Re: [ARSCLIST] Cataloging sound recordings

[Eugene DeAnna <edea@xxxxxxx>]

I've been following this thread with interest. I just want to point out that at the Library of Congress, we acquire, on average, 60 - 75,000 sound recordings per year. This includes published and unpublished material on virtually every format imaginable, current and obsolete. Cataloging staff working on audio averages out to about 12-15 catalogers and 10 technicians over the course of a year. Clearly, we have to prioritize and allocate resources accordingly in order to focus our expertise on the material that most warrants it. The bibliographic record that was posted previously as a sample LC record was for a cassette of children's music. Given the content and the format, the cataloging was appropriate to provide excellent access to the item * several subject headings, a summary, song titles and performers ... essentially information from the label or container enhanced with subjects.  

High efficiency cataloging in our MARC database means technician-level processors using OCLC copy or other external resource data that we can convert to MARC, and minmizing the creation of subject and authority headings. Taking this approach for current pop and childrens music for example, allows us to allocate staff time to create full, original-input records for, say, Stokowski BSO performances recorded by the Voice of America that only we may have, or for the newly discovered Monk and Coltrane tapes from the same collection. 

The reality is that we are unable to treat everything equally if we are going to make progress with the backlog of unpublished archival formats awaiting preservation and the pre-LP published formats that we want to catalog.

That said, I have learned much from this discussion and hope it continues. Many of the issues you have brought up ... data exchange and conversion, better interfaces (for input and display), are among the highest priorities for us as we begin re-tooling for our move to the National Audio-Video Preservation Center in late 2006.

Gene DeAnna
Acting Head, Recorded Sound Section
Library of Congress
edea@xxxxxxx 
... the usual disclaimers apply ...

>>> stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 05/07/05 10:06 PM >>>
The Library of Congress has extensive information on the MARC system/format
at
http://www.loc.gov/marc/ which I found very interesting.

As near as I can tell, MARC seems to be a data file format something similar
to HTML. Instead of designating items with paired tags, MARC seems to
precede
items with numberic field identifiers, and each field has a fixed length as
well as being set off by firld terminators. Most of the fields are defined
in the format; as well, the format is clearly intended for the catalguing
of printed items.

I would assume the result is a file which lends itself to being displayed
on a terminal or used to print index cards (in neither case will the numeric
designator be included). In this sense, it is similar to a Table in HTML,
which uses <TR></TR> tags to identify rows (data records) and <TD></TD>
to identify Table Items (data fields).

The good thing about this is the fact it would be very simple to create a
working user interface using Visual Basic (possibly also Visual C++ but I'm
not fluent in that) which would create a text file. This file would include
the identifiers and terminators for each field, and read the inputted text
from user-completed text boxes for insertion into the file. As well, it
should be possible to read the data from the file using (and searching for)
field identifiers and terminators, and then insert that data into MS Access
or other data tables.

The bad thing is that using MARC to catalog sound recordings would be akin
to trying to license computers using the softare already in place for
motor vehicle licenses!

For example, here is a sample phonorecord entry from the LOC site:

The same record with MARC 21 content designators:
=-=-=-
Leader *****cim  22***** a 4500
001    93712603
003 DLC
005 19930528154400.4
007 ssulunjlcnnnu
008 930524s1991    mdunnn j d     f    eng
010 ##   $a  93712603
040 ##   $a  DLC c DLC d DLC
050 00   $a  RZA 2283
100 1#   $a  Fox, Ruth.
245 12   $a  A story for every season $h [sound
             recording] / $c [stories by Ruth Fox].
260 ##   $a  Baltimore, Md. : $b Uffigton
             Productions, $c [1991]
300 ##   $a  1 sound cassette (ca. 45 min.) : $b analog.
306 ##   $a  004500
511 0#   $a  Narrated by Trish MacDonald.
518 ##   $a  Recorded at Invisible Sound Studios.
500 ##   $a  In container (18 cm.).
520 ##   $a  Presents four children's stories about an oak
             sapling who finds a place to grow; a seashell
             who is given a home; a beaver who attempts to
             prolong fall; and a mountain boy who befriends
             a doe. Includes sound effects and music.
505 0#   $a  Spring. Oakie, the wonder tree -- Summer. The
             seashell -- Fall. The story of a rambunctious
             beaver named Willie -- Winter. Amos, the
             mountain boy.
650 #0   $a  Children's stories $v Juvenile sound recordings.
650 #0   $a  Trees $v Fiction $v Juvenile sound recordings.
650 #0   $a  Shells $v Fiction $v Juvenile sound recordings.
650 #0   $a  Beavers $v Fiction $v Juvenile sound recordings.
650 #0   $a  Deer $v Fiction $v Juvenile sound recordings.
700 10   $a  MacDonald, Trish. $4 nrt
=-=-=-
Note that virtually all the discographic data is missing!

Steven C. Barr