The French Translation of the EAC DTD: A Few Thoughts on Interoperability with Reference to Authority Data

SUMMARY

The translation into French of the Encoded Archival Context (EAC) DTD tag library has been in progress for a few months. It is being carried out by a group of experts gathered by AFNOR, the French national standards agency. The main goal of this group is to foster the interoperability of authority data between archives, libraries and museums, and the translation work provides an opportunity to think about the choices for standardization that underlie the EAC DTD, particularly in relation to ISAAR(CPF). It is also an excellent way of gaining familiarity with the DTD and thereby answering the need of French information specialists to increase their competencies in the structuring of digital documents and data modeling. After explaining the standardization context in which the group is working, a few major themes in its thinking will be presented, in the hope of encouraging greater international cooperation in this field.     

Problems and Solutions in Our “New World of Archives”

SUMMARY

This article introduces the volume by making a distinction between authority control and the broader notion of context control. After exploring the differences between the two, and offering a tentative definition of context control, the article describes the organization of the volume, and summarizes the articles from the perspective of context control. The article then discusses the main themes that emerge from the articles, including criteria for identifying ‘new’ records-creating entities when some aspect of the current one changes, the role of standards, and the resources required to fully document contextual information. The article concludes by noting that this is a complex and evolving area in need of more study and reporting.     

Mapping the Socio-Technical Complexity of Australian Science: From Archival Authorities to Networks of Contextual Information

SUMMARY

This article examines the evolution of a national register of the archives of science and technology in Australia and the related development of an archival informatics focused initially on people and their relationships to archival materials. The register was created in 1985 as an in-house tool for the Australian Science Archives Project of the University of Melbourne. Its potential as a public reference guide for historians of science and technology soon became apparent. The story of the computerisation and publication of the register provides the background for the examination of the use of archival authority records as a means of finding better ways of connecting archives with their potential users. The success of this approach led to demands from the community for a generic database tool using a framework based on the authoritative entities associated with archival materials-an activity that we started to call contextual information management. The Online Heritage Resource Manager (OHRM) was created in response to these calls, and the story of its development as a tool for mapping networks of contextual information is told in the latter part of the article.     

Public Online Access and Management of Documentary Resources -A New Role for Authority Files from National Bibliographic Agencies in Local Catalogs: The Experience of the Fresnes Public Library

ABSTRACT

The Fresnes public library chose to enhance its bibliographic catalog by loading the complete backfile and regular updates of the BNF authority files. This unique solution allows them to put an end to local cataloging (notably subject assignment and the maintenance of the subject index) and to considerably reduce the “cost per title cataloged” based on the formula proposed by ISO Standard 11620: Information and Documentation—Library Performance Indicators.

The authority files improve the quality of online services: they reduce the number of unsuccessful searches, reduce aberrant responses and allow for numerous OPAC possibilities; they offer library staff a valuable aid in their mission of assisting the public; they facilitate and improve the tasks of collection development and management.

The new information system anticipated for the opening of the new library in March will give the authority files a larger role. Beyond assisting the simple catalog search, the authority files will function as a search engine for the whole network. The CD-ROM and DVD-ROM readers, and a selected number of Internet sites will, in fact, link to the authority files (notably subject and corporate author files) by the authority record number, using the same headings as in the library catalog.     

RLG and PCC: An Interview with Karen Smith-Yoshimura*

Abstract

It is important to remember that there were two bibliographic networks, OCLC and the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), which together with the Library of Congress enabled the sharing of bibliographic and authority records amongst PCC members. Karen Smith-Yoshimura was active in the early years of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) representing RLIN. In this interview with Smith-Yoshimura in the summer of 2019, Joan Schuitema poses five questions which provide an opportunity for Smith-Yoshimura to share her memories about her participation in PCC prior to RLG’s merger with OCLC.     

Genre Terms for Chemistry and Engineering: Not Just for Literature Anymore

ABSTRACT

We developed a project utilizing the local form/genre heading, “property data,” and specific subheadings to help chemists, engineers, and those librarians assisting them to more easily locate library resources containing chemical and physical properties of substances. This article describes the project and examines possibilities for improving access to physical sciences literature in relation to Library of Congress Subject Headings and ongoing developments in authority records for form/genre terms. It also introduces functionality of such headings in the new “next generation” catalogs.     

The Influence of American and European Practices on the Evolution of EAD

SUMMARY

Widespread adoption of EAD in the United States and in Europe is attributable to a number of factors, including compatibility with ISAD(G), availability of funding for data conversion, requirements of granting agencies, and the desire of archivists to use common standards.     

Cost-Effectiveness and Benefits of Outsourcing Authority Control

ABSTRACT

This article illustrates the collaboration of three entities- the library, its online system and the authority service vendor-to achieve online authority control in a medium-sized academic library efficiently and cost-effectively. The authority service vendor checks and revises (as needed) the headings of the library's new bibliographic records, providing new authority records for them. Through a separate notification service, the vendor also provides revised authority records for the existing authority file, alerting the library when in-house online maintenance is needed. In this online environment, authority records and bibliographic records are maintained automatically by the vendor authority service. Thus, using various authority heading reports which can be generated by the local online system in conjunction with the notification service, the library concentrates its authority work on the elimination or correction of obsolete headings. The authority vendor services are effective and reduce the cost of maintaining the online catalog. Ultimately, accurate standardized headings enhance the ease and effectiveness of online searching and retrieval for all who consult the library's catalog.     

The Archival Imagination of David Bearman,Revisited

Abstract

Many archivists regard the archival imagination evidenced in the writings of David Bearman as avant-garde. Archivist Linda Henry has sharply criticized Bearman for being irreverent toward the archival theory and practice outlined by classical American archivist T. R. Schellenberg. Although Bearman is sometimes credited-and sometimes berated-for establishing “a new paradigm” centered on the archival management of electronic records, his methods and strategies are intended to encompass all forms of record keeping. The essay provides general observations on Bearman's archival imagination, lists some of its components, and addresses elements of Henry's critique. Although the longlasting impact of Bearman's imagination upon the archival profession might be questioned, it nonetheless deserves continued consideration by archivists and inclusion as a component of graduate archival education.