Annual Report (2004)
ARLIS/NA
Cataloging Advisory Committee


Submitted by Elizabeth O'Keefe, Chair
TEL: 212 590-0380
FAX: 212 685-4740
eokeefe@morganlibrary.org

Elizabeth O'Keefe is the Chair of the Committee. Kay Teel will take over the duties of the Chair in 2005.

2004 committee members were:

Penny Baker, Lynda Bunting, Sherman Clarke, Claudia Hill, Trudi Olivetti, and Judy Silverman.

CC:DA Representative (ex-officio; appointed by CAC chair): Daniel Starr, who will be continuing in this role)

MARBI Representative (ex-officio; appointed by CAC chair): Elizabeth O'Keefe, who will be continuing in this role)  

Brief Narrative:

1. NH schedule for photography

At the annual conference in Baltimore in 2003, the Committee agreed to update the NH Classification for Photography, an alternative classification system to TR, which was published in 1974 by ARLIS/NA. In consultation with catalogers from the Getty, who have been using an expanded version of the NH schedule, Lynda Bunting reviewed and revised the schedule. After a final review by members of the Committee, the schedule was posted on the Cataloging Section website for comment; in November of this year, it was formally approved and published on the Cataloging Section website.

2. Work on headings for named buildings

Several members of the Committee have served on the Task Force on Named Buildings and Other Headings formed by the Subject Analysis Committee of the American Library Association. The Task Force, which grew out of work done by the CAC on headings for buildings, is charged with reviewing the issues related to establishing headings for buildings and other structures in the subject authority file according to subject cataloging conventions specified in Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings, and recommending whether it would be appropriate to move these headings to the name authority file. The Task Force, chaired by Claudia Hill of the CAC, met at the annual conference of the ALA and at Midwinter and conferred frequently via email; it will submit a final report shortly after Midwinter 2005.

3. Guidelines for subject cataloging of material on architecture The draft of guidelines for subject cataloging of material about architecture is still under consideration by the CPSO.

  Actions of the past year in regard to the Strategic Plan:

The Strategic Plan 2000-2005 contains no action items for the CAC. The projects undertaken by the committee are all within the scope of its standing charge, as described in the Policy Manual:

"To formulate ARLIS/NA positions on specific cataloging problems, dealing with both print and non-print materials, posed by the Executive Board or identified by the Committee, and to communicate these positions to a) the American Library Association's Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA) and b) the USMARC Advisory Group (MARBI) or c) to the Library of Congress."  

In furtherance of this mission, the Committee's representatives to MARBI and CC:DA monitor the work of these bodies for relevance to art librarianship, and communicate the Society's views at the CC:DA and MARBI meetings at the Midwinter and Annual conferences of the American Library Association. Individual members of the CAC serving on SAC's Task Force on Named Buildings and Other Structures have also represented the interests of art librarians in the formulation of subject cataloging policies and procedures.

Issues for the Executive Board:

1.    ARLIS support for attendance at non-ARLIS conferences

The Task Force on Named Buildings and Other Headings recommended that ARLIS/NA nominate a formal liaison to SAC, similar to the liaisons it already has to CC:DA and MARBI. This would be desirable for two reasons:

1) subject access is an important component of the cataloging responsibilities of art librarians; and 2) establishing a formal liaison to SAC would give ARLIS/NA both a voice and increased visibility in the arena of data standards. But acting as a effective representative for ARLIS/NA entails a substantial commitment of time, money, and effort. Liaisons are required to attend not just one but two non-ARLIS conferences a year, since MARBI, CC:DA, and SAC meet at ALA Midwinter as well as the annual conference. As employers cut back on support for travel and conference attendance, our representatives are having to shoulder an increasing amount of the costs of conference attendance. So far, we have always been able to find representatives who were not only qualified to speak on complicated cataloging issues, but also able to fund conference attendance either out of their own pockets or with institutional support. We can't count on always being able to find volunteers who can meet both criteria. It may be time for the Executive Board to consider defraying at least part of the expenses of ARLIS members who must attend other conferences on behalf of the Society.

Elizabeth O'Keefe
Director of Collection Information Systems
The Pierpont Morgan Library
29 East 36th Street
New York, NY  10016-3403
TEL: 212 590-0380
FAX: 212 685-4740
NET: eokeefe@morganlibrary.org