[Asis-l] Fwd: BIBLIOGRAPHIC WORKING GROUP ISSUES REPORT

[Richard Hill]

Some of our members may be interested in this report - not the least because
several ASIST members were involved!!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Beth Davis - Brown <bbro at loc.gov>
Date: Nov 30, 2007 11:32 AM
Subject: Fwd: BIBLIOGRAPHIC WORKING GROUP ISSUES REPORT

Please forward to appropriate list servs.  Thanks, Beth

____________________________________________
Beth Davis-Brown
Executive Secretariat
Office of the Associate Librarian for Library Services 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Public Affairs Office" <pao at loc.gov>
To: bbro at loc.gov
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:13:26 -0500 
Subject: BIBLIOGRAPHIC WORKING GROUP ISSUES REPORT
NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20540
Phone: (202) 707-2905
Fax: (202) 707-9199
Email: pao at loc.gov
November 30, 2007
Press contact: John Sayers (202) 707-9216; jsay at loc.gov
Public contact: Beth Davis-Brown (202) 707-3301, bbro at loc.gov

WORKING GROUP ON THE FUTURE OF 
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL RELEASES DRAFT REPORT

The Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control has released its
draft report on the future of bibliographic description in light of advances
in search engine technology, the popularity of the Internet and the influx
of electronic information resources. 

In November 2006, Deanna Marcum, associate librarian for Library Services at
the Library of Congress, convened a group made up of representatives of
several organizations—American Association of Law Libraries, American
Library Association (ALA), Association of Research Libraries (ARL),
Coalition for Networked Information, Medical Library Association, National
Federation of Abstracting & Indexing Services, Program for Cooperative
Cataloging and Special Libraries Association—and vendors (Google, OCLC and
Microsoft)— to examine the role of bibliographic control and other
descriptive practices in the evolving information and technology
environment, and to make recommendations to the Library and to the larger
library community. 

The group's recommendations, available at its Web site at
www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/ , emphasized the role of the Library of
Congress not as a sole supplier, but rather as an important leader in the
cataloging world. "We recognize that you do not have the resources to do
everything," said Olivia Madison, representing ARL. "These recommendations
are not for the Library of Congress alone but are intended for the entire
library and library vendor communities." 

The report highlights five general recommendations:
• Increase the efficiency of bibliographic production for all libraries
through cooperation and sharing of bibliographic records and through use of
data produced in the overall supply chain.
• Transfer effort into high-value activity. In particular, provide greater
value for knowledge creation by leveraging access for unique materials held
by libraries that are currently hidden and underused.
• Position technology by recognizing that the World Wide Web is libraries'
technology platform as well as the appropriate platform for standards.
Recognize that users are not only people but also applications that interact
with library data. 
• Position the library community for the future by adding evaluative,
qualitative and quantitative analyses of resources. Work to realize the
potential of the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR)
framework. 
• Strengthen the library and information science profession through
education and through development of metrics that will inform
decision-making now and in the future.

"I am very pleased with the approach taken by the working group," Marcum
said. "Instead of focusing solely on the Library of Congress, the members of
the group looked at the bibliographic ecosystem and thought deeply about the
contributions that can and should be made by all of its parts. We are
already doing in an experimental way many of the things suggested by the
Working Group in its presentation. Once the final report is received, our
challenge will be to analyze the recommendations, decide on which ones
should be implemented and move beyond pilot projects and tests." 
The report is available for public comment through Dec. 15. The final report
will be released by Jan. 9, 2008, in time for the midwinter meeting of the
American Library Association.
# # #
PR 07-244
11-30-07
ISSN 0731-3527