BIBCO Annual Report

FY99

FY99 was a banner year for the BIBCO Program, BIBCO libraries contributed 58,848 new bibliographic records to the pool of shared cataloging. This is a 57% increase over FY98 and for the first time since the inception of the Program, the BIBCO libraries exceeded the goal of increasing the previous year's total by 15,000 new bibliographic records as called for by the PCC's Tactical Plan. This year, there has been a 36% increase in core record contribution over last fiscal year. Fifteen libraries exceeded their annual estimates, most notably, Cornell University contributed 14,591, Princeton University 5,516, with Cleveland Public and Columbia University contributing well over three thousand apiece. Yet many libraries continue to report that low contributions to the Program are a result of delays in processing and workflow changes due to system implementations and staff transition.

• Total BIBCO libraries: 37
• Total contributions: 58,848 bibliographic records
• Total core records: 19,636
• 15 libraries exceeded their annual estimates

The combined efforts of the PCC Steering Committee's program expansion and publicity campaigns as well as the public relations generated by the Cataloging Now! Workshops added seven new partners to the BIBCO program in FY99:

• Arizona State University
• New York University
• Queens Borough Public Library
• Tulane University
• University of Florida
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Washington received expanded BIBCO training
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

The inaugural BIBCO-At-Large meeting held at the Midwinter ALA conference January 1999 was attended by over thirty BIBCO members. The meeting focused on the timely processing of SACO subject heading and classification proposals. Other agenda items of practical concern included the monitoring of the quality of bibliographic records in a shared environment, maintaining BIBCO documentation, and the recruitment of additional BIBCO trainers. At that meeting a suggestion was made to produce a SACO Participant's Manual; Adam Schiff (University of Washington) volunteered to work on a draft copy to be ready by January 2000. Please view the report of the BIBCO-At-Large meeting for more complete details.

Amidst the growth of the Program practical concerns continue to emerge from the meetings of the BIBCO Operations Committee. The BIBCO OpCo meeting included topics on establishing a volunteer list so that members could take turns monitoring and responding to questions from others on BIBCO records. This list was developed pursuant to the discussion on quality at the BIBCO At-Large meeting and fomented by several questions posted on lists asking for information on the extent of BIBCO training provided to catalogers. Other discussions included the need for more communication and interaction with CONSER. BIBCO OpCo will focus on setting agenda for its meeting which continues to identify programs/issues to foster cross-fertilization. The OpCo will adjust scheduling in order to allow OpCo members to attend meetings of interest to both or set more joint meetings.

Two major accomplishments of the BIBCO Program in FY99 include:

• A BIBCO FAQ mounted on the BIBCO page including topics such as joining BIBCO, program definitions, and other aspects of membership as well as how the program interacts with OCLC's Enhance program.
• A packet of information specifically designed for library administrators and department heads who are considering joining BIBCO has been developed. This packet includes published articles and summary of experiences written by PCC members, including Colleen Hyslop (U. Michigan) and Karen Calhoun (Cornell).

As reported last year a MARC code for the PCC (DPCC) was approved for use in the 040 and is currently being used on all series authority records (SARs) to record the default national level decision. This action has spawned many questions from members and as a result, Judy Kuhagen, CPSO descriptive cataloging specialist, was invited to facilitate the discussion at the April 1999 OpCo meeting. These series issues included:

• the desire for the extension of the national-level series treatment policy to include series analysis
• the exclusion of series numbering from national-level default practice
• the request that PCC participants add the DPCC code to retrospective series authority records (SARs)

A complete report of the BIBCO Operations Committee report is available on the BIBCO home page.

These issues are complex and their resolution will have great impact on BIBCO participants. They have been added to the PoCo agenda for resolution at their annual meeting. In preparation for that meeting the PoCo also authorized the formation of a BIBCO Working Group on Series Numbering to investigate the possibility of excluding series numbering from the national-level default practice. To gather information on the other series issues, the SC has authorized a survey to query the PCC membership on the desirability of a national-level series analysis policy and how the addition of the DPCC code to retrospective SARs should be accomplished. In order to forestall question on these other fields the survey also asks if a default national level classification policy should be mandatory and if the use of subfield 5 in series treatment fields should be extended to all PCC participants. The results of this survey will also be discussed at the PoCo November.

The Training the BIBCO Trainer (TTBT) course has been scheduled for Oct. 13-15, 1999 at LC. A thorough revision of the BIBCO training binder will be necessary before the TTBT is held to include example of non-book formats as interest in this area continues to increase. The faculty for the two and one half day course will include volunteers William Garrison (U. Colorado), Kate Harcourt and Susan Summer (Columbia University), Joan Swanekamp (Yale), Joan Schuitema (Loyola, Chicago), and Penny Mattern (OCLC). Mattern's participation will be underwritten by OCLC with travel stipends being made available from PCC funds to the faculty. Progress with the BIBCO participant's manual was put on hold while the BIBCO training manual is being revised. Since the majority of examples are used to make up the base text of the BIBCO participant's manual there was a consensus that the delivery of the participants' manual should wait until the training manual has been revised. Carol Hixson (UCLA) the new Chair of the Standing Committee on Training has assumed responsibility for this publication.

The second BIBCO-At-Large meeting held at ALA Annual conference, June 1999 was attended by over fifty BIBCO participants. Of importance at this meeting was the follow-up report from the BIBCO Working Group on Statistics (Pete Wilson (Vanderbilt), Jain Fletcher (UCLA), and Kate Harcourt, Chair (Columbia)) which had been formed as a result of discussions at the BIBCO OpCo meeting in April 1999. This group was charged with investigating how BIBCO libraries report their PCC-contributed records as either original input or as upgrades and recommending standard practices for reporting these statistics. The Working Group circulated a draft proposal that categorized records based on the work performed which stimulated much discussion. This report was subsequently modified and has been forwarded to the PoCo for discussion at its November meeting. Other topics presented and discussed at this meeting included a presentation on the use of the core record at Cornell University and the sharing of tips as to how other BIBCO libraries gave could increased use of the core record in their individual sites. The meeting also featured a three-pronged presentation on the Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) given by BIBCO members who spoke about how this new technology was used in their institutions and touched on the future possibilities for use in Program records. Please view the full BIBCO-At-Large report available on the BIBCO home page.

Rotation of the Operations Committee representatives has begun with the representatives from the Cleveland Public Library (Margaret Shen), University of Chicago (Pat Williams), University of Colorado (Bill Garrison), Vanderbilt University (Pete Wilson), and Yale University (Joan Swanekamp) being succeeded by representatives from:

• Brooklyn Law School (George Prager)
• Harvard University (Bruce Trumble)
• Northwestern University (Andrea Stamm)
• Queens Borough Public Library (Elizabeth Ankersen)
• University of Texas, Austin (Robin Fradenburgh)

These new members take office October 1, 1999 and will conclude their two-year tenure on September 30th, 2001.