BIBCO Program Parameters

When applying to join BIBCO, institutions agree to a set of membership and record contribution requirements:

To meet BIBCO Membership Requirements, applicant/participant institutions:

• Are active NACO contributors independent of further NACO review
  
• If in OCLC, have attained Enhance status (external link) for any formats they contribute as BIBCO records. The BIBCO Coordinator asks OCLC to upgrade the Regular Enhance member to National Level Enhance.
  
• Undergo a BIBCO orientation/training session, using materials provided by the PCC. Instruction may be online or in a classroom. If a BIBCO Regional Trainer visits, the library receiving instruction covers the travel, lodging, and meals of the trainer.
  
• Submit records for review and receive feedback from a reviewer after training to reach independent status. The length of the review period is determined by the reviewer in consultation with the institution's BIBCO liaison and/or the BIBCO Coordinator.
  
• Name a BIBCO Contact to coordinate local activities on the local level and to communicate with the BIBCO Coordinator at LC and other PCC partners.
  
• Support the possible service of the local BIBCO Contact in a three-year appointment to the BIBCO Operations Committee (OpCo). OpCo meets annually for a Thursday/Friday in the spring in Washington, DC. The recommended home institution’s support for a BIBCO OpCo representative includes:
  
  • Release time for attendance at the annual 2-day meeting
  • Travel expenses above the fixed sum generally offered to BIBCO OpCo reps by OCLC

To meet BIBCO Record Contribution Requirements, member institutions:

• Designate their BIBCO records with MARC field “042 pcc,” but are not required to designate all of their cataloging as BIBCO records.
  
• Contribute a minimum of 100 bibliographic records annually.
  
• Make their BIBCO records available in a timely manner as a mark of quality.
  
• Support all access points on BIBCO records with authority records. (Note: controlling series access points is a local option.)
  
• Use the following documentation:
  
  • Anglo American Cataloguing Rules 2nd rev.
  • ALA-LC Romanization tables
  • Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRIs)
  • MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data
  • BIBCO Standard Record models for each format
• Assign at least one or two subject headings (at the appropriate level of specificity) from an established thesaurus or subject heading system recognized by the MARC 21 Format on BIBCO records e.g., ATT, MeSH, LCSH.
  
• If using LCSH, follow current LC documentation (Note: Certain topics may require multiple headings; 10 is the maximum, cf. Subject Headings Manual H 180)
  
• Assign a classification number on BIBCO records for textual or cartographic materials from an established classification system supported by the MARC 21 format e.g., Dewey, LC Classification (LCC).
  
• If using LC Classification, follow current documentation issued by LC or in commercially available versions of the schedules.
  
• If not tracing series, are exempt from creating series authority records for unestablished series and may code these series as MARC field 490 first indicator 0 on BIBCO records.
  
• If tracing series on BIBCO records, follow the series policies and procedures as stated in the LC Descriptive Cataloging Manual Z1 supplement to the MARC 21 Format for Authority Data and the LCRIs.
  

For more information contact BIBCO Coordinator (phone: 202.707.4551).