Outsourcing Authorities Processing
and RDA Conversion
Joan Chapa, MLS
Why authority control in a keyword environment?
• Present consistent access to the treasure of the library—
your collections
• Impose structure and consistency on diverse resources
• Find and correct errors automatically
• Keep up with continually changing vocabulary
• Help user with cross references and additional keywords
• Allow patrons to search more effectively
• Allows data to play with the wider linked data world—
through the LCCN to VIAF, ISNI, Wikipedia, etc.
Joan Chapa, MLS
How else is authority control useful?
The staff needs it:
• Reduce unwanted acquisition of duplicates
• Facilitate exhaustive searches
• Streamline processing
• Reduce costs spent on staff manual labor
Joan Chapa, MLS
We have a discovery layer—AP not needed?
• Discovery layers ( AquaBrowser, Bibliocommons,
Blacklight, EDS, Encore, Endeca, Enterprise, Primo
Summon, VuFind, etc.) are based on keyword searching
• Most use authority files primarily in a unique enough
form to enable accurate collocation through hyperlinks
• During research find items of proven interest then using
the provided name or subject headings to link to other
materials on same subject or by same author
• If no authority control, have to dredge through a lot more
results to find what you need. Forced to cast a wider net
of potential forms of name.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Discovery layer w/o use of authority files
• Without authority control, a patron would be forced to
search for “Smith, William, “Smith, W.C.”, “Smith, Bill,”
etc. to find all the materials by this author.
• Once you determine which Smith is wanted in a catalog
with authority control, you are pretty much guaranteed
that you will find all the materials by or about that
particular William Smith.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Authority control provides disambiguation
Joan Chapa, MLS
Rest of Wikipedia article for one “William Smith”
Joan Chapa, MLS
LC name authority record for “William Smith”
Joan Chapa, MLS
Authority record (continued)
Joan Chapa, MLS
Linked data matters!
• When trying to win administrative support for authority
control, remind them that authority data are the library’s
“linked data.”
• Not only helps in disambiguating names & terms, but
enables your data to play with the wider linked data
world.
• Even if they don’t know what it is or does, they all know
it’s an important tool for libraries
• Having data in linkable form can be strategically
important when considering the move from MARC to
BIBFRAME, or whatever the next format may be
Joan Chapa, MLS
What else does authorities processing do?
• Lots of seemingly small but important fixes to aid in
searching
• Matching authority records to create the “see” and “see
also” structure
Joan Chapa, MLS
MARCIVE authorities processing includes
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Expansion of commonly used abbreviations to full wording
Correction of general LC subject subdivisions
Removal of invalid LC subject subdivisions
Correction of obsolete abbreviations
Automatic subject heading generation
Validation of name/title series entries
Automatic correction to appropriate MARC tagging
Correction of non-filing indicators
Update of obsolete MARC content designation
Moving of content from obsolete MARC tags to current MARC tags
Change of obsolete subfield codes to current subfielding
Convert direct geographic subdivisions to their indirect form
Perform chronological conversions
Deletion of obsolete data
Correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation when a match occurs
Correction of $x to $v, where appropriate—and more
Joan Chapa, MLS
Subjects: Before & after authorities processing
Catalog BEFORE
Catalog AFTER
Earth
116
Earth—Figure—Mathematical models
2
Earth—Mantle
67
Earth (Planet)
1
Earth (Planet)—Figure—Mathematical models 3
Earth (Planet)—Mantle
9
Old forms and the
new form of a
subject heading
separate the
collection.
Authority control
brings your
holdings together.
See ref to
correct term
See also refs
Earth—See Earth (Planet)
Earth (Planet)—13 Related Subjects
Earth (Planet)
117
Earth (Planet)—Figure—Mathematical models
5
Earth (Planet)—Mantle
76
Consolidates
Joan Chapa, MLS
Names: Before & after authorities processing
Catalog BEFORE
SHARE Working Conference, 2nd, Montréal, Québec,
1976
1
Sharp, Alan, 19341
Smith, Henry Atterbury, b. 1872
1
Sharp, William, fl. 1766-1767
1
Smith, Hobart Muir, 191211
Smith, Hobart M. (Hobart Muir), 1912-2013
1
Old forms and the
new form of a
name heading
separate the
collection.
Authority control
brings your
holdings together.
Catalog AFTER
Reformats
Updates to LC
Consolidates
SHARE Working Conference (2nd : 1976 :
Montréal, Québec)
Sharp, Alan, 1934-2013
Sharp, William, active 1766-1767
Smith, Henry Atterbury, 1872Smith, Hobart Muir, 1912- —See Smith, Hobart M.
(Hobart Muir), 1912-2013
Smith, Hobart M. (Hobart Muir), 1912-2013
1
1
1
1
12
Joan Chapa, MLS
Sacred works: Before & after authorities processing
Catalog BEFORE
Bible. Genesis—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. Mark—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. N.T. Mark—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. N.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. New Testament—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. O.T. Genesis—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible. Old Testament—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Koran--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Qur’an--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
If RDA
Conversion
Service (RDACS)
is selected, even
non-authorized
headings are
reformatted.
Catalog AFTER
1
2
49
153
1
57
307
1
37
1
Updates to LC
Consolidates
Bible. Genesis—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
58
Bible. Mark—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
52
Bible. New Testament—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 154
Bible. Old Testament—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 308
Qur’an--Criticism, interpretation, etc.
38
Joan Chapa, MLS
What about local data?
• Only certain fields are examined and changed, so notes,
call numbers, etc. are not examined or changed
• Any headings marked as local (e.g. 69X or headings with
second indicator of anything other than 0, 1, or 2) are not
examined and remain as is
• If you have a short list of local headings not marked as
local that you feel would match LC authority records,
supply them and we will not examine or change them
Joan Chapa, MLS
Conversion to RDA
MARCIVE authorities processing also includes Resource
Description & Access (RDA) Conversion.
For free, both for backfile and ongoing processing.
Since we consider RDACS linked to authority control, it’s
not offered as a stand-alone service.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Education for RDA Readiness
• Read and learn about RDA
– Training program for staff
– Free training materials on LC website
• Study your library’s ILS and how it works with a
discovery layer
– Loading
– Indexing
– Display
• Observe how various programs react to new records
with 3XX fields and no 245 $h
Joan Chapa, MLS
Is your system –and staff -- ready for RDA?
• Keeping up-to-date is necessary, but expensive without
automation
• Complete authorities run is recommended
• Hybrid records are acceptable. Different cataloging rules
such as AACR2 and RDA can exist side by side.
• But split indexes are not acceptable. AACR2 forms and
RDA forms of access points may differ. Good authority
control will fix most of these differences.
• MARCIVE’s RDA Conversion Service, which includes
authorities processing, offers a more comprehensive and
cost-effective approach
Joan Chapa, MLS
RDA Conversion Service (RDACS) includes
• Title field (245)
– Supply parallel title in 246 fields if none exists
– Move specified terms from end of subfield $a or $b to subfield $c
when $c has “by”
– Other options with this field
• Edition statement (250)
– Change select abbreviations to spelled out version, such as “ed.”
to “edition.” Includes some foreign languages.
• Publication imprint (260) to 264 field(s)
– Supply separate brackets for each subfield when multiple
subfields are bracketed.
• Physical description (300)
– Abbreviations are spelled out.
Joan Chapa, MLS
General Material Designation (GMD)
GMD 245$h replaced by 336, 337, 338 fields
Content Media Carrier (CMC)
– 336: Content type. What does it contain?
– e.g., notated music, spoken word, text, 2D moving
images
– 337: Media type. What device needed to use it?
– e.g., audio, computer, microform, projected, video. If
none needed except your eyes, it’s unmediated
– 338: Carrier type. What kind of object carries it?
– e.g., Audiocassette, online resource, microfiche, filmstrip
Joan Chapa, MLS
Example of standard CMC creation
336$a cartographic image $b cri $2 rdacontent
337$a unmediated $b n $2 rdamedia
338$a sheet $b nb $2 rdacarrier
Joan Chapa, MLS
RDACS includes (continued)
• Change volume/sequential designation abbreviations
(490 $v) and (830 $v)
• Authorized access points
All 6XX fields must be coded as LCSH (2nd IND=0) or LCCYA (2nd
IND=1) for changes to the authorized access points to be applied
– Change “Dept.” to “Department”
– Uniform title for sacred works
– Change title “Selections” to “Works. Selections”
• Generate Content-Media-Carrier (CMC)
• And more
Joan Chapa, MLS
What about the GMD?
Do you still want the GMD? We can
• keep it,
• delete it or
• move it to another field.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Customized CMC fields
VIDEO (Category)
336 (content)
337 (media)
338 (carrier)
ONLINE VIDEO
n
two-dimensional
moving
image
video
online resource
d
two-dimensional
moving
image
video
video disc
b
two-dimensional
moving
image
video
videodisc
f
two-dimensional
moving
image
projected
film reel
v
two-dimensional
moving
image
video
videocassette
DVD
BLU-RAY
FILM
VHS CASSETTE
Joan Chapa, MLS
What about hybrid records?
A bibliographic record created under one set of rules, then
modified with an element from a subsequent set of rules.
Even before the introduction of Resource Description
and Access, libraries had hybrid records. For example,
pre-AACR2 records that had been modified with AACR2
elements.
Joan Chapa, MLS
MARC Record Originally Created
According to RDA
040 Cataloging Source is coded
|e rda to show that it was
created in RDA
250 Edition Statement and 300
Physical Description words
are spelled out
264 New Production, etc. field
instead of 260 Publication
field
336, 337, and 338 New Content,
Media, and Carrier fields were
created
700 Added Entry Personal Name
includes the relationship
designator of “editor”
Joan Chapa, MLS
Sources of hybrid records
• Your catalog. Headings in an AACR2 bib record may be
modified to match the current RDA authority record.
• OCLC. Catalogers may add some RDA elements to
existing non-RDA records without re-cataloging the
entire record according to RDA. Examples:
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Adding relator terms to access points
Spelling out non-transcribed abbreviations
Adding complete statements of responsibility in 245
Adding 336/337/338 fields
• Automated processing. Authority and RDA processing by
a provider such as MARCIVE adds RDA elements
without manually re-cataloging the record.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Your catalog already has hybrid records
When you change access points to conform to
RDA-formatted headings, but do not change the
descriptive elements of the record, you are creating
a hybrid record.
Joan Chapa, MLS
OCLC has hybrid records, and will have more
Joan Chapa, MLS
Are hybrid records coded as RDA?
• No.
• PCC Guidelines as of April 2013 state that hybrid
records should not be coded 040 $e rda.
www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/rda/PCC RDA guidelines/Post-RDAImplementation-Guidelines.html
Joan Chapa, MLS
No 040 $e rda in hybrid records
The 040 in a hybrid record does not contain a |e rda.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Creating or manipulating a non-RDA record
When you have the piece in hand, you can make
intellectual changes as well as mechanical changes to a
non-RDA record to make it conform to RDA.
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Add relator terms
Add more access points
Replace [et al.] with all of the contributors to a work
Create very specific 336, 337, 338 fields
Change data in free text fields such as notes
Joan Chapa, MLS
Machine manipulation of a non-RDA record
Tasks that can be safely performed by programming
– Identify an obsolete form in an access point and replace with
new RDA form based on an LC authority record
– Expand existing relator codes
– Replace certain abbreviations in access points, such as “fl.” with
“active”
– Replace “et al.” with [and others]
– Spell out certain abbreviations in fields in which cataloging has
been predictable, such as “p.” to “pages” in the Publication Data
field 300
– Create 264 fields from 260 fields
– Generate 336, 337, and 338 fields based on information in fixed
and variable fields
Joan Chapa, MLS
Machine manipulation is amazing
However it cannot do the following tasks:
– Add relator terms. Information to do this is absent.
– Add more access points. Information to do this is absent.
– Replace [et al.] with all of the contributors to a work. Information
to do this is absent.
– Create very specific 336, 337, 338 fields. Standard processing
can create good 336, 337, and 338 fields. If the library’s
holdings field contains more specific information, it can be used.
However, there are some situations in which only having the
piece in hand will provide the desired information.
– Change data in free text fields such as notes. Some changes
can be made, such as expanding “p.” to “pages” in a
bibliography note. Generally however, it is not safe to expand
data in notes.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Common questions about RDACS
Q:Why don’t you add relator fields?
A: The bib record does not have the data to do this reliably.
Q:Why do some of my records have a |e rda in the 040 and
some do not?
A: Some records were created in RDA and therefore have
the |e. Hybrid records should not have the |e.
Q: We are leery of having hybrid records in our catalog.
How will we know which records to recatalog?
A: It is not necessary to re-catalog hybrid records. Any
record, hybrid or not, that prevents retrieval would be a
good candidate for re-cataloging.
Joan Chapa, MLS
Authorities + RDACS = Best Value
Combine authorities processing with RDA implementation
for the best value
• Improve everything all at once, rather than piecemeal
• Reduce or eliminate manual effort in making descriptive
elements consistent
• Reduce time spent batch loading
• Provide a better user experience using consistent
cataloging as well as up-to-date headings
Joan Chapa, MLS
Value-added services
At the same time as authorities processing, we can perform
other tasks:
• Database-specific customization
• Customized CMC fields built from holdings data
• MARC record enrichment, including TOC, summaries,
fiction/biography data
Joan Chapa, MLS
Timelines for implementation
• Complete/sign the profile
• We’ll review and provide a summary of costs for PO
creation
• The statistical report and first 2 reports of any kind are
free
• You FTP bib files to us in chunks of 50K records
• We create a test file in about 7-10 days, consisting of—
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File of cleaned up bib records
File(s) of matching authority records
Heading Activity report showing data before & after processing
Statistical report
Any requested extra cost reports
Joan Chapa, MLS
Next steps
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Load both the bib & authority records into the ILS
Review the loader tables to make sure records overlay
Bib overlay point is the system control number
Use the reports to evaluate results
Ask questions. If we are asked to change a major
specification, we may perform a second test
Approve the test in writing
Backfile processing is completed in 7-10 days
Notification Service begins immediately
Begin sending new records for upgrade through
Overnight Authorities Service
Joan Chapa, MLS
After backfile processing
• Ideally, the library should delete the existing authority file
instead of overlaying records with the ones we provide
• Locally created authority records should not have ARNs
so there will be no point of overlay
• We retain a copy of the authority records to create a
“history file” against which all future work is compared
• Unmatched headings are also retained for future
matching through the NewMatch option
Joan Chapa, MLS
Ongoing maintenance
• Immediately begin tracking changes to history file
through Authorities Notification Service
• Records are produced around the 20th of each month
• Includes new, changed, deleted authority records
• Also includes newly matched authority records provided
through NewMatch option
• Send newly cataloged records through Overnight
Authorities
• Send changes to history file so we will keep it current
Joan Chapa, MLS
Why MARCIVE??
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Sophisticated processing at an economical cost
Extensive experience with libraries of all types
Free RDA conversion
Flexibility for library-specific requests
Seamless method to keep both bibliographic and
authority files up-to-date
Automatic update on previously unmatched headings
Free authorities processing on GPO records
Discounted processing on large purchased sets of bib
records
Excellent customer service
Joan Chapa, MLS
Conclusion
With decreased staffing and dwindling budgets, let us help
with your database needs, whether it be:
• stand-alone backfile authorities processing
• authorities processing for ongoing work only
• or a combination of RDA Conversion Service
(RDACS) and authorities processing
Questions?
Contact me at jchapa@marcive.com
Joan Chapa, MLS