NACO/SACO
Abstract The Program for Cooperative Cataloging Operations Committee meets annually to update participants on developments and information related to working cooperatively with other catalogers within the program. The Listen and Learn session is an overview of important points of this meeting, as well as an update on the state of affairs of the Atla NACO and SACO Funnels programs.
The purpose of the NACO/SACO Listen and Learn is twofold. First, it offers an update as to the state of the Atla Funnels Program. Second, it is a report on the PCC Operations Committee meeting, which was held in person this year during the first week of May. This was the first Operations Committee held in person in three years, so the information is somewhat extensive.
Atla Funnels Statistics
From September 2022 until June 2023, roughly 75% of Atla’s fiscal year, the NACO Funnel completed 450 new or updated records, specifically 349 new and 91 updated. This is down from last year, where at the June marker we were at slightly over 600 new or updated records. Our records for new and proposed changes to headings for SACO are also down, at seven compared to nine last year and thirteen the year prior. Our number of actively participating institutions has also gone down; to date this fiscal year only five institutions have input records to NACO, down from seven last year and eight the year prior. This downward trend is being seen throughout the cataloging world. The Library of Congress reports that 90% of all NACO work has been done by 90 institutions and that 50% of all new work is coming from just 14 institutions. So, we are not unique in our numbers. This downward trend leads well into a discussion of the state of the Funnels Program.
The State of the Funnels Program
As can be seen in our statistics, if we want this program to thrive, we need to both a) encourage members in the program to contribute, and b) increase the number of participating institutions. A “c” could be added for having qualified leadership and mentorship in the program: while Atla staff are able to care for the administrative side of being the Funnels Coordinator, none are qualified to mentor because they are not independent NACO contributors.
The following steps are being made by the Atla staff to reinvigorate the program. First, we are working with program directors at the Library of Congress. Atla’s hope is to be able to offer directed NACO training as well as SACO training sometime in the next year for anyone that needs to brush up and for anyone interested in becoming part of the program. We will also allow and encourage Atla metadata staff to become participants in the program and they will be a part of the training. We are also in talks to partner with the technical services group at the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL), creating memberships for catalogers from ACL so that they can participate in and receive training with the Atla Funnels. That was all part of step one. Second, we are hoping to create a collaborative method for mentoring new members as well as current members who are still not independent NACO contributors. As participants know, an evaluator is necessary for a period of time before independence. Our hope is that we can arrange to have some of the evaluations come from the Library of Congress, but we have not made that arrangement yet.
On the part of our current NACO participants, we are going to make a request to keep this program going. That request is that if you are an independent contributor, we ask that you be willing to act as an evaluator for our non-independent contributors. The idea is that we can spread that responsibility, which was in the past held by the Funnels Coordinator, among several of our members as well as staff from the Library of Congress, so that we can both keep our non-independent contributors able to submit work and so that we can increase the number of participants. All other responsibilities related to the Coordinator position will be carried out by Atla staff, but we are not able to be an evaluator, which is a necessary function to keep the program going.
Updates from PCC Operations Committee
Standing Committee Updates
The Standing Committee on Applications has two important points to note. First, the committee has completed a survey on the potential implications of doing away with the standard of coding the 008/29 field as “b” and adding the 667 note “Non-Latin script reference(s) not evaluated” in name authority records with cross-references in non-Latin scripts. Further notes on this will come from the Standing Committee on Standards. The second important development is the charging of a task group on BIBFRAME-to-MARC conversion, which will work to document best practices on conversion, to maintain the current repertoire of MARC descriptive fields to BIBFRAME, and to create new standards for access points according to the ongoing development of related standards.
From the Standing Committee on Standards, the first point relates to non-Latin script coding I have just referenced in the previous committee. The policy revision will allow new and revised name authority records with non-Latin script references to be coded as “a” in the 008/29 fixed field rather than “b,” and the 667 reference to evaluation will be omitted if the text has been evaluated. Records with non-evaluated scripts will retain their “b” coding and 667 reference. Partial evaluation of scripts will need to retain their “b” coding and the 667 note should be updated or written to clarify which scripts have been evaluated and which have not. NACO Participant’s Manual and the LC Guidelines Supplement will be updated in August for these changes. A second point from the committee is that guidelines for the use of updated language codes, now ISO 639-3, are available. These will create more granular information and access to indigenous, historical, artificial, and sign languages. The LC Demographic Group Terms continue to maintain a list for linking demonyms and associated places in the Name Authority Files and in LCSH.
Finally, updates from the Standing Committee on Training. First, the Linked Data Training Group is in the process of developing a curriculum for PCC members to participate in metadata creation using BIBFRAME and linked data. Second, the Documentation Survey Task Group put out a survey to PCC members to create a SWOT analysis related to the quality of training materials. Finally, and most importantly, the RDA Training Task Group is developing an extensive set of training modules on utilizing the RDA Toolkit for monograph cataloging. The 17-module introductory training is scheduled to be released in July and will be found on the Cataloger’s Learning Workshop website (https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/).
OCLC Update
Several topics came in the OCLC update that should be noted. First and foremost is the end of life for the Connexion browser; this will no longer be available as of April 2024. Users of the browser version will need to move to the Connexion client. Automatic updates being made: all K-level records are updated and OCLC is currently updating I-level records with roughly 25 of 42 million records complete. K- and I-level records will no longer be able to be made at this point. They are also working to enrich as many records as possible with DDC call numbers. Roughly 85 million records are candidates, and since February roughly 25 million are complete. OCLC has also tested a method to strip 375 gender fields from records in accordance with a previous decision made on gender markers in records; they are awaiting Library of Congress approval before proceeding. In addition to this, 880 fields for non-Latin scripts have been added to the fields that may be added or edited on Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) records with non-PCC authorizations. Finally, MARC field 387 (representative expression characteristics) and 788 (parallel description in another language of cataloging) as well as a significant number of subfields have been added.
Other Updates of Concern for NACO/SACO
The first set of updates comes from the PCC Task Group on Gender and has relevant points to both NACO and SACO. As has been stated previously, the 375 field to record gender should no longer be used. Items currently in work and which will be coming to the Library of Congress are: a) a change in documentation related to name changes, specifically in relation to gender transition, i.e., “deadnaming” in authority records; b) updating information gendered terms in occupation, activities, and associated groups; an example given in session was the appropriateness use of the designator “former nun” for a transgender male; c) and finally, the task force is preparing information for the LC Demographic Group Terms related to gendered demonyms. They are also looking into LCSH headings for gendered relationships, such as the heading “Man-Woman Relationships.”
Another update offered relevant to the creation and updating of name authority records was related to privacy and security concerns. While no concrete decisions have been made on policy yet, the concern has arisen that name authority records for living persons should be as descriptive as possible when needed, but they still need to respect the privacy of the author. Real-world examples that were given include authors who publish information in opposition to their countries of origin, as well as several instances of authors in the United States that have recently written on systemic racism, the rise of domestic right-wing terrorism, and LGBTQ rights have had the extensive information of their name authority record (such as the university they teach at) used to harass and dox them. Alternate identification, such as ORCID identifiers have been proposed.
Two relevant subjects came up from SACO updates. The first item is on the continuing discussions of utilizing outdated terminology for indigenous peoples in LCSH. The Library of Congress is asking for patience on this — they are hiring someone specifically to spearhead the work on terms for indigenous people, but this will take time. The second item of interest for SACO Funnel members is that a needs assessment for training was completed over the last year. While those that utilize the training materials found them useful, many responded that the information was unclear and people were left uncertain as to how to complete forms. The SACO group at the Library of Congress will be reevaluating and updating all training materials and will be developing new onboarding and training for members and Funnel Coordinators.