Please accept my apology for sending the previous message to the list
unintentionally. Since I don't like to bother you with a message that
does nothing more than offer apologies for bothering you with another
message, I'll take this opportunity to share a little more. 

Firstly, I want to say how much I have enjoyed working all of with my
fellow PCC librarians including those at the Library of Congress for
many years now. There are so many highly intelligent and dedicated
individuals among us, but the qualities that I feel have been most
crucial to the success of our work are appreciation for the power of
cooperation and mutual respect. 

Secondly, I want to observe that cataloging has been in a constant state
of change since before I began working in libraries. There was the
change from cards to networked computers then the Internet and now
portals with meta-search engines. There was the change from pre-AACR
rules to AACR, then AAACR2 and now RDA. And don't forget about format
integration and other MARC changes and OCLC and RLIN changes. Anyone who
accuses the cataloging community of being old-fashioned and unable to
adapt has been totally out of touch with reality and should be laughed
at heartily. That doesn't mean we adopt change blindly or that every
change is for the better. It is important to fully debate changes and
discuss options with each other, so please let's try to keep doing this
with an open mind and positive spirit. 

Thirdly, I want to remind everyone to acknowledge that the center of all
our work is not the resources we catalog or the rules that guide us or
the systems we use, but the users and their needs. We all know this and
are guided by it in our every action, but I think it is important to say
it out loud now and then so we won't be misunderstood by others.  

I'm sorry I won't be able to attend the PCC Participants meeting in New
Orleans, but hope to see many of you at other times during the
conference. Thanks and keep it up!   

Jimmie Lundgren
Science and Social Science Cataloging Unit Head
George A. Smathers Libraries
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117007 
Gainesville, FL 32611-7007
352-392-0351 phone
352-392-7365 fax
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