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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to reflect on two announcements from The Library of Congress and OCLC, the Online Library Computer Center, with immediate, long-lasting and profound impact on search and discovery. Design/methodology/approach - Announcements from two organizations are explored for implications to libraries and users. Findings - Libraries need to consider service implications of changes implemented in series authority cataloging by the Library of Congress, and to explore what the impact on access will be. The enhancements to search and access through WorldCat's search box will provide our users with improved discovery and information management. Originality/value - This editorial offers a reflection on the importance to our users of both series authority work and access to the collections of the world's libraries. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
LOEX-of-the-West 2006. Sylvia Tag
Search and discovery are fundamental to the provision of access to and delivery of information resources to our users, be they students, faculty and staff; researchers and scholars; general adult readers; and other users locally, state-wide, nationally, or internationally. Search and discovery are key to the optimal use of our collections. They enable our users to fulfill their personal, academic, and intellectual needs. They facilitate engagement. It is important, therefore, to sit up and take notice of recent news from The Library of Congress (see www.loc.gov/index.html) and OCLC, the Online Library Computer Center (see www.oclc.org/).
Series Authority Records: what's in it for us, and our users?
In case you missed it, below is the headline accompanying an announcement that The Library of Congress had decided to cease to provide controlled series access in the bibliographic records that its catalogers produce, effective May 1, 2006. (Full text of the LC series announcement, made April 20, 2006, can be found at www.loc.gov/catdir/series.html)
The Director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Announces the Library of Congress' Decision to Cease Creating Series Authority Records as Part of Library of Congress CatalogingApril 20, 2006
So, you may be wondering, what does this really mean? What will LC catalogers stop doing? Is this a new idea? What impact will this have on the quality of bibliographic services? On "search" in general? And what does that have to do with reference service?
Before you turn the page and immerse yourself in the LOEX-of-the-West articles, we suggest that you take a moment and think - think critically, about this issue.
The announcement sheds some light on these questions:
[The Library's catalogers] [...] will cease creating series authority records (SARs). The Library considered taking this step over a decade ago, but decided against it at that time because of some of the concerns raised about the impact this would have. The environment has changed considerably since then - indexing and key word access are more powerful and can provide adequate access via series statements provided only in the 490 field of the bibliographic record. We recognize that there are still some adverse impacts, but they are mitigated when the gains in processing time are considered.
As the Library was considering introducing this change, it was heavily swayed by the number of records that included series statements. Using statistics for the most recent year with full output of records appearing in the LC Database (fiscal year 2004) gives a sense of the impact on the cataloging workload:Total monograph records created: 344,362Total with series statements: 82,447Total SARs created: 8,770 (by LC catalogers); 9,453 (by Program for Cooperative Cataloging participants)As a result of the Library's decision, the following explains what catalogers will and will not do, related to series.What LC catalogers will do:
- Create a separate bibliographic record for all resources with distinctive titles published as parts of series (monographic series and multipart monographs).
- Give series statements in 490 0 fields.
- Classify separately each volume (i.e., assign call number and subject headings appropriate to the specific topic of the volume). (Imported copy cataloging records will have series access points removed and series statements changed to 490 0.)
What LC catalogers will not do:
- Create new SARs.
- Modify existing SARs to update data elements or LC's treatment decisions.
- Consult and follow treatment in existing SARs.
- Update existing collected set records.
- Change 4XX/8XX fields in completed bibliographic records when updating those records for other reasons.
The Library's rationale is relatively straightforward. By ceasing to create series authority records, the Library will eliminate the cost of constructing unique headings; eliminate searching to determine the existence of an SAR; eliminate creating SARs; and eliminate adjusting 8XX on existing bibliographic records. Furthermore, the Library will maintain current levels of subject access, and in some cases, access will be increased because more titles will be classified separately. Finally, the Library will maintain the current level of descriptive access other than series, and uncontrolled series access will remain available through keyword searches. Makes sense, right?
The ACCM on the LC Series[1] Issue dated June 6, 2006 notes three important benefits provided by series authority control:
ability to collocate all items in a series with a single search (which may be from a hyperlinked heading in a bibliographic record); useful for selectors as well as for faculty and student users of the catalog;
ability to provide access under a common form of the series in those cases where that common form does not appear on the item itself; and
ability to class together some series, as requested by faculty; also saving time that would otherwise be needed for subject analysis and classification at the volume rather than series level. (Note that the Library of Congress has closed stacks, so this advantage is less meaningful for them than it is for most other libraries.)
So, why should we - those of us in reference and instructional services - care? What exactly is the impact of this change on our users?
Series authority records serve a number of important functions, functions that are important to our users. Think about the myriad challenges of finding series. Think about classification and access points. Think about see references for finding series. Think about collocation by normalized heading, including presence/absence of initial articles. Think about the differentiation of series with identical name. Think about control for multilingual presentations of the series name. Think about the importance of clarifying the relationships different phrases have, e.g. main series and subseries. Think about FRBR support. And the list goes on.
Below is a list of questions on series access practices and policies for public services librarians. We suggest that you discuss these with your colleagues.
If series previously classed together now have current volumes getting classed separately, with keyword access to the series in the cataloging records, is this of high/medium/low concern?
If a series name changes or has variations in name, each of which has to be searched individually in order to retrieve the entire series, how serious are the consequences to user discovery (high/medium/low importance)?
If different series have the same name, how serious are the consequences of having all of them intermixed in during retrieval (high/medium/low importance)?
If foreign language series are entered as they appear on the items, how serious are the consequences to user discovery (high/medium/low importance)?
If a main series, any associated subseries, and their numbering are entered as presented on the items, how serious are the consequences to user discovery (high/medium/low importance)?
Rate the importance of controlled series access (high/medium/low) of each of the following categories of material:
- Numbered series (H/M/L).
- Unnumbered series (H/M/L).
- Series statements whose wording differs significantly from the series access point (H/M/L).
- Series on standing order (H/M/L).
- Personal author series, e.g. The Arden Shakespeare. See EXAMPLE 12. (H/M/L).
- Series with earlier & later titles (H/M/L).
- Series in the sciences (H/M/L).
- Series in the humanities or social sciences (H/M/L).
- Conference publications in series, e.g. Proceedings of SPIE. (H/M/L).
- UC publications issued in series (H/M/L).
- Series on electronic publications (H/M/L).
- Series on hard-copy publications (H/M/L).
- Partially-analyzable series, at least some of which will inevitably be classified collectively (H/M/L).
- Other (specify): (H/M/L).
Are there any types of series that you feel that we do not need to control?
Which of the following would be more important to allocate scarce cataloging resources to:
- providing the kind of series control shown in the examples in this report; or
- creating individual entries for each item in a series, with author, title, and subject access.
WorldCat.org offers search access to libraries' collections
On a more positive note, OCLC announced this summer the release of the new WorldCat.org website and a downloadable WorldCat search box you can add to your library's website (full text of the announcement, dated August 8, 2006, can be found at http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200632.htm). WorldCat has records for 1.3 billion items from 10,000 libraries worldwide (you can actually watch titles being added to the database at www.oclc.org/worldcat/grow.htm). These changes enable users to search the entire WorldCat database - beyond the content available through Google and Yahoo - using keywords. As in Open WorldCat, the results lists enable you to "Find in a Library". As OCLC describes:
Users can enter geographic information such as a zip or postal code, receive a list of nearby libraries that own the item, and link right to a library's online catalog record to initiate circulation activity or access electronic content directly. Users can also create their own WorldCat account and add book reviews, table-of-contents information and notes to many WorldCat items, helping to personalize their library search experience[2] .
Now it is even easier for users to discover library-owned content - and easier for your library's holdings to be made visible to your own and outside users as well.
Search and discovery take two
As reference, instructional, and information literacy professionals working, as Ilene F. Rockman so ably expressed, "in a multicultural, globally connected, electronic, and socially responsible world" ([1] Rockman, 2006), we know, first-hand, the mission-critical value of search and discovery. Helping our users enhance and expand their knowledge, skills and abilities is not only what we are about, but "where it's at". Take a moment and reflect on the news from The Library of Congress and OCLC. How will the lack of series authority records impact your work? Similarly, how will the ability to search the catalogs of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide through WorldCat.org impact you? Now, let's think about our users and the service challenges ahead! Onward!
1. University of California, Los Angeles, Library. Advisory Committee on Cataloging/Metadata. To view the document, see http://staff.library.ucla.edu/groups/accm/LC%20Series%20IssueREV.pdf (accessed August 17, 2006).
2. "WorldCat.Org Now Available!" Palinet ILL Blog, Tuesday, August 8, 2006, available at: http://palinet-ill.blogspot.com/2006/08/worldcatorg-now-available.html (accessed August 17, 2006).
1. Rockman, I.F. (2006), "Reflections on our work", Reference Services Review, Vol. 34 No. 1, p. 10.
Eleanor Mitchell, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA
Sarah Barbara Watstein, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
Copyright Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2006