Responding to ALA Criticism, LC Says More Collaboration Planned
-- Library Journal, 08/14/2006
In response to concerns over changes in cataloging policies, the Library of Congress (LC) will do more to collaborate with the library community, its officials say. Because LC did not respond directly to criticism raised by the American Library Association (ALA) at a Congressional oversight hearing last month, LJ asked LC to respond. Associate Librarian for Library Services Deanna Marcum said in a statement, "The Library of Congress has worked closely and collaboratively with dozens of ALA and international bodies on cataloging policies and practices. Our commitment to collaboration is unchanged. In the specific instance of the policy decision on series authority records, we began discussions with the library community nearly 12 years ago. Some groups strongly objected to a possible change; other groups encouraged the decision we ultimately made. We erred in not giving the library community enough time to make local changes when we announced the decision in April, and for that I have offered apologies."
"I do not disagree with the substance of ALA's testimony. We, too, take seriously our role in the broader community," Marcum continued. "For this reason, I am in the process of establishing an external advisory committee on the future of bibliographic control. There are enormous challenges confronting all libraries as they integrate digital content and related services into the traditional library. We need to consider, together, how best to respond to those challenges to meet the needs of our users. ALA's press release regarding the testimony referred to rumors of more changes. We, like several of our colleague institutions, have commissioned studies and reports on various aspects of bibliographic control. All of the recommendations are being discussed with our colleagues, and decisions will be made openly and respectfully. We believe that future challenges must be faced analytically and thoughtfully."
