Below is a list of questions Backstage Library Works posed to David W.
Reser, Senior Cataloging Policy Specialist with the Library of Congress.
David is working with OCLC on the non-Latin in authority references project.
Backstage thought our clientele would be interested in this new development
at the Library of Congress. We invite you to respond with your thoughts
about these changes on this listserv or contact Backstage directly with any
questions or concerns.
Non-Latin Characters in Name Authority Records Questions
1. How will they be distributed, all at once or over a period of time?
ANSWER: For the pre-population to be done by OCLC, they will contribute X
number per day (number still being negotiated with the NACO nodes, but will
likely be 25-30K per day on top of the regular daily files). Can I assume
you subscribe to the weekly distribution file? If so, multiply that number
by about 7. We don't know the total number of records that will be
impacted, but hope that it will take only about a month to do the
pre-population, assuming we can run them all through quickly (LC will be
doing a version upgrade to its system in May, so if the pre-populated
records aren't all done by then, there will be a hiatus for the upgrade).
Once that is complete, regular NACO catalogers can begin adding/editing
records with non-Latin characters, so that will obviously be an ongoing way
of doing business.
2. Will all languages be included? If not, which will be included and
which will be excluded?
ANSWER: All languages that can be fully accommodated by one of the MARC-8
script repertoires (Arabic, Extended Arabic, CJK, Cyrillic, Extended
Cyrillic, Greek, and Hebrew) are possible for the first phase. We plan to
extend beyond the MARC-8 repertoire in a later phase, but no timelines have
been set for that yet.
3. What normalization scheme will you be using for these headings?
Currently NACO normalization is used and it is a scheme for MARC8 encoded
data. What normalization scheme are you planning to use with UTF8 data?
ANSWER: A revised NACO normalization scheme was approved recently, and is
posted at: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/archive/PCCNormalization_Final.pdf
(people smarter than I about such things assure me it covers the UTF-8
environment).
4. Will there be any special normalization rules followed for these
records?
ANSWER: Since the non-Latin forms will only appear in 4XXs, and since 4XXs
are allowed to conflict (except within the same record), we're not expecting
a major issue here, but we will receive reports from OCLC on those records
that are flagged as normalization errors, just as we do now.
5. Will you also populate the 670 tag with Non-Latin Character data?
ANSWER: The pre-population routines from OCLC will not generate 670
citations, but once NACO members begin adding data themselves after the
pre-population, we expect non-Latin characters in 3 note fields, 667, 670,
and 675 during the initial phase. We'll expand as/if we discover a need,
but thought it would be nice to have a conservative target to start with.
[Although our system doesn't care what fields non-Latin script data is used
in, OCLC will check and notify us if they encounter records outside of the
expected fields.]
6. Will you be making any changes to the bib records that you are
harvesting the data from?
ANSWER: If OCLC is planning to do anything to the bib records, I'm not aware
of it. We expect that the harvesting will kick up a lot of dirt and make it
more noticeable (e.g., typos, incorrect characters)-- I expect this will
cause catalogers to update bibs on an as-needed basis.
7. Will this include NAME/TITLE and Corporate Bodies as well?
ANSWER: We believe that OCLC's pre-population will cover personal names and
corporate bodies tagged as X10s, but don't have a final analysis yet as to
what exactly is covered. Once NACO members can begin adding non-Latin data
after the pre-population, all name authority records are candidates,
including geographic, titles, and name/titles.
8. Are there any plans for Subjects?
ANSWER: We don't have plans to add non-Latin data to LCSH authorities at
this time, but will probably re-evaluate this position from time to time.
You are probably aware that we already distribute MARC Classification
records with non-Latin scripts.
Hope this helps, talk to you Wednesday at 9:00 am eastern.
Dave
John Reese
Product Manager
Backstage Library Works
Voice (800) 391-5210 Ext. 249
Fax (801) 356-8220
Email jreese(a)bslw.com
