Africana Librarians Council

AFRICANA SUBJECT FUNNEL REPORT

ALC CATALOGING COMMITTEE

FALL 2000

Elizabeth J. Plantz
Oct. 13, 2000


The following subject authorities have been proposed since the last update (Spring 2000)

NEW

Children's writings, Nigerian (English)
Dizi language
Ha (African people)
Ha language
Jaba (Nigerian people)
Jeli language
Manuscripts, Berber
Manuscripts, Shilha
Masangu (African people)
Plastic bag craft
Plastic bags
Proverbs, Acoli
Sangu language (Gabon)
Sangu language (Tanzania)
Sangu (Tanzanian people)
Short stories, Mauritian
Tupuri (African people)
Ubangi languages
Silti language
Zway language
REVISED

Baka language
Bamanyeka (African people)
Banda languages
Digo language
Feroge languages
Gbaya language
Giryama (African people)
Giryama language
Ma language
Manyika language
Monjombo language
Mundu language (Sundan and Congo)
Ndogo-Sere language
Ngbaka ma'bo language
Ngbandi language
Nika language
Nomaante language
Philosophy, Nika now Mijikenda
Mijikenda (African people)
Ribe (African people)
Sango language
Tupuri language
Woaley
Yakoma language
Zande languages
Gurage languages
Chah dialect
SUBMISSION OF RECORDS IN MARC FORMAT

At Northwestern, we have successfully submitted new subject headings directly to LC in MARC format sent as email attachments. This can be easily duplicated at other libraries with the Voyager ILS. Anyone interested in the program can contact Gary Strawn at mrsmith@nwu.edu. Those without Voyager can continue to send the forms or try and convince their systems people to create a milar program.

A number of revised subject authorities have been sent this way but it remains to be seen if LC will be able to accept them.

SACO LISTSERV

There is a new SACO listserv that anyone can join by contacting Nancy Scott directly at nsco@loc.gov. To be honest, I have not found it very useful. Very little is sent out and I question the point of the whole thing. Perhaps we should inquire further about the purpose of this list and ask if it can be used for questions, etc – or does this conflict with the role of our liaison at LC?

USE OF OLSON AS REFERENCE

Following our discussions at the spring meeting, I wrote to our SACO liaison:

I am writing on behalf of the Cataloging Committee of the Africana Librarians Council. At our last meeting (April 7, 2000 at UCLA) the use of various sources by LC was discussed. In reviewing the list of LC recommended sources given to us at the subject workshop held at LC in Spring 99, the general consensus was that one of the sources listed should really be removed. Everyone agreed that Olson. The Peoples of Africa is not a good reference source. It is felt that Olson is a generalist and the book is not reliable. Instead we suggest that you add 2 other books to your list: African ethnonyms by Daniel P. Biebuyck et al. and Unesco's General History of Africa …

We received the following:

… discussed the issue below [with] Kay and CPSO and they agree that Olson is perhaps not the best reference to use, BUT have decided that The Peoples of Africa is a good source. Also two other reference sources were suggested: Cambridge encyclopedia of Africa and Cambridge history of Africa … The two suggested add on's: African ethnonyms by Daniel P. Biebuyck et al. and Unesco's General History of Africa will be considered.

NEW FUNNEL COORDINATOR

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great regret that I step down as coordinator. I am leaving my job as Africana cataloger at Northwestern University Library at the end of October to start a new cataloging job at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD. Joe Lauer has agreed to take my place. Please send any and all headings, problems and questions to him so that he can now experience for himself all the joy that I have over the years! Keep up the good work, all of you.

Liz