Section I - Workflow

Training status

1. During the quality review period, new authority records are entered by the cataloger or lead cataloger into the bibliographic utility’s Save or Review file. These are full authority records in that they include:

values supplied for the fixed fields for Descriptive Cataloging Rules (008/10), Undifferentiated Personal Name (008/32), Reference Evaluation (008/29), and Level of Establishment (008/33) if warranted, as well as default values for other fixed fields.

the new heading (1XX)

4XX and 5XX fields, if appropriate

a 670 field for the work being cataloged

additional 670 field(s), if necessary

other fields (such as 675 or 667), if appropriate

2. The institutional lead cataloger then reviews all records before notifying the PCC reviewer. It is up to each institution to determine the most efficient workflow.

3. Remember that for languages requiring surrogates, the institution must mail or fax the relevant pages to the PCC reviewer. Please label the surrogates clearly with the record number(s) and the source of the information (e.g.,"t.p.," "colophon," etc.).

4. During the review process, participants may be required to submit surrogates of title pages (or source information in the case of manuscripts and archives) for headings in non-roman languages, except Cyrillic. (Surrogates should be clearly labeled with the name of the PCC reviewer. If the participant has a non-LC based reviewer, he should work with his reviewer to determine how the exchange of surrogates is best accomplished.)

If the NACO member has an LC-based reviewer, he should fax all surrogates to the reviewer on the Cooperative Cataloging Team at LC (fax number: 202-252-2082). Unfortunately, LC can no longer accept mail sent via the United States Postal Service (USPS).

5. If the NACO participant is a member of a funnel project, he should contact the funnel coordinator with all other questions. NACO members with liaisons on the Cooperative Cataloging Team may contact them via email. Members of funnel projects should contact their funnel coordinator by email.

Independent status

Independent status is granted to the institution or funnel project after a formal quality review is conducted by the NACO member’s PCC reviewer. During the quality review, a set number of new authority records are examined to determine accuracy. After independent status is granted, it is not necessary for future authority records to be reviewed by the PCC reviewer. The institution may want to set up a new workflow for contribution of NACO records. The institution’s NACO coordinator may decide to continue to review and produce all records input by catalogers, or if he feels confident that catalogers have mastered NACO procedures, he may not review every record. The institution is responsible for maintaining an acceptable level of quality and quantity through internal workflow.

Note that libraries may wish to keep copies of individual records or lists of record numbers for internal record keeping purposes. Program statistics are compiled on a monthly basis by LC staff and are posted on the PCC Web site at http://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/stats.html.

Database search procedures

NACO participants create authority records when they find no heading established in the LC/NAF. However, they are not required to create authority records for every heading for which there is no match be submitted to the LC/NAF. Participating institutions are not obligated to contribute an authority record for each name heading not found in the LC/NAF, but they are encouraged to expand their contributions whenever possible. Please note: Qualifiers and some cross references in corporate and geographic names must be established.

In order to create an original heading, participants need to follow NACO searching requirements covered in Day 1 of NACO training. These are generally limited to searching the LC/NAF, the RLIN21 and OCLC bibliographic files, and searches dictated by AACR and the LCRIs.

Authority file searching

Search the LC/NAF, using RLIN21, OCLC, or the LC database. The LC database is accessed via the Internet at http://authorities.loc.gov. Use the bibliographic utility documentation to determine the most effective searching method. When searching, determine if the proposed heading already exists either in the form proposed or some variant. This will require careful searching of both the proposed heading and cross references to avoid conflicts and duplicates. Keep in mind that although searching the entire name is the most efficient method, it may not be an adequate search in NACO work because it will prevent the discovery of variants crucial to the formulation of the name authority record. (For example, a search on Smith, William Peter will not produce hits on W.P. Smith, William P. Smith, Will Smith, etc.).

Normalization and Authority file searching

Remember that when searching for matches, what constitutes a match is governed in part by the rules for normalization. Two headings differentiated only by diacritics, special characters, or marks of punctuation may normalize to the same form and be in conflict. For further guidance, see the NACO normalization rules online at http://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/naco/normrule-2.html (see DCM Z1, Normalization).

Bibliographic searching

There are two purposes for bibliographic record searching:

to locate information to form the heading or cross references per LCRIs 22.17-20; and

to report BFM, as appropriate.

If the heading is not found, the cataloger may next search in RLIN21 or OCLC in order to find the predominant usage and any other relevant information. Usage refers to the form of name found in the 245 field of the bibliographic record, or transcription of the name from the work found in other fields, such as an "at head of title" note in the 246 field. Usage is not the form found in the 1XX, 6XX, or 7XX. Information found in 1XX, 6XX, or 7XX fields can be cited in the 670 and used in the heading (for example, dates of birth).

At the same time, note LC bibliographic records that need to be revised per the new heading. LC bibliographic records suitable for BFM are defined in RLIN21 and OCLC by memoranda found at the back of this manual as Appendices I and II. Use documentation for the specific bibliographic utility to determine the most efficient search strategy.

Searching the LC database via the Internet

It is also possible to search the LC database directly via the Internet at http://catalog.loc.gov/.

Having completed searching, proceed to create the authority record or revise the existing heading, as appropriate.