The annual meeting of the CONSER Operations Committee was held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in conjunction with the 1997 North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) Conference. Jean Hirons, Acting CONSER Coordinator, chaired the meeting and Bill Anderson, LC CONSER Specialist, served as recorder. Thanks go to Leighann Ayers and Tom Champagne, of the University of Michigan, for their gracious hosting of the CONSER meeting. Most Operations Committee members stayed for the NASIG Conference and were able to see firsthand some of the University's digital projects and the latest technology in information services. NASIG's theme of "Experimentation and Collaboration: Creating Serials for a New Millennium" was also reflective of CONSER's operational agenda for 1997.
CONSER Editing Guide, Update 6 (Spring 1997), will be distributed early this summer. Included are instructions for online versions regarding the addition of a title added entry when the online title differs from the original. CEG Update 7, to be released in early 1998, will highlight changes relating to the PCC/CONSER consolidation effort. (CONSER Web pages will be updated as well.) CONSER will issue one update for the CONSER Cataloging Manual this year that will include changes to the electronic serials and newspapers modules, and a new module on legal serials. We are also considering the development of a module to assist in record maintenance.
Hirons issued a call for ideas for articles for CONSERline. CONSER members should consider submitting articles highlighting local developments for a more institutional focus for the newsletter.
New Authentication Codes for CONSER
The Library of Congress has requested OCLC to add two USMARC authentication codes (Field 042) for record validation: premarc and lccopycat. John Levy is working with LC premarc titles, using CONSER records and other OCLC copy to replace records in the separate Library of Congress premarc file. Additional authority work is not planned for this effort. LC does plan to implement a copy cataloging workflow in which the "lccopycat" code would indicate that existing catalog copy was accepted for use by LC. The CEG will document the new codes when they're included in the validation process.
LC Core Cataloging for Serials
Anderson reported that LC's Serial Record Division started a serials core cataloging project one year ago, including travel guides, car repair manuals, and administrative reports. An LC core cataloging approach for serials was developed in consultation with reference staff for the consistent treatment of fields optional at the core level. The LC core approach relies on catalogers' judgment that is based on a knowledge of how the material is accessed and used.
A major issue in the core project was how to amalgamate with OCLC full-level records. Over 80% of the project titles had existing records and the question of whether, or when to downgrade from "full" to "core" was an issue. The group developed a policy to generally retain the record as full-level unless the record clearly lacks a field required for that level. Serial Record also decided to remove the travel guides from the group as nearly all the titles were represented on OCLC at the time of cataloging.
[Serial Record Division will be considering how to expand the core cataloging effort over the summer in compliance with the LC Cataloging Directorate's decision to institute the core-level as the "base record" for cataloging at LC.]
Subject Support at LC
Catrine Goska, an experienced subject cataloger from the Social Sciences Cataloging Division, was recently transferred to Serial Record Division. She is working with CONSER to provide subject support, including review and consultation.
Rare Almanacs at LC
Maryvonne Mavroukakis, LC's rare serials cataloger, will be using earliest entry treatment for almanacs from the 17th and 18th centuries. LCRI 21.2C will be revised to document this practice.
Robert Bremer reported on the batch-loading of original NLM CONSER records that was completed this spring. OCLC is now ready to implement this for other CONSER members. The following record requirements will apply: bibliographic level code "s," USMARC encoding level values, valid LCCN, CONSER authentication code, etc. No record matching process will be run at OCLC, so records must be searched in the OLUC right before they're sent to OCLC. Members should FTP batch-load files on a weekly basis.
A formal announcement of the availability of this service for original CONSER input will be made shortly by OCLC. The difficulty in developing the process has been the need to redistribute CONSER records to LC. The PCC Standing Committee on Automation plans to pursue the issues and viability of batch-loading existing CONSER records for maintenance activities. Participants contributing records through batch-loading will not receive the CONSER credit but will be given the standard OCLC credit for new records.
Electronic Serials
Electronic Collections Online, a new OCLC initiative from its Reference Services Division, is expected to be operational this month. One hundred full-text journals will be available online with an additional 700-900 titles planned for the future. Several major commercial and academic publishers will participate. Articles will be in HTML and/or PDF formats. OCLC is planning to provide cataloging through its OCLC TechPro office. Information will also be added to print records reflecting the presence of the online version. The records OCLC creates for the online resources, entered under OCLC symbol "F#A," will not be CONSER-authenticated. Local data records will be included. For additional information visit the OCLC Web site (http://www.oclc.org/oclc/menu/ejo.htm).
Monograph Serial
C B A Current
| | | |
STATIC | ONGOING | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
__|_________ | ________|________________ |
| | | | | | | |
Single Multi | | | | | |
Part Part |Determinate | |Indeterminate
| | | | ||
_______|____ | _________|_____
| | | | | | | |
Multi | Single | Single | | Multi
Part | Part | Part | | Part
| Updating|Updating| | |
| | | | |
| | | _________|_
| | | | | |
| | | Un- | Numbered
| | |Numberd|
| | | |
Much of the Hirons/Graham paper focuses on the "Model for Ongoing Publications." (The separate models given in the paper have been condensed above into one display.) This approach was developed in meetings of the CONSER Task Force on AACR Review. The model divides the bibliographic universe between "static" and "ongoing" information. The terms, "determinate" and "indeterminate," are used to distinguish between indefinitely ongoing publications and those that are ongoing for a specified period of time.
Latest entry may have a negative effect in the following areas:
There was specific discussion on JSTOR, an electronic reproduction service for which print journals are scanned for computer storage and online access. While several libraries have decided to use separate records for JSTOR titles, others are using the print record for the online version. LC is updating print records with URLs in 051 fields (subfield $a) and "ELECTRONIC COPY" in subfield $c. Concern was registered that there are many more online versions expected in the near future (JSTOR and others), representing a potential flood of cataloging while additional complications continue to arise with the format. ISSN catalogers will generally retain separate numbers for different versions, with JSTOR as an exception. The ISSN for the online version should be given in subfield $x of the 776 field in the print record.
Graham described how UCSD developed a similar policy to record URLs for publications that don't represent "equivalent electronic versions." Lists were developed to indicate what kind of sites are included in the record and which are not. 5XX notes are sometimes added to describe the online information.
URLs added to the record for:
John Riemer (Georgia) asked whether we could reconsider our policy of not giving any coverage information for digital reproductions that don't include the first issue when first made available online. Carroll Davis (Columbia) suggested using the following note, as an example:
362 1 Coverage as of May 1997: Vol. 10, no. 1 (July
1987)-
This suggestion met with wide-spread approval. The practice will be included in the next CONSER documentation updates.
Current plans are for the CONSER and BIBCO operations committee meetings to be held in conjunction with one another, including a joint session. CONSER will continue to identify new issues and develope new policies and practices, some of which will need to be coordinated with the PCC and BIBCO. The CONSER Operations Committee will be kept informed on PCC policy issues as well. The BIBCO Operations Committee will be a representative group with a total of ten members serving rotating terms. Concern was expressed about the timing of the meetings and whether one group might have to meet on Wed. and Fri. with an off-day in between.
CONSER representatives to the three PCC standing committees are John Riemer (Training), Mechael Gago (Standards), and John Levy and Eric Celeste (Automation). Committee members serve 3-year rotating terms. According to the governance proposal, committee chairs are included in the PCC Policy Committee as non-voting members: Michael Kaplan (Automation), Willy Cromwell (Standards), Joan Swanekamp (Training). They will also attend Operations Committee meetings. PCC task groups are set-up through the appropriate standing committee. As new issues arise, CONSER must consider if they are solely serials issues, and if not, then the appropriate PCC standing committee will be consulted. The CONSER Conferences Task Force recommended that the PCC Standing Committee on Standards establish a task group to work on several issues relating to cataloging conferences, including conference headings and call number collocation. CONSER representatives on the committees have been asked to relay comments when there is information available on relevant activities.
Riemer reported that the Standing Committee on Training organizes PCC "Training the Trainer" sessions that includes a "values" training component. The Committee currently is working on refining its documentation and is investigating the production of a training video for more remote institutions. A series authority training manual is also under development, stemming from Judy Kuhagen's series authority training sessions.
LC has been working to streamline the reporting of CONSER and BIBCO statistics using a Web form that would generate statistical tables and program totals for members to view online (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/stats/pccstats.html). An automatic reporting mechanism is built-in for notification to be sent to OCLC to report CONSER maintenance activities.
For additional information about the PCC, visit its home page (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/). Updating information on the consolidation of CONSER and the PCC will be available via the CONSER and PCC home pages.
Fuller reported that her experience as UNC's mentor has been positive and largely uneventful to date, and feels that electronic communication has been perfectly adequate. Several experienced Enhance members have now had two years of experience maintaining CONSER records. Cindy Hepfer (SUNY-Buffalo) has found it to be a very positive experience and is now working with Kevin McShane (NLM). Graham reported that UCSD's cataloging activities are focused on computer files, using the single-record approach for online versions. A software program is used to verify the URLs on catalog records and has discovered few address changes.
CONSER is now considering a review of its training for new members, looking closely at the PCC training process. LC may not be able to continue performing all the CONSER training and reviewing as it has in the past. CONSER is considering a "training the trainer" session designed for catalogers outside LC who can assist with CONSER training. Michigan and Indiana have been successfully conducting CICNet training, largely conducted through email. CONSER will also consider additional documentation that may be needed to support training from outside LC. LC could evaluate the initial quality of work at new member institutions to determine how to tailor the training. The basic goals should be to increase the quality and quantity of records in the database. John Riemer, in his role as PCC training committee liaison, will coordinate an effort to identify the main issues relating to CONSER training and develop a CONSER curriculum.
Newspaper titles also require some special treatment. The source of the title note is not generally used. Uniform titles for newspapers always use the place name as the first element of the qualifier, which often leads to additional qualifying elements to distinguish the entry. LC's Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO) plans to distribute a revision of LCRI 25.5B for review this summer that clarifies use of place name qualifiers in uniform titles. CONSER plans to update Module 33 later this summer to more closely follow instructions in the revision. (See section below on LCRI 25.5B.)
USNP has traditionally used the 752 field for comprehensive access to place names for newspapers. Module 33 calls for a more limited application, instructing that the current place of publication be recorded. USNP has taken a different approach to certain bibliographic notes as well. Language notes (546) are more freely given and a comprehensive approach in recording frequencies (310, 321) is followed in USNP. Mergers and splits involving two related titles are not generally described in 580 notes.
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