1. 1 Subject Authority Control and Cooperative Cataloging May 18, 2005

2. 2 Overview Subject Authority Control: Maintenance at the Micro Level Cooperative Cataloging: Maintenance at the Macro Level

3. 3 The Need for Subject Authority Maintenance Subject headings are dynamic! Terminology changes over time Afro-Americans  African Americans Moldavian S.S.R.  Moldova Internet (Computer network)  Internet Chung, Tzu-ch'i (Legendary character)  Zhong, Ziqi (Legendary character)

4. 4 The Need for Subject Authority Maintenance (cont.) Add or delete subject authority records when: Subject access fields in bibliographic records are modified New bibliographic records are added to a catalog Bibliographic records are deleted from a catalog

5. 5 Providing Authority Maintenance Locally Incorporate authority work into cataloging routine before downloading each record Check each subject heading in the local or national authority file All cataloging staff need training on authority control procedures

6. 6 Providing Authority Maintenance Locally (cont.) Use authority modules of ILS post- cataloging Example: Innovative Interfaces’ module “First-time use” headings Unauthorized heading matches Blind headings Amount of maintenance performed depends on staff time

7. 7 Outsourcing Authority Maintenance 4-5 authority control companies in the United States For a per-record fee, will match all controlled access points in the catalog to their authority file (names, series, subjects) Also will correct indicators, fields, subfields

8. 8 Outsourcing Authority Maintenance (cont.) Retain a copy of your catalog Periodically match against updated authority file Notify you of changed authority records with option to purchase records or download yourself Periodically, you send new bibliographic records to company for authority processing

9. 9 Cooperative Cataloging: Maintenance at the Macro Level Maintenance of the National Authority File Need for a mechanism for creation and revision of subject authority records Up until ca. 1990, the Library of Congress was solely responsible for creation and revision of subject authority records

10. 10 Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Mid-1990s: need for greater participation of catalogers in authority activities LC and other US libraries created PCC to provide training, certification, and oversight of quality bibliographic record creation and authority activities PCC includes: CONSER – serial records BIBCO – bibliographic records (i.e., monographs) NACO – name and series authority records SACO – subject authority records

11. 11 About the Subject Authority Cooperative Program (SACO) Established to provide a means for libraries to submit subject headings and classification numbers to the Library of Congress Provides training on preparing subject heading proposals

12. 12 About SACO (cont.) First SACO workshop on preparation of basic subject authority proposals held in 1997 Now also provides advanced training in particular topic areas, such as: languages and related literature geographic headings historical events art

13. 13 SACO Workshops Often held as preconferences at ALA annual meetings SACO (and PCC) trains trainers who are active regionally Workshops offered for free or at cost Host institutions must provide photocopies of training materials Trainers do not charge a fee, only transportation and housing costs

14. 14 SACO Workflow 1. Submitter prepares subject heading proposal, including all necessary research, and submits by email or web form 2. LC Cooperative Cataloging Team (Coop Team) reviews proposal 3. LC’s Cataloging Policy and Support Office (CPSO) conducts editorial review; included in the next tentative LCSH Weekly List 4. Approved headings are published in the Approved Library of Congress Subject Headings Weekly Lists and ultimately in LCSH

15. 15 Why wasn’t this proposal approved? Australia--Territories and possessions Since --Territories and possessions is free- floating under names of places, this proposal is not necessary.

16. 16 Why wasn’t this proposal approved? (cont.) Crassostrea gigas culture Headings are not established for the culture of individual species. Instead, a heading for the culture of the broader group of organisms (in this case, Oyster culture) should be assigned in conjunction with the heading for the species. The proposal was not approved.

17. 17 Why weren’t these proposals approved? Immigrant engineers; Immigrant scientists There is a well-established pattern in LCSH of using the form [class of persons], Foreign for headings of this type. The proposed headings were therefore changed to Engineers, Foreign and Scientists, Foreign.

18. 18 SACO Membership Any library already participating in a PCC program (CONSER, NACO, BIBCO) is automatically a member of SACO Any other library wishing to be in SACO must Complete an application Commit to submitting 10-12 proposals each year have catalogers with a basic knowledge of the procedures and guidelines in SCM, familiarity with LCSH and Free-Floating Subdivisions, MARC 21 Authority Format, and standard reference sources Have access to LC authority files

19. 19 OCLC OCLC: Online Computer Library Center Member organization: 9,000 members Used by over 50,000 libraries in 96 countries WorldCat: 58 million bibliographic records

20. 20 Role of OCLC in authority control Provides access to the National Authority File (subjects, names, series) Provides interface for submitting name and series authority proposals (but not subjects) Provides interface for submitting corrections to authority records (usually in consultation with LC)