Guidelines for BIBCO Libraries Contributing Bibliographic Records for Chinese Language Materials

Beginning October 1, 2000, libraries must use pinyin for systematically romanized Chinese language data in new bibliographic records. These records must contain the 987 pinyin conversion marker.

The complete definition of the 987 field is available on the Pinyin Conversion Project Homepage. All pinyin converted authority records will appear in the national authority file by October 4, 2000.

BIBCO libraries should do all new cataloging in Pinyin, filling in the 987 field as appropriate and marking the record as a BIBCO record (042=pcc) if the record meets BIBCO guidelines. Updates to existing records may be done according to standard individual institutional requirements, marking updated records as BIBCO (042=pcc) only if they have chosen to update the entire record to Pinyin at the same time and have reviewed the record's general characteristics to ensure that it meets BIBCO guidelines.

RLG BIBCO libraries should note that records in the RLG union catalog are being converted by cluster. Therefore, some of their records will be converted before RLG staff start converting the Wade-Giles records in their part of the RLIN Library Identifier-alphabet.

The conversion process is expected to take some months. During this period, RLG BIBCO libraries can proceed with their normal new cataloging and record maintenance procedures, without considering whether related records for the same title have been converted yet.

If BIBCO libraries copy from a Pinyin record, the 987 field will be carried over into their version of the record. If BIBCO libraries copy from a source record that is still in Wade-Giles and change the romanization to Pinyin, the BIBCO record will not become part of the cluster until RLG reclusters all Chinese-language records at the end of the conversion project. If they retain the Wade-Giles romanization, their copy of the record will be included in the RLG conversion along with the source copy. Records in Wade-Giles should not be designated as BIBCO records (042 = pcc). More information for RLG BIBCO libraries is available on RLG's Pinyin Conversion Homepage as an FAQ for RLIN users.

BIBCO libraries working in OCLC have two options:

1. Convert the entire record to pinyin. N.b. Any record that is converted *must* contain the 987 pinyin conversion marker; or
2. Not contribute unconverted bibliographic records to BIBCO and wait for the record to be converted by the utility. More information for OCLC member libraries is available on the OCLC Conversion Project Homepage.

Posted by: Ann Della Porta, Assistant Implementation Coordinator
ILS Program Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4010
mailto:adel@loc.gov