Brian E. C. Schottlaender
President, Association of Research Libraries

cc: James Billington, Librarian of Congress
Michael Gorman, President, American Library Association
Keith Fiels, Executive Director, American Library Association
Duane Webster, Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries
ARL Directors

ALCTS announces New Forum On Series Authority Records (June 23, ALA Annual Conference)

CHICAGO - The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) invites everyone to attend a new ALCTS Forum on the Library of Congress Series Authority Record Decision. The forum will take place on Friday, June 23, beginning at 4 p.m. in the Morial Convention Center, Room 386/387 at the American Library Association (ALA) 2006 Annual Conference in New Orleans.

On April 20, 2006, the Library of Congress issued a memo changing a long-standing practice of creating series authority records. Implementation of the decision was to be May 1.

"The Library of Congress has determined that it will cease to provide controlled series access in the bibliographic records that its catalogers produce. Its catalogers will cease creating series authority records (SARs)."

The decision met with unparalleled opposition as librarians and organizations such as the American Library Association (ALA) and ALCTS expressed their concerns over the decision-making process and the implications for libraries.

ALCTS, in its ongoing effort to encourage discussion on important issues such as the SARs decision, has brought together a distinguished panel of experts for this new Forum. Moderated by Cynthia Whitacre, chair of the ALCTS Cataloging and Classification Section (CCS), panelists include Beacher Wiggins, Director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access, Library of Congress, Glenn Patton, OCLC Director of WorldCat Quality Management, and Mark Watson, chair of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging.

Don't miss this exciting event at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, sponsored by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS).

ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.

Beacher Wigginscommunication to his colleagues at LC regarding series

From: OCLC-Cataloging [ mailto:OCLC-CAT@OCLC.ORG ] On Behalf Of Sanchez, Elaine R
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 8:22 AM
To: OCLC-CAT@OCLC.ORG
Subject: [OCLC-CAT] A Beacher Wiggins communication at LC, for what it's worth

This is a re-posted communication from Beacher Wiggins made to LC colleagues, for what it's worth. It was posted there on Friday [OCLC-CAT 5/19/06]. I think it's time for serious congressional intervention. Please write or call your reps and those on the Joint Committee on the Library. These folks info is attached. Sr. management at LC still doesn't understand the magnitude of this decision on all U.S. libraries.

Thanks,

Elaine Sanchez
A Cataloger
Es02@txstate.edu

Colleagues:

Much is swirling around my announcement of LC's decision to cease providing controlled series access.The concern runs the gamut--the manner in which the announcement was made; the lack of consultation before the decision was made; the short period between the announcement and the implementation date; speculation that the announcement portends further such decisions that will be made unilaterally; speculation that the announcement signals LC's pulling away from PCC and LC's long standing support of PCC and cooperative cataloging; speculation that the announcement augurs a diminishing support of authority control--these are just a few.

I have pretty much stayed out of the lively discussions on the list, believing that the initial discussions should be without my views. I think it is time for me to weigh in and reaffirm both my and LC's commitment to PCC and much of what we've labored to achieve over the past 14 or so years.

First, I should have given my colleagues in PCC an alert that this decision was coming. Second, I should have determined a longer timeline between the announcement date and the implementation date.

As for not consulting, I determined that the feedback LC received when we proposed this change in the early 1990s would vary little from what it was then. Mechael has succinctly summarized in an earlier posting the deliberation and outcome of that exercise. Under those circumstances, to consult when I, and the Bibliographic Access Management Team, felt that the time had arrived for LC to make this change would have been a deception on my part.

Before the discussion and the stance that PCC determines to pursue become firm, I state that LC is firmly supportive of PCC; considers itself a member--will submit or not its bibliographic records according to the guidelines in place; will not try to have the guidelines bent for us; is committed to executing its role as the PCC secretariat; is willing to support the needs of PCC related to series, i.e., will sustain documentation, will help with training--even though we will not control the series on LC records; still views authority control, including controlled subject terminology, as a central tenet of what we (LC and catalogers) do; and still staunchly supports standards, although we will be working to simplify and make the standards we use easier to apply, e.g., retailoring of AACR into RDA.

I look forward to our continuing strong collaboration under the banner of PCC and will be working with the PCC Steering Committee and the Policy Committee to make the transition to LC's not providing series control as seamless a transition as possible.

We've begun to work with OCLC to assure that OCLC can accept LC records with only series in the 490 0 without displacing records with controlled series access.  LC has determined--this is different than what was stated in the announcement--that it can retain series presented in other fields of records it uses for copy or otherwise imports--LC expects not to have to strip 440 or 8XX fields. OCLC is currently reviewing our proposal to be sure that this will work for OCLC.

I will now sign off on this Friday afternoon.

beacher

Beacher Wiggins
Director for Acquisitions & Bibliographic Access Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, Southeast
Washington, D.C.  20540
TEL (202) 707-5137  FAX (202) 707-6269
bwig@loc.gov

ALA/ALCTS Board of Directors Statement in Response to Library of Congress decision regarding series

ALA Board issues statement concerning Bibliographic/Cataloging Services at the Library of Congress

Statement concerning Bibliographic/Cataloging Services at the Library of Congress

On April 20, 2006 the Library of Congress announced that as of May 1, 2006, it would cease performing series authority work for the bibliographic records it creates. The announcement was greeted with dismay in the library community, particularly among catalogers, in part because of the substance of the decision; in part because of the shortness of notice given; and in part because the decision was reached without sufficient consultation with the library community.

As a result of this response and to enable libraries to plan their operational response to LC's new practice, the Library of Congress delayed implementation of the change until June 1, 2006. Although an avenue for comment was provided in the announcement of the delay, it appeared that there was no intent to consider modification of the decision based on comments received.

While the delay is welcome, forty days still allows far too little time for libraries to understand the full implications of the decision, to assess their options, and to make adequate plans for how or whether they will continue to provide authority control for any or all series in their own catalogs. Controlled access to series information is one of the important ways by which libraries and library users discover information or make it available to others. Keyword search is not an adequate substitute for authority-controlled series access, especially over time as variants and name changes proliferate, and as errors enter even the best databases.

At the same time as the policy regarding series authority control was being prepared, announced, and discussed, officials at the Library of Congress were indicating publicly that the Library is actively considering alteration of other cataloging practices, such as abandonment or radical alteration of application of the Library of Congress Subject Headings. These changes would also have a significant negative financial impact on the nation's libraries and their users. They have been greeted with concern not only from the library community, but also by library users.

The Library of Congress has occupied a leadership position in the development of standards of practice for bibliographic access to library materials for more than a century. Library of Congress cataloging is the largest single body of bibliographic records that is shared by libraries across the nation. These records provide the means by which any library - whether it be a public library, school library, college or university library, museum library, or any other library -- is able to provide adequate access to its collections to its users. The Library is funded by Congress to perform these, among other, functions on behalf of the nation's libraries.

The cataloging performed by the Library of Congress and made available to the nation's libraries is one of the most critical national functions of the Library of Congress. Any diminution of the quality or quantity of cataloging provided by the Library of Congress has an enormous financial impact on all of the nation's libraries, as the work that the Library of Congress had previously performed must either be taken up by individual libraries, often doing work in duplicate, or it must be abandoned altogether. Any diminution of the quality or quantity of cataloging provided by the Library of Congress also has an enormous impact on the users of the nation's libraries - from the youngest child to the oldest man or woman, from the recreational reader to the most serious researcher - in terms of lessened ability to locate and identify desired information.

On behalf of its more than 66,000 members, the American Library Association expresses its dismay at the impact that Library of Congress action in the area of bibliographic control will have on all of its members, and on the public they serve. Accordingly, ALA urges the Library of Congress to delay further implementation of its decision regarding providing series authority control for bibliographic records for sufficient time to enable informed response from the library community, including from organizations central to bibliographic control such as the American Library Association, the Program for Cooperative Cataloging, and OCLC. Further, ALA urges the Library of Congress to consider substantive modification of its series control proposal in accordance with recommendations and suggestions from the above bodies and others.

The American Library Association is also concerned at the manner in which the series authority decision was reached and announced, without sufficient opportunity for the library and cataloging community to discuss the impact of the decision, or to suggest modifications to it that would lessen its negative impact. Accordingly, the ALA urges the Library of Congress to consult broadly with the library community, including organizations central to bibliographic control, regarding any future decisions to substantively modify the content of bibliographic records, and to take potential financial impact on all types of libraries, and the impact on access to library materials by all types of library users into account in reaching its decisions. It appears that the importance of Library of Congress cataloging to the nation's libraries and to the development of an educated and informed populace is not sufficiently appreciated by the Library's senior administration.

Broad consultation of the sort described would provide a means for the Library to understand better both the costs and benefits to others of the service they provide, so that these matters can be adequately considered in its decision making processes.

In addition, the American Library Association thinks it imperative that there be a meeting of representatives of the Library of Congress, the ALA, and other interested bodies such as the Program for Cooperative Cataloging, OCLC, the Association of Research Libraries, the National Libraries of Agriculture and Medicine, and the Government Printing Office, for the purpose of discussions of the future shared responsibilities and roles of these bodies in leadership and standards development for bibliographic control and intellectual access, and in the creation and provision of quality bibliographic records.

Adopted by the American Library Association Executive Board May 12, 2006

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alctsbd@ala.org [ mailto:owner-alctsbd@ala.org ] On Behalf Of Dates Casey, Diane
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 11:13 AM
To: ALCTS Board of Directors

Subject: [ALCTSBD: 2629] FW: [ALACOUN:17893]

BIBCO and CONSER recommendations to the PCC Policy Committee

The BIBCO and CONSER Operations Committees met jointly last week and voted to make the following recommendations to the PCC Policy Committee:

The BIBCO and CONSER Operations Committees recommend to the PCC Policy Committee:

1) That it officially communicate to the Library of Congress the concerns that have arisen on our email lists and in discussion at our meetings about LCs new series policy

2) That the PCC evaluate series practices in the following areas:

 

1. Simplify series authority creation and documentation to support it. Areas that should be covered include:

a. Bib maintenance
b. Unambiguous distinction of strong vs weak series
c. Selected series authority control or total

2. Assess importance of series authority control

3. Cost benefit analysis of both original series control work and copy cataloging

4. Establish a discrete time frame for this evaluation process

Les Hawkins
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
Washington , DC
202 707-5185

From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [ mailto:PCCLIST@loc.gov ] On Behalf Of Les Hawkins
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 8:44 AM
To: PCCLIST@LISTSERV.LOC.GOV
Subject: [PCCLIST] Recommendations from Operations meetings