Rubber Meets Road

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Rubber Meets Road

• How the Changing Nature of Cataloging Affects the
  Work of ASERL Libraries

Cheryl Gowing, University of Miami ASERL 2006
Fall Membership Meeting
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Agenda

• The LC Series Decision
• What changed?
• What are the effects of the decision?
• Whats on the horizon?
• What can ASERL do to help

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LC Series Authority

• Former practice
• LC / PCC libraries established a series authority
  record SAR when a new series found on item
• SARs updated when variations in series titles
  appear
• SARs also record decisions whether to class
  separately and/or create separate bib records for
  each title i.e. analyze series

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Series Cataloging Practice

• Former practice
• Use 440 field if series on item matches SAR
• If series does not match SAR, put form on work in
  490 1_, with a 8xx linking added entry to
  authorized form of series

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The LC Series Decision

• Announced w/ little time to comment short
  implementation timeline
• Two issues
• The specifics of the decision
• The manner of communication

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LC Series Decision

• LC catalogers will no longer
• Create new SARs
• Modify existing SARs to update data elements or
  LCs treatment decisions
• Consult and follow treatment in existing SARs
• Update existing collected set records
• Change 4XX/8XX fields in completed bibliographic
  records when updating those records for other
  reasons

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Lc Series Decision

• LC catalogers will now
• Create a separate bibliographic record for all
  resources with distinctive titles published as
  parts of series (monographic series and multipart
  monographs).
• Give series statements in 490 0 fields.
• Classify separately each volume (i.e., assign
  call number and subject headings appropriate to
  the specific topic of the volume).

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What are the effects - for patrons?

• New series may no longer be shelved together
• Patrons may not notice title is part of a series
  and lose the opportunity to discover other works
  with similar focus
• Existing series may have new volumes shelved
  elsewhere if LC classed separately
• Patrons may overlook new volumes if expecting to
  find them together on shelf or think the series
  has been discontinued
• Without the cross-references provided by SARs,
  patrons may overlook titles w/ slight variations
  of the former series title

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What are the effects - for technical services?

• It may be difficult for libraries to maintain a
  classed together series, if new volumes contain
  series title variants that dont match the
  existing SAR
• Acquisitions may inadvertently order duplicate
  copies of titles from series
• ILL may have difficulty accurately identifying
  works within a series

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Reaction to LC Series Decision

• PCC issued statement maintaining its policy on
  series statements and series authority records
• OCLC adjusts loading algorithm to retain existing
  440s and 490 1_ / 8xx series pairs when overlaid
  by LC record w/490 0_
• OCLC allows 440, 490, 8xx to be added, changed,
  deleted by all w/ full-level authorization
• OCLC asks contributing vendors to continue
  providing controlled series access

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LC Series Adjustments

• No longer codes monographic integrating
  resource records as pcc
• Agreed to pass through 440s, 490 1_/8xx pairs on
  copy cataloging
• Agreed to retain collected set call numbers on
  copy cataloging
• Some exceptions to policy allowed

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LC Series Decision Next Steps

• PCC, OCLC, Libraries assessing impact of decision
• PCC discussing future of PCC series training w/
  LC
• ALA Midwinter meetings
• ALCTS Heads of Cataloging
• ALCTS Pre-Order/Pre-Catalog Searching

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Future Challenges for Cataloging

• Continuing, inexorable pressure to process
  materials faster, cheaper, and with less people
• More changes in LC cataloging policy/practice as
  they adjust to the same pressures
• CIP Survey may indicate next area for
  streamlining
• CONSER Access-level serials record adoption by
  GPO

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Future Challenges for Cataloging

• Increasing number of vendors offering cataloging
  and processing
• Now routine w/ large English language vendors
  increasingly common w/ foreign lang. vendors and
  non-book materials
• Google Nine project will mean that significant
  portions of our print collections will be
  accessible online in some fashion

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Future Challenges for Cataloging

• Local attention shifts to hidden collections
  (e.g. Special Collections) and building local
  digital collections
• Significant training / change of culture needed
  to prepare catalogers for a world beyond MARC
• Requires new skill set, may take catalogers out
  of the back room to interact/team w/ content
  providers who may be external to the library

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Future Challenges for Cataloging

• Transition from Print to Electronic Serials
• Significant staff/operational budget devoted to
  print workflow ordering/renewals, check-in,
  claiming, binding, cataloging, database
  maintenance
• Many libraries now rely on vendors to provide
  electronic journal/serial cataloging/maintenance
• Some staff will be diverted to ERM system
  maintenance, usage analysis, etc.

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Future Challenges for Cataloging

• OPAC at crossroads
• 3rd party vendors supplying meta-search solutions
  to pull data from OPAC, electronic resources, and
  digital projects
• Local practice that accommodates /exploits ILS
  capabilities may not be relevant
• Incorporation of social tagging into OPAC and
  search systems may alter approaches to subject
  analysis, employ alternate subject schemes

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What can ASERL Do?

• Provide regional training opportunities for ASERL
  catalogers to develop familiarity w/ new
  metadata schemes and alternate thesauri and
  confidence in analyzing which would be
  appropriate to employ on a given digital project
• Survey ASERL Technical Services Depts. to gauge
  impact of LC series decision 1 year after
  implementation