The following is a message from Paul Frank, PCC Secretariat, concerning questions that have come up about PCC RDA NACO use and updating. Because this is an important message for those interested in Authority Control, we would like to pass it along in its entirety.
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Hi everyone,
There have been a lot of questions on PCC RDA NACO issues lately – thanks for being so careful in your NACO work. Your conscientious approach helps to facilitate the RDA transition of the LC/NACO Authority File.
But along with so many changes – and with all of them taking place simultaneously — it is very easy to become confused about what can and cannot be done in the LC/NACO Authority File.
I hope this message helps to eliminate some of that confusion.
I am not a policeman and I am not the reassuring voice of reason (alas), but I do receive a lot of questions and comments about what is going on in the NACO Authority File, and it makes me think that perhaps some sort of clarification on multiple topics is needed.
1) Approved PCC NACO Policies–Interim Documentation
In March 2012, the PCC Task Group to Formulate or Recommend PCC/NACO RDA Policy on Authority Issues recommended NACO policies and best practices on authority issues in the RDA environment. These policies and best practice recommendations were reviewed by the PCC Policy Committee and either approved as submitted, or approved with revisions. All the approved policies are in force right now. The RDA Toolkit, the LC-PCC Policy Statements, and the Descriptive Cataloging Manual (DCM) Z1 are on track to be updated in October to reflect the final PCC-approved decisions on the recommended NACO policies and best practices.
Until official NACO documentation is updated, PCC NACO catalogers should consult the Post RDA Test Guidelines and consider the information on this page official PCC NACO documentation in the interim period.
2) Changes in the LC/NACO Authority File
All PCC NACO catalogers should be aware of — and read — the document Changes to the LC/NACO Authority File: What LC-PCC RDA Catalogers need to know.
This document describes in detail the changes taking place in the LC/NACO Authority File and gives guidance on what you can, cannot, or should do with records in the file. This document impacts all NACO catalogers, not just those who have taken the RDA in NACO training. Everyone should be familiar with what is happening in the LC/NACO Authority File during the RDA transition.
Please read and study p. 2-3 of the document.
The following is directed to RDA-trained NACO catalogers: those of you who participated in the US RDA Test, or who have taken the RDA in NACO training modules and have participated in the two mandatory post-training webinars.
- You may re-code an AACR2 authority record to RDA if the NAR does NOT contain a 667 note reading: “THIS 1XX FIELD CANNOT BE USED UNDER RDA UNTIL THIS RECORD HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND/OR UPDATED” and if the 1XX is already acceptable under RDA instructions and current PCC policy (see Post RDA Test Guidelines). At the time of the re-coding, you may optionally add additional fields (046, 37X, etc.) or 670 citations to the authority record.
- You may reevaluate and re-code an AACR2 authority record to RDA if the NAR DOES contain a 667 note reading: “THIS 1XX FIELD CANNOT BE USED UNDER RDA UNTIL THIS RECORD HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND/OR UPDATED” The 1XX may need to be adjusted to conform to RDA instructions and current PCC policy (see Post RDA Test Guidelines). At the time of the reevaluation and the re-coding, please remember that many of the records with 667 notes are coded pre-AACR2 or AACR2 compatible, or are coded AACR2 but the RDA preferred form of name may be different. These 1xx’s should be analyzed to determine the RDA preferred form of name before re-coding the authority record to RDA. This means that you may need to search in your database of entry, and/or you may need to evaluate the existing 670 citations to determine the preferred name. It is not enough to take a quick glance at the 1xx, accept what you see, and then re-code to RDA. At the time of the re-coding, you may optionally add additional fields (046, 37X, etc.) or 670 citations to the authority record.
- Some AACR2 authority records whose 1XX is NOT suitable for use under RDA will NOT include a 667 field reading “THIS 1XX FIELD CANNOT BE USED UNDER RDA UNTIL THIS RECORD HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND/OR UPDATED” These records will be mechanically reevaluated and re-coded to RDA in 2013. Please exercise restraint in reevaluating and re-coding these records to RDA now. Many of these records reside in large hierarchies that will need to be re-coded together— let’s let the machine take care of these and save us all some time.
Thanks everyone,
Paul Frank
PCC Secretariat
