Academic Library Talking Points on LC's Working Group on Bibliographic Control
(Feel free to make use of the following)
Academic libraries are far more likely to have PCC catalogers, and therefore their new series records have a better chance of being created at their institutions, and at other academic institutions. Similar patterns may evolve if LC abandons the creation and maintenance of other kinds of authority records. Academic libraries that are not involved with the Program for Cooperative Cataloging should consider participating.
The added expense of authority control would have to be assumed by each individual library, a much more costly solution to the problem than a centralized provider.
Academic libraries’ approval plans are dependent on the presence of Library of Congress Classification (LCC) and LCSH headings in the bibliographic records. The approval plan vendor uses this data to determine which materials will automatically be shipped to the libraries. In the absence of this data, libraries will probably be asked to pay for LCCs and LCSH headings, at least indirectly, by the approval plan vendor. Again, these costs will be borne by each individual library. Any solution to the bibliographic future must include something for these collection building decisions.
Back to Main Page