DOCUMENT RESUME ) 69'? ' /R 02/991) TITLE The Library of bbngress 'as the. NationalBibliographic Center. INSTITUTION' Association of Research:Libraries, Wash ngton PUB DATE Eeb 76 NOTE , 63p. VAILAbLE FROM lhAssociatioft of Research Libraries, 1527New Hampshire Avenue, N.V., Washington,. D.C. 20036 ($.00) RS 'PRICE MF'$0.83 ,HC-$3.50 Plus Postage ' SCRIPTORS .*Cataleging; Conference Reports; Data les; Information Processing; Information Syst International Programs; *Library Automation; ,Library Planning; Library Technical Processes; *ational Libraries; *National Programs; Serials;'tanderds; , Union Catalogs . IDENTIFIERS *tibrary of Congress; Machine Readable taloging; MARC ABSTRACT. 44 In a program sponsored by the Associatio of Research 'Libraries alm), the Library,of.Cofigress Processihg Department, reports on ,progress in development of the National Bibli graphic Service. The first paper deals with past, present, and future 4,7ooperaiionbetween LC and the ARL. The second papery provides. an overview of the automation activities of LCos processing.department anaserves as an introduction to the three subsequent papers. In .the first of these the LC core bibliographic system is described, with 'heavy emphasis on MARC systems Operations. ?he next paper covers the national,,bibliOgraphic system including: CONSER, a serials data base; . ei.nd automated register of additional locations; international cooperation; and participktion in the projects of various library organizations. Finally, various pioblems encountered ih transition to an automated system are describe'The informal discussion held' at 6.- the end of the program is also transcribed. (LS), ******************************************************************* * 4 Documents acquirbd by ERIC include many infOrmal unpublished * materials not 'available from other'sourceS.- ERIC makes every effort * '* to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal *, * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiChe and hardcopy reproductions ERIC. makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) . EDRS is not * * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions*: * supplied by EDttS are the best that Can be made from theoriginail. * *********************************************************************** , , THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AS THE NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHIC CENTER Report of a program sponsored by the Asspciation of Research Libraries °Qctobei 16, 1975 0 A 'a U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION III,WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUDATIO THIS'"ODCUMEHT HA BEEN REPRO. DUCE.° EXACtY AS RECEIVEY FROM THEERSON!V Il ORGANIZATION ORIGIN- ATING IT, -POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DOOT NECESSARILY REPRE- SENT OFFICIAL NATIOVL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION0 OR POLICY. ASSOCIATION OF, RESEARCH LIBRARIES FEBRUARY 1976 AS o 0 a O - `PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THID COPY RIGHTED MATERIAL HAD DEEil GRANTED DY V /15Sed:e440 r, O e 1?9,ast re h L 6 reti TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATI NG UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE tilkTIONAL IN. STITUTE OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRO. MICRON OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM RE. QUIRES 'PERMIDDION OF .THE COPYRIGHT OWNER If Copyritht 0 1976 association of Research ,1.11iraries 1 4, 11 FOREWORD a Almost exactly seven years ago the'AssociationOf Research Libraries held its midwinter meeting in Washington, D. C. A special feature of that meeting. was a day-long session at the Library of, Congress designed to bring ARL directors up to date on LC adtiviiies- and plans, in particular those of the Reference and Processing Departtents. Ae a member of the group on that Saturday in January of 1969, I remember the enthusiassCwIth which I anticipated the'day's events. I was not dis- , appointed. 4 v There were presentations of the work ofthe Reference. Department by the department head and other key officials. There were tours of Processing Department with on-site explanationg of the activities of the various ,lections. And there was throughout an eagerness on the part of the LC staff to share its plans for the future and.to.secUre the reactions of an important part of the.Library's national clientel Theoccasion was one.of value to me both as the director of a tapiy-develdping , university library and as a newly-elected member of le ARL Board of Directors. In the first instance the presentation acquainted me withthe full range of LC services available to other libr ries, and in thesecond , instance it helped m0 'to understand the insepara le rely ionship between the Library of Congress and the other research- ibraries f.the continent- - . 0 especially those libraries constituting the A # . That day at LC left a strong iipressioof time well spent and useful ,inform ton exchanged. It is not surpris'ng therefore, that when planning began for the October 1975 meeting of t e, ARL in Washington, Iremembered n the success of the earlier oceasioean suggested to outgoing'President Richard De Gennaro'and incoming Presi ent Virginia. Whitney that we explore LC's interest in again sponsoring a ARL visit. oIndeci, such avisit was arranged, including tours of the P ocessing Department and other parts of the Library, but much more was to develop'from that initial suggestion. An entire program took shape, a program setting out in substantialdetail important plans for the future role of the Library of Congress as the nacional bibliographic center. The substance of thatrogram is contained in the pages-thatfollow. Although the same maferi 0.11 appear later in the ARL Minutes we have- undertaken'to bring out his separate publication in order toshare with a wider audience plans of great potentialbenefit to 'libraries everywhere. John P. McDonald Executive Director Association of.Research Libraries January 1976 4- TABLE'OF CONTENTS. Page FOREWORD oi John:P.'.Maenald , LIST OP PARTICIPANTS THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND THE ARL Warren J.. Haas AUTOMATION ACTIVITIES OF THE PROCESSING DEPARTMENT.' William J. Welsh Henriette Avram . ., THE CORE BIBLIOGRAPHIICSYSTEM 14 Ludia Rather THE NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHIC.SYSTEM. Henriette Avram 35 TRANSIT ION TO THE SYSTEM 49 John C.:Rather A J 1 0. , a 4. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Henriette D. Avram Chief, MARC DeyelopmentOffice,)The Library of Cohgress Richard De Gennaro o> Director, Univeysity of Pennsylvania Libraries Warren J. Haas Vice President Librarian, Columbia University Libraries John J. Rather Chief, Technical'Processes-Research Office, ThdLihraryof Congress Lucia J. Rather I Assistant Chief, MARC Development Office, The Libraryof Congress William J. Welsh Director, LC' Processing Department Cs2 4' a THE'LIBRARif pp CONGRE AND THE. Warren J. Haas MR. DD GENNARO: The evening before oulast membership meeting, which was held in Houston in May, we had an info mal program which wascalled ' "Getting To Know The ARL." The idea Behind that program was that ARL was growing and developing at the same ti e.that its membership wasp increas-, ing and many new,directors were comi g in as a result of a surgeof retirements and new appointments. W e felt it was time to reintroduce the members to ARL and ARL to the m mbers. The success of that-program inspired us to plan another introdtory type program for this meting. For quite some' time we have f.A.t the need for an ARL program focusing on the Library of Congress, and p-iticularly on its role as-thenational bibliographic center. Like ARL,, C has also been developing new roles and changing. Many of our new me bers need to be introduced to the Library of Congress and its work and some of our old mbmbers need to become reacquainted with it. By a stroke of good fortune, the LC Processing Department staff and r William Welsh, was primed and ready, to put on,a major program for u at the very time that this meeting was scheduled to beheld here iWashington. As it turns out, we also have the added and unexpected easure of being able to meet and welcome Daniel Boorstin, the new Libraan of.aongress, at this meeting featuring the national bibliographic fun tions of the Library of.Coiigress. The program is 9ff to an excellent start.Many of you have already toured the Library of Congres this afternoon and we are all looking forward to the LC program tom rrow morning. To help us'get into the right haute of mind for that progr and to help us to get a better perspective owthe relationship of ARL to the Library-Of Congresspast, present,. and future--theBoard prevai ed upon Warren Haas, Vice president for Information Servicgs and'Uni ersity Librarian at Columbia and a tireless worker for ARL, to speak to Is briefly this evening on-the subject of 'ARL and W. It is my pleasure to introduce Warren Haas. 'MR. HAAS:, I think I will b gin the'se remarks with, what might well be myconclusion. ARL as anrganization, and in this I think I can speak for its component parts as well, owes a substantial. debt/of gratitdde to itsmost prominent member, the Library of Congress,. /Taken together, the many distinctive' and important programs undertaken by LC, independently and in concert with ARL, have helped individual research libraries enormously as they have sought to fulfill their obligations to the country's students and scholars. The results of La's efforts and e endi- tures have been amplified hundreds of. times over in academic and rearch I '1111. 1.7 o. libraries across-the country. C.> Tomorrow Morning'sprogram,duringwhich WilliamWelsh and'his colleagues will describe their plans for the ever-expandingset of progrs. that have more and more become an integral part ofour own operations, promisesto bea kind,of high-water mark in the LC/ARL relationship that began, so'ewhat haltingly,.about 40 years ago. Frank McGowan, in a chapter "of his 19/2 thesis,The. Association of Research Libraries, 1932-1962, notes, that despite an early ARL/LC . collaborative effort, that of creatingan interlibrary loan clearinghouse through the LC Union Catalog, participationby LC in ARL. was at.best low-keyed during the first fouror five yedts of ARL's history, a situation that prompte4 a note from LouisHahke (then the LC-designated representative to ARL) to Archibald MacLeish suggestingthat the time had arrived for the Library of Congressto play its "proper part" in the Association.