ALC Cataloging Committee Meeting
Albany, NY, SUNY Science Library
Friday, May 3, 2002: 9:00-10:30am
Minutes
Present: Present: Ruby Bell-Gam (Univ. of California, Los Angeles), Joseph Caruso (Columbia Univ.), Andrew de Heer (Schomburg Center), Gregory Finnegan (Harvard Univ.), Karen Fung (Stanford Univ.), James Gentner (Library of Congress), Miki Goral (Univ. of California, Los Angeles), Margaret Hughes (Stanford Univ.), Alfred Kagan (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Patricia Kuntz (Edgewood Coll.), Joseph Lauer (Michigan State Univ.), Robert Lesh (Northwestern Univ.), Peter Limb (Michigan State Univ.), Lauris Olson (Univ. of Pennsylvania), Afeworki Paulos (Univ. of Michigan), Loumona Petroff (Boston Univ.), Gretchen Walsh (Boston Univ.), Joanne Zellers (Library of Congress).
1. Introductions & announcements: Chair Lauer opened the meeting at 9:08 a.m. Hughes volunteered to take notes as secretary.
2. Approval of the minutes of the Fall meeting (sent to ALC list on Dec. 5, 2001 & on ALC website)
3. Additions and approval of agenda: LC report added.
4. Africana Subject Funnel (Lauer)
The Spring 2002 Funnel report, which will be posted on ALC website. (A draft
is already on web at: http://www.lib.msu.edu/lauer/ .) was distributed. A many proposals continue to come from Janet Stanley, National
Museum of African Art Library. She also submits headings to the Art &
architecture thesaurus (AAT) authority file maintained by the J. Paul Getty
Trust. In cases where there was no monograph which would use the heading, these
proposals went into a hold file. The funnel contact at LC. Gracie Gilliam, has
been very helpful and responsive to comments Lauer made, especially about headings
that appear in the Tentative Weekly List. Higher up at LC there is an
ongoing problem with someone's preference for names as they appear in Ethnologue,
regardless of what was used by scholars. Lauer distributed a draft memo (Disentangling
Ovimbundu from Mbundu in LCSH) that shows how Ethnologue and other secondary
sources are sometimes unreliable. It was suggested that the Ethnologue editors
be contacted in cases of apparent errors. Both Beall and Lauer had done this
in a few cases; and the responses they received were not particularly encouraging.
There was much discussion as to how to involve other authorities. Limb proposed contacting scholars for their advice. There is a need to demonstrate to some that the primary record (publications by scholars and others) should be given more weight than secondary compilations. DeHeer pointed out that catalogers working in Ghana supplement LCSH with local headings, which could be considered as additions to LCSH. The absence of input from librarians working in Africa was noted and regretted. Walsh proposed posting something on AfLib, which does include some catalogers. In the process of updating the directory of African language experts (at: http://www.lib.msu.edu/lauer/alc-catcom/ALEdirectory.htm), she would compile email addresses that could be added to those receiving the funnel proposals. The Chair was asked to compile a introductory note in plain English which Walsh could send to AfLib, soliciting input.
REPORTS
5. Library of Congress (Gentner):
Julianne Beall forwarded 2 documents related to Dewey Decimal Classification:
EPC Exhibit 117-16.4 (Dec. 3, 2001) was distributed at the CCAAM meeting at
ALA-Midwinter (see below). The second document, EPC Exhibit 118.12.2 (March
7, 2002) contains proposed revisions to Table 2: 56-99 Geographic Areas. The
30 pages relating to Africa could be faxed or mailed upon request. It has numerous
changes for Sudan, Ethiopia, and Morocco; and minor changes with other countries.
Newspaper records: Jeffrey Myers-Hayer of the Serial Record Division and Catherine
Thuku of the LC-Nairobi office have created bib records for the ca. 1000 newspapers
acquired between 1985 and 2000. Since newspapers are only held until microfilmed,
these are strange records on oclc, with no holding library. Separate records
for the microfilm version will be created and this problem will be resolved.
Because of LC's policies, not all of these will be available for loan. To see
what is filmed by the LC Office in New Delhi, see http://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/ or http://www.locdelhi.org/lc/newspapers/
Cataloging of social science materials about Africa slowed by illness of David
Michener, who is the cataloger most active in that area.
As a result the anthrax letters, LC continues to have problems with lost, delayed
and destroyed mail.
6. CC:AAM (Cataloging & Classification: Asian & African Materials
Com.) (Lauer):
The midWinter meeting of ALA's CC:AAM covered several topics of interest to
Africanists.
A. Julianne Beall distributed 2 documents related to Dewey Decimal Classification:
1) EPC Exhibit 117-16.4 (Dec. 3, 2001) is a memo from Winton E. Matthews, responding
to ALC proposals for changes in 960 (History of Africa). After careful review,
many of the suggestions were accepted; others were found to lack enough literary
warrant to justify their own numbers in the Dewey schedules. Examples of the
latter include the administration of Senghor and subdivisions for Sierra Leone,
1961- (only 8 works in WorldCat). Subdivisions for early periods for African
countries, especially Angola, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, will have to wait until
the next edition.
2) "Countries with Changes in DDC" noted that changes in Table 2 (Area
Table) had already been approved by EPC (the Editorial Policy Committee of DDC)
for China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran & Asiatic Russia. Countries
to be discussed by EPC during the May meeting: Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Sudan, Morocco, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Anyone interested in reviewing the changes
should e-mail Matthews at mattheww@oclc.org. Comments should be received by
April 1st.
B. Discussion of role of area studies groups in submitting new or revised subject
headings: Aside from the Africana subject funnel, those present had no experience.
Librarians for Southeast Asia had submitted changes for time period subdivisions
and encountered problems in following the correct procedures. One librarian
wanted an Africana NACO funnel, and we are exploring a non-funnel approach to
her problems.
C. Proposed revision for scope note of Indigenous peoples: There were no comments
on Lauer's proposed scope note change.
D. There was a lively discussion on the meaning and appropriateness of "Oriental"
in AACR2, and this was referred to a task force. [In some cases, Oriental means
only East Asia. But in rules 4.1B2, 21.30K1e and C.5, Oriental clearly implies
nonwestern or nonroman and could include Eastern Europe and Africa.]
E The meeting also heard many reports and approved two minor changes in the
Chinese Romanization guidelines.
OLD BUSINESS
7. Cataloging workflow survey: LC Nairobi acquisitions
Nothing new on proposed survey. Issue of cooperative cataloging of African language
materials, including gifts or faculty purchases, was discussed. Some wanted
a new formal project and/or T6 funding; others pointed to current practices
at different institutions that could be used. Examples included seeking assistance
from African students, using k-level records, using "Textbooks" as
a form subdivision. (Until very recently, "Textbooks" was only used
for books about textbooks.) Some mentioned new H-Africa lists for Swahili and
Hausa; and value of incorporating expertise found outside our group. Discussion
of list of peoples with African language skills led to mention of Dwyer project.
(See Webbook of African Language Resources at
http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/hiermenu.html.) This continues work previously
published in Dwyer, David J. A resource handbook for African languages: a
listing of the institutional, human, and material resources for the teaching
and learning of the eighty-two highest priority African languages (East
Lansing, Mich.: African Studies Center, Michigan State University, 1986; also
as ERIC microfiche at ED 1.310/2:280274).
8. North American Title Count (NATC)
Lauer contacted Cheryl Kern-Simirenko (chair of NATC) with suggestions for changes
in the classification break-outs and asked that ALC be contacted in the future.
She responded that changes for the next (2005) title count would be handled
by a new committee; and that David Easterbrook was contacted in 1997 when the
breakouts for Africa [DT only] were done. [Easterbrook said his only comment
to NATC had been to say there was insufficient Africana representation.] A brief
discussion about the nature and value of this project followed. [This project
began in 1973 as the National Shelflist Count, and they have been a total of
10 counts, reporting titles in ca. 200 (in 1973) to ca. 700 (in 2001) call numbers
ranges. Earlier counts appeared in print and microfiche. Latest is to appear
on the web. See ALA website for background. For University of Michigan data
(with the complete list of categories) for 1993, 1997 & 2001, see
http://www.lib.umich.edu/systems/compare.htm.]
9. Revision of DT schedule for Indian Ocean islands: Hughes and Caruso would be meeting later in an attempt to revive this project which started in the mid-1990s.
The meeting adjourned at 10:40am
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