PCC Participants' Meeting summary

Sally Sinn, chair of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC), opened the PCC Participants Meeting at the ALA Annual Conference held Sunday evening, June 27,1999 at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans.

She declared that the state of cooperative programs is healthy and reported that BIBCO libraries have already added over 37,000 new bibliographic records to the program in FY99. This increase comes as the BIBCO program continues to expand, now numbering 37 participating libraries. New to the program since the Midwinter ALA conference are Tulane University, Arizona State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. The University of Washington received expanded BIBCO training in March 1999.

NACO continued to expand as well and welcomed the following libraries to NACO: Case Western University, University of Kentucky, Quality Books, Inc., and the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. The State University of New York at Buffalo expanded its NACO participation in preparation for joining BIBCO and the ATLA Funnel Project added three new libraries. Outreach to the international library community has resulted in the scheduling of five new libraries from abroad to join NACO: Trinity College, Dublin; the National Library of Wales; the University of Hong Kong; the State Library of Pretoria; and the University of South Africa, Pretoria. Sinn pointed to the semi-annual statistics which were available as a handout.

Sinn announced that the Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP) had been launched successfully and that two training-the-trainer sessions had been held already: the first session was held at the Annual Meeting of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) and the second session had been held in New Orleans at the ALA Conference with a total of 37 participants. The SCCTP materials are available for purchase through the Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) at the Library of Congress.

Sinn summarized the highlights of the CONSER-At-Large meeting held Sunday morning. The Task Force on the Inclusion of MARC Pattern/Holdings Data in CONSER Records reported that Rich Greene (OCLC) has proposed an OCLC local field into which publication data can be input. Some concerns arose regarding the need for including this data in the CONSER record. Questions such as who will be responsible for maintaining the data, and who intends to use the data are yet to be clarified. No conclusion has been reached, and it remains unclear as to how much such information might be needed on a regular basis. CONSER- At-Large also had a discussion on the single vs. separate record issue. Valerie Bross (UCLA) presented cataloging guidelines for serial publications. No CONSER policy is to be issued; however, guidelines will be published in the CONSER Cataloging Manual; participants felt that CONSER should retain an advisory position.

Sinn then reviewed the BIBCO-At-Large meeting which she attended and reported on the work of the BIBCO Operations Committee's Working Group on Statistics, expressing that agreement had been reached on the question of how to count vendor supplied records when used in conjunction with record creation. BIBCO is seeking representatives to serve on a task force to investigate variances with series tracing practices. Sinn also recognized that five current BIBCO Operations Committee members are rotating off the committee including, Bill Garrison (Colorado), Margaret Shen (Cleveland Public), Joan Swanekamp (Yale), Pat Williams (Chicago), and Pete Wilson (Vanderbilt). Sinn announced that there will be an upcoming "Training the BIBCO Trainer" to be held October 12-15, 1999. She reported that Carol Hixson (UCLA) is the new chair of the Standing Committee on Training (SCT) and that the Standing Committee on Standards had issued the core standard for computer files in April while the core standard for collection level records will be revised. The PCC has been in touch with ALCTS's Cataloging and Classification Section's Policy and Research Committee to discuss the possibility of using data gathering models for a study to examine the effectiveness of the core record and how the core records are being used.

Sinn recognized the hard work and dedication of several PCC participants who are rotating off the Policy Committee (PoCo) including, Roxanne Sellberg (Northwestern), Marietta Plank (Maryland), and Joan Swanekamp (Yale). Joan was also recognized for her tenure as chair, Standing Committee on Training.

Sinn announced the results of the PCC Policy Committee (PoCo) election. Larry Alford (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) is the new BIBCO representative to the PoCo; Marjorie Bloss (Center for Research Libraries) and Karen Hsu (New York Public) are the new CONSER representatives; and Jennifer Bowen (Eastman School of Music) was re-elected as the NACO representative. They will take office on October 1.

Antony Franks, Senior Cooperative Cataloger, Library of Congress, presented an informative discourse on the international component of the PCC, appropriately called IntCo for International Cooperative Programs. He provided a history of the participation by international partners in cooperative programs. IntCo predates the PCC and has gradually been integrated into the PCC. In many cases there are bi-lateral arrangements between national libraries, the Library of Congress being one of the parties, for specific goals. In most situations, these are working relationships involving the exchange of data; namely, an agreement with the National Library of Canada as well as with the British Library. Franks addressed the scale of contributions from international participants as well.

IntCo members submitted one-third of the total SACO contributions in fiscal year 1998; FY99 statistics demonstrate that over half of the newly approved subject headings have come from international libraries with the British Library leading the way, followed by Edmonton Public Library. Gains in automation technology as well as the Internet have permitted increased SACO participation by international organizations. The changes have also enhanced proposal workflow. NACO contributions from international partners are also quite impressive. FY98 showed that 9% of new name authority records were produced by international partners, and in mid-year FY99, statistics show that the figure has risen to nearly 15% of the total new headings. Franks also pointed out that many issues still remain to be worked through; not all libraries use AACR2 or the MARC21 format. Even in institutions where the language of the catalog is English, the thought of qualifying a corporate body established in the vernacular with the physical location in English provokes objections. LCSH is the cumulation of 100 years of subject headings and American English spellings, breaking with status quo is often cumbersome and difficult. A major expansion of IntCo to include more participants from the United Kingdom and Ireland as well a greater contribution level from current members in this area is expected in the fall.

Automation issues were the focal point for the next presentation. John Riemer, chair, Standing Committee on Automation, Task Force on Journals in Aggregator Databases, introduced task force members (Jeanne Baker (Maryland), Matthew Beacom (Yale), Karen Calhoun (Cornell), Eric Celeste (MIT), Ruth Haas (Harvard), Jean Hirons (LC), and Oliver Pesch (EBSCO)). Riemer reported on the follow-on work of the original CONSER Task Force and its survey.

The Task Force on Journals in Aggregator Databases was appointed to explore options for vendor record sets to determine their usefulness, cost-effectiveness, and timeliness and then partner with interested vendors. The Task Force was also tasked with defining vendor record content and with evaluating the records that were produced. Two mechanisms were employed; namely, machine-derived records produced from records for print equivalents, and machine- generated records. The Task Force was to look at feasibility of record creation, maintenance, and delivery. They worked under the following six assumptions: (1) records can stand alone in an online public access catalog (OPAC); (2) allow for consolidation of records (a) with records for print, and/or (b) with records for other electronic versions; (3) records should be easy to remove; (4) records can be machine-derived or machine generated (depending on vendor); (5) allow for customization of records prior to loading; and (6) holdings data information was not to be considered essential in the first phase.

Karen Calhoun next addressed the audience discussing the findings of the Task Force with a record set created by EBSCO. The EBSCO record set was created for the full text serial titles within Academic Search Elite and contained 1142 records. It is available for downloading from EBSCO; Oliver Pesch at EBSCO, can be contacted via email OPesch@epnet.com for additional information. The record set is now in the "testing phase"; the University of Maryland will be loading the record set; other interested subscribers are invited to testload it. Already ten institutions have expressed interest in downloading this record set; however, its maintenance remains the responsibility of EBSCO. The data is volatile and the fields fluctuate. EBSCO has agreed to reissue the set on a monthly basis. The deletions issue is still being addressed. The audience was shown an example of a machine-derived record, i.e., a record derived from existing bibliographic record from print). Calhoun also pointed out that many records do not follow AACR2 and that note fields are taken directly from the print record. The audience was also shown a machine generated record that had been prepared according to specifications prepared by the Task Force for vendors who do not have access to cataloging records. Calhoun identified that the next steps for the Task Force were to test the EBSCO set, to prepare maintenance recommendations, to seek other demonstration project opportunities, and to raise awareness in the library community. To learn more about the findings and activities of the Task Force please visit the Task Force interim report available through the PCC Home Page. The final report is due in December 1999.

Ruth Bogan spoke about the results of the PCC-SCA Survey on Awareness of Cataloging Tools which asked if catalogers were aware of the (1) OCLC NACO macro (made available in June 1999); (2) OCLC CatME for realtime upload of bibliographic records; and/or (3) RLG Authority Assistant. The survey was distributed to the approximate 300 PCC members, and the total number of respondents was 57 (about 20%). The bulk of Bogan's talk was a statistical summary of the survey results. Demonstrations of these tools will be provided at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio next January.

Matthew Beacon addressed the relationship between PCC and CORC. CORC is currently a research project engaged in developing tools for cataloging online resources in a cooperative environment. There are presently about 100 catalogers and their institutions involved in the project. Beacon's presentation included a number of rhetorical questions including, what is CORC producing? Is the PCC only about AACR2 and MARC21? Apparently CORC is working on developing a tool to create a record automatically and is continuing work on SCORPION. Beacon mentioned that there might be a possible cooperative effort between the PCC and CORC in the maintenance of URLs. Beacon reassured the PCC Sunday night audience that the PCC Standing Committee on Automation intends to pay attention to CORC and the subsequent tools which may develop and to imagine the benefits from mutual collaboration.

John Byrum, PCC Secretariat, conducted a survey of those who had attended the PCC Participants' January 1999 meeting in Philadelphia to obtain feedback regarding the format and presentation of these sessions. Although only 25 or so of those contacted participated in the survey, he felt that the results were conclusive, given the unanimity of the views expressed. Almost 100 percent of the replies indicated satisfaction with the current format, with its emphasis on reporting and special topical programs, such as tonight's presentation from the Standing Committee on Automation. On the question of whether the meeting should held at an earlier hour on Sunday evenings the opinion was evenly divided between doing so and maintaining the current time frame. Some felt that there should be more opportunity for informal discussions with LC staff. Subsequently, a recommendation was offered that occasionally meetings might form breakout or poster type sessions. The Policy Committee will discuss this possibility at its November meeting. Meanwhile, the current format will be retained for the San Antonio meeting at which the program component will feature speakers from the Standing Committee on Standards.

Before Sinn adjourned the meeting, she introduced her successor as PCC Chair, Michael Kaplan (Indiana). His acceptance remarks were brief. Kaplan then honored Gary Strawn (Northwestern) with a special presentation in recognition for contributions to the Standing Committee on Automation and his efforts to facilitate cooperative programs through sharing cataloging software which he had developed to automate parts of the name authority record creation process.

Kaplan also presented outgoing chair, Sinn, with a certificate of appreciation and a personal gift, bestowing on behalf of all present gratitude for a truly impressive term of office during which the Program and its components flourished.