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Minutes of the PLA Cataloging Needs of Public Libraries Committee

ALA Annual Conference, Chicago July 10, 2000

1. The Minutes from the Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio were approved.
   
   
2. Reports from various liaisons; old business:
1. Winton Matthews gave a report for the Library of Congress. LC has a new exhibit booth which features a theater. LC will be selling the commemorative coins at the booth. Update of the LC ILS: In May 2000, LC installed the Validator software for those who work in cataloging. This software checks for data errors and inconsistencies in cataloging records and should reduce the costs for quality control activities and improving the timeliness of data corrections. Beginning October 1, LC will implement pinyin romanization of Chinese for newly cataloged materials. Plans are underway to replace the Wade-Giles romanized records with their pinyin updates. Voyager Release 2000 will include new features and capabilities, including capability to display Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Hebrew vernacular characters. LC will also install the Voyager add-on "Geospatial Searching" which will enhance access for cartographic materials. Full MARC 21 authority records are scheduled to be available in LC's Web OPAC by the end of 2000. More on the ILS can be found at http://lcweb.loc.gov/ils. NLM staff will participate in the ECIP program. A program in San Francisco next year will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Cataloging in Publication. LC implemented the AACR2 1998 Revision in March, 2000. More than 2,100 subject subdivision authority records have been created to control the 3,100+ free-floating subdivisions in the LCSH. LC will begin adding subject headings to current acquisitions of many English-language fiction as part of its normal cataloging practice. Headings will be assigned from LCSH and Guidelines on Subject Access to Individual Works of Fiction, Drama, etc. Cleveland Public Library and Northwestern University are now CONSER libraries. LC is hoping to phase out the CD-Rom version of Dewey and have only a web-version available.
2. Margaret reported from CC:DA: There will be a pre-conference on Map Cataloging next year. It was agreed that the position of the word "Journal" in title changes can be ignored. They are looking at a new format, Integrated resource. The approval for this is moving very quickly. Chapter 12 revisions for serials are being coordinated with Chapter 9. Amendments to AACR2 can be found thru the ALA homepage at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/iasweb/personal/jca/ccda/tf-serr1.html.
3. Dennis Winters spoke with SACO about adding cross-references between AC and LCSH. They said there will be no dedicated effort but that anyone could propose authority cross-references and they would review. They had no problem with locations adding cross-references for local purposes.
4. The program How Children Search was well-received. It was emphasized that children use flat-searching techniques (i.e. using only 1-2 clicks to get an answer) as opposed to embedded searching where the search becomes narrower and narrower.
5. Margaret announced that the CIP program in San Francisco has requested a representative from public libraries as a speaker. They would like to receive congratulatory letters from users as well.
6. As of October 1, everyone must use pinyin for transliterating Chinese. All authority records will be converted. OCLC will actually convert in Spring 2000. Taiwan place names will remain as they are and will not be converted.
7. Margaret reported for Ava Smith on preparations for a program for the ALA 2001 conference on Practical Cataloging, geared towards small libraries. The program has been approved by PLA. One of our potential co-sponsors requested that we focus a bit more on Asian/African language in order for them to co-sponsor. It was suggested that we contact AsiaLink for some small public library customers to speak on how they handle their foreign language materials.
   
   
3. New Business:
   1. Margaret announced that she would prefer to use a group list instead of a listserv for communication among the group. She will try it with a test message and we will see how it goes.
   2. Program suggestions for Annual 2002: originally we had suggested a program on WebDewey but some on the program committee felt that was too narrow. It was suggested that we expand the topic to Using the Web for Cataloging. Richard Baumgarten, Johnson County (KS) Library and Joanne Gilmore, Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library will work together to develop a program on this topic.
   3. Cataloging AV Materials and the use of GMD's, especially for DVDs: Some libraries are using DVD for GMD though it is not in the authorized list. This use will help the users. Much discussion was given on this topic, but with no conclusion. Richard agreed to help Hee-ja Chung for her article on A-V materials.
   4. Cooperation with ALCTS Technical Services in Public Libraries Discussion Group: In discussion of the mission statement last year, we became aware of a similar group in ALCTS and the issue was raised whether we should join forces in some way. The Cataloging Needs committee members felt strongly that they wanted to maintain their narrower focus for cataloging as a distinct group but we would welcome cooperation on appropriate topics and try to have joint meetings sometime.
   5. Mike Tribby announced that the Video Round Table will be the primary sponsor of a program on Videos at San Francisco in 2001.
   6. Margaret introduced the incoming chair of the committee, Joanne Gilmore from Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library.
   7. The committee thanked Margaret Shen for her chairmanship of the committee over the past years. Under her direction, the committee meetings have become much more focused and lively.

In attendance:
Mike Tribby, Quality Books, Inc.
Dennis Winters, Grand Rapids Public Lib, MI
Richard Baumgarten, Johnson Co Library, KS
Heeja Chung, Westchester Lib System, NY
Mary Jane Mannherz, M. Grundy Library, PA
David Wiseman, VTLS, Inc.
Sophia Wang, Co. of Los Angeles Pub Library, CA
Maxine Sherman, Cuyahoga Co Public Library, OH
Laurie MacLeod Bennett, Chestatee Regional Library System, GA
Linda Gobel, OCLC, Inc.
Jane Gilchrist, Library of Congress
Robert Boyer, Nicholson Memorial Pub Lib, TX
Winton Matthews, Library of Congress
Joanne Gilmore, Columbus Metro Library, OH
Margaret Shen, Cleveland Public Library, OH