CCM Revision: Module 31, Remote Access Electronic Serials (Online Serials)

Steve Shadle and Wen-ying Lu have published a description of recent revisions to Module 31 of the CONSER Cataloging Manual (CCM) in their article, "Update on CONSER Cataloging Manual Module 31 'Remote Access Electronic Serials (Online Serials)'" in Serials Review, volume 38, issue 3 (Sept. 2012).

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.serrev.2012.08.007

The full text of Module 31 (Aug. 2012 revision) can be found here: http://www.loc.gov/acq/conser/pdf/Module31.pdf

ALCTS Continuing Education on YouTube

ALCTS, the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, is offering free access to some of their archived webinars via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/alctsce

For readers wanting to set up an RSS feed to keep track of new content, use the following address: http://www.youtube.com/rss/user/alctsce/videos.rss

"The U.S. RDA Test Process" by Diane Boehr, Regina Romano Reynolds, and Tina Shrader

This article reports the content of a session given at the 2011 NASIG Conference on the process of testing Resource Description and Access (RDA) in the United States in late 2010 and the subsequent analysis of the data in 2011. The presenters represented three national libraries who were an integral part of the testing process: the Library of Congress, the National Agricultural Library, and the National Library of Medicine. While this article does not present the recommendations that came out of the test (those can be found on the Library of Congress's website), it does describe the process of how the test was conducted, how the data were analyzed, and the general categories of recommendations that were arrived at. Given that this presentation was part of the NASIG conference, the topic of continuing resources in the test was highlighted. The presenters touched on issues such as successive entry, what format changes will constitute the need for a new bibliographic record, how translations and language additions will be handled, discrepancies between RDA and CONSER Standard Record practices, and the future of provider neutral records under RDA.

"The U.S. RDA Test Process" can be found in the Serials Librarian, volume 62, issues 1-4 (2012), pages 125-139. DOI: 10.1080/0361526X.2012.652485.

Serials and RDA: An Ongoing Relationship

"Serials and RDA: An Ongoing Relationship" is a report of a preconference given at the 2011 NASIG conference by Judith A. Kuhagen (Library of Congress) and recorded by Margaret Mering (University of Nebraska--Lincoln). The report gives a brief history of the origins of the  new cataloging rules, RDA: Resource Description and Access. Also covered is information on the structure of RDA, an overview of some specific rules, and a discussion of how various relationships will be handled.

"Serials and RDA" is available in a special issue of the Serials Librarian, volume 62, no. 1-4 (2012), pages 5-16. doi: 10.1080/0361526X.2012.652470

"RDA: End of the World Postponed?" by Kevin M. Randall

Kevin Randall, an RDA proponent and the Principal Serials Cataloger at Northwestern University, provides an overview of some of the major issues surrounding Resource Description and Access in his article, "RDA: End of the World Postponed?" In the article, Randall tackles questions such as:

• Why should we switch to RDA if the records aren't really much different from AACR2 records? Can't we just fix AACR2?
• What's all this about FRBR, and why are we rushing into it blindly?
• Are we putting the rules cart before the format horse?
• We finally got continuing resources, now where did they go?
• Have we abandoned ISBD?
• Isn't the U.S. RDA test really just for show? Isn't implementation a foregone conclusion?
• That was then, this is now . . . what's the future?

If you've grown weary of following all the RDA discussions on various discussion lists, this article will help catch you up on some of the current debates. As catalogers well know, cataloging rules are all too often blamed for the shortcomings of OPACs, so I want to note one particular quote that I wish all reference librarians and library administrators would read:

"... the cataloger’s work could be aided to an extreme degree by truly suitable and modern cataloging
interfaces. (For many years complaints about the difficulty and expense of cataloging have been largely misplaced. The problems have far less to do with the cataloging rules and the MARC format than they have to do with an electronic cataloging interface that after four decades still holds onto its original basic concept: read a book of cataloging rules, and apply those rules in filling out a MARC tag workform)"--P. 339.

Randall, Kevin M. "RDA: End of the World Postponed?" Serials Librarian 61, no. 3-4 (Oct. 2011): 334-345. doi:10.1080/0361526X.2011.617297


[Note: My apologies to readers and to Mr. Randall for the lateness of this posting. I had been relying on an RSS feed for information on new articles, but never received notice of this one. It wasn't until I saw a citation to the article in the NASIG Newsletter that I discovered the omission.]

27th Annual NASIG Conference

Registration is now open for the 27th annual conference of the North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG), which will be held June 7-10, 2012, in Nashville, Tennessee. Complete information can be found on the conference website:  http://www.nasig.org/conference_registration.cfm

Some program highlights of particular interest to serials catalogers include:

• "RDA and Serials: Theoretical and Practical Applications" to be presented by Judy Kuhagen (preconference session)
• "CONSER Serials RDA Workflow" to be presented by Les Hawkins and Hien Nguyen
• "What's Up with Docs?!?: The Peculiarities of Cataloging Federal Government Serial Publications" to be presented by Stephanie Braunstein, Joseph R. Nicholson, and Fang Huang Gao.

Preliminary Report from the CONSER Standard Record RDA Core Elements Task Group

The preliminary report from the CONSER Standard Record RDA Core Elements Task Group is now available on the CONSER website. Issues covered include:

• Authorized access points for translations and language editions
• Additions to distinguish otherwise identical authorized access points for resources
• Recording dates of publication
• Recording statements of responsibility relating to the title proper