PCC members should keep in mind distinctions in appropriate reporting of authority file maintenance to OCLC, and/or LC--CPSO, and/or LC--Coop Team. These confusions are resulting in this work either not getting done, or in extensive delays.

PCC Members

There are two types of database maintenance which must be reported by member catalogers to their institution's liaison for relaying to the LC liaison. See the NACO Participant's Manual  at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/naco/npm3rd.pdf 

1. Deletions of Name Authority Records (NARs) in the LC/NACO Authority File and the annotation of the 010 field with a $z field. Due to database security, this work must be done at LC. These changes are distributed on a regular basis to the other copy holders of the authority file (which includes OCLC) for further distribution or other use.

Other revisions to records in the LC/NACO Authority File, such as (but not limited to) conflict resolution or typo correction are within the abilities of independent NACO member institutions.

2. Revisions to existing Library of Congress Subject Heading authority records. The master file for LCSH is a separate database to which only a specific unit within LC has access. PCC members must use the regular SACO procedures for proposing changes of any kind  to subject authority records. The guidelines for revisions to subject authority headings, along with a web form for making such proposals, are at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/saco/saco.html 

There are three important points to make about this workflow:

1. Sending messages to the appropriate LC personnel avoids delays. Communications of this nature sent to either OCLC or CPSO by PCC members are identified and relayed by them, through me, to the appropriate LC staff.

2. Catalogers of member institutions should send these needs to their institution's NACO liaison, who will then send them to the LC liaison. The individual e-mails from the combined catalogers of 500+ PCC member institutions when condensed into the in boxes of six Cooperative Program Specialists in LC doth chaos make.

3. We trust independent members to make revisions to authority records in the LC/NACO Names Authority File. When one authority record is to be deleted and another retained, member catalogers should transfer the data needed from one record to the other. Unfortunately, there is no way to "merge" authority records; nor, in OCLC, should a $z subfield be added to an 010 field by a member institution.

Non-PCC Members

Work of the above types should be reported to CPSO at [log in to unmask] 

Anthony R.D. Franks
Team Leader, Cooperative Cataloging Team
Library of Congress
202-707-2822 (voice)
202-252-2082 (fax)