Annual Report from the Chair: 2016

Cataloging and Metadata Committee (CMC) Annual Report, July 2015-June 2016 Submitted by Tracey Snyder

Website: http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/mpage/cmc

MEMBERS (as of March 2016)

Tracey Snyder (Chair, CMC, appointed 2016), Mary Huismann (Chair, Content Standards Subcommittee, 2016), James Soe Nyun (Chair, Encoding Standards Subcommittee, 2015), Casey Mullin (Chair, Vocabularies Subcommittee, 2014), Elizabeth Hille Cribbs (CMC Webmaster/Secretary, 2015), Christopher Holden (Editor, Music Cataloging Bulletin, 2015), Linda Blair (BIBCO Music Funnel Coordinator, 2015), Mark Scharff (NACO-Music Project Coordinator, 2015), Nancy Lorimer (SACO Music Funnel Coordinator, 2012), Susan Vita (Library of Congress Representative), Jay Weitz (OCLC Representative)

We thank Beth Iseminger, who completed her illustrious term as chair 2012-2016. Tracey Snyder is the new chair of CMC. All of the subcommittees welcomed new members this year, filling vacancies left by outgoing members.

REPORT ON ACTIVITIES

Structure and operations

FY 2015-2016 was our first full year functioning under the new name and structure that took effect March 1, 2015. The committee now encompasses three subcommittees and three music- specific PCC funnels (NACO, SACO, and BIBCO), the chairs and coordinators of which serve on the committee. The three funnel coordinators also participate as ex officio members of the relevant subcommittees. The work of the subcommittees is carried out by smaller task groups coordinated by the subcommittee chairs and other members. This structure is proving to be effective. Numerous simultaneous tasks are carried out by a large body of volunteers, with the workload distributed to allow for maximum engagement of individuals. Specific duties of the various members of the committee, subcommittees, and funnels are outlined in the newly revised CMC handbook, which can be found on the CMC website.

Subcommittee work

Together, the subcommittees are responsible for the content and maintenance of a number of indispensable resources, including Metadata for Music Resources, Types of Composition list, Thematic Indexes list, thesaurus of genre and form terms, thesaurus of medium of performance terms, and comprehensive best practices documents for these two thesauri and for RDA. These resources can be accessed from the CMC website. When there are significant updates to these resources, CMC members announce this on the CMC blog as well as in the Music Cataloging Bulletin. Subcommittees also participate actively in the development of RDA, LC-PCC PS, MARC, and FRBR-LRM. See individual subcommittee reports for details of this and other work.

Task forces and working group

Both the Genre/Form Task Force and the BIBFRAME Task Force completed their work and disbanded at MLA 2016. Their final reports, which are the culmination of years of hard work and dedication on the part of the task force members, can be accessed from the CMC website. Picking up where the BIBFRAME Task Force left off is a new informal working group, the MLA Linked Data Working Group. This group was convened by CMC and is co-chaired by CMC members but draws its membership from across the various areas of MLA. MLA LDWG will work on various tasks in support of the Mellon grant-funded Linked Data for Performed Music project.

Programming

CMC members delivered three well-received webinars on various topics in music cataloging in FY 2015-2016. At MLA 2016, CMC sponsored or co-sponsored three program sessions (one of which was a plenary and one of which was a hands-on workshop) plus our traditional CMC Town Hall session and a new session put on by the three PCC funnels (NACO, SACO, and BIBCO) that functioned as a participants meeting for funnel members. At MLA 2017, CMC will again sponsor or co-sponsor three program sessions (two of which will be plenaries) plus CMC Town Hall and the PCC session. Additionally, CMC will co-sponsor a pre-conference workshop related to Linked Data.

MLA liaison work with ALA

The committee chair and subcommittee chairs attended ALA meetings as MLA liaisons, where they represented the perspective of the music cataloging community on ALA committees and interest groups related to cataloging (Authority Control Interest Group (ACIG), OLAC’s Cataloging Policy Committee (OLAC-CAPC), the Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA), the MARC Advisory Committee (MAC), the Metadata Interest Group (MIG), the Metadata Standards Committee (MSC), and the Subject Analysis Committee (SAC)). The Music Cataloging Bulletin contains reports from these meetings, which are also available on the CMC website.

PAST GOALS (2015-2016)

Please see the reports of the individual subcommittees for more detail on how these goals were met.

Communicate with the Library of Congress and the library metadata community on issues related to BIBFRAME and music materials. Collaborate with LC and other stakeholders regarding music-related BIBFRAME and linked data initiatives as appropriate.

We met this goal through the work of the BIBFRAME task force. Work in this arena also continues under the new MLA Linked Data Working Group.

Continue work on development and problem-solving related to the conversion of music subject headings to medium of performance (LCMPT), music genre (LCGFT), demographic group, geography, and other controlled, faceted terms.

Progress has been made in this area, and work continues under the Vocabularies Subcommittee. Additionally, the chair of the Vocabularies Subcommittee has been appointed to chair a new working group within ALA that is charged with exploring this further.

Provide expert comment on RDA revision proposals created by the JSC [now RSC] Music Working Group, ALA, and other constituencies, as well as other documents issued for community review.

We met this goal through the work of the Content Standards Subcommittee.

Propose LC-PCC Policy Statements relating to RDA music cataloging as needed.

We met this goal through the work of the Content Standards Subcommittee.

Contribute to continuing MARC21 developments through the MARC Advisory Committee. Communicate with the LC MARC Office on MARC issues related to music and RDA.

We met this goal through the work of the Encoding Standards Subcommittee.

Maintain cataloging best practices documents (including RDA, LCMPT, and LCGFT best practices).

We met this goal through the work of the Content Standards Subcommittee and the Vocabularies Subcommittee.

Maintain the Metadata for Music Resources site. Consider new or alternate methods of staging the site as appropriate.

We met this goal through the work of the Encoding Standards Subcommittee.

Leverage committee members’ expertise by providing educational and training presentations, such as those that have been part of the MLA-ALA Editions series of webinars.

We met this goal. Several members delivered a series of three MLA-ALA Editions webinars in late 2015. CMC also co-sponsored a hands-on workshop related to Linked Data at MLA 2016.

Collaborate as appropriate with other MLA, ALA, and music-related groups.

We met this goal through our participation as liaisons with LC, OLAC, and various ALA groups, and through our collaboration with the MLA Education Committee to prepare a pre-conference workshop for MLA 2017.

Update the Procedures Manual (committee handbook) as needed.

Specific goal: Complete updates related to the Committee’s reorganization by the MLA Annual Meeting in 2016.

We met this goal. Please see the CMC website.

Continue revising, updating, and expanding the new CMC website.

Specific goal: ensure all links have been migrated from the old BCC website to the new CMC website.

Specific goal: optimize pages for web setting versus former flat-file web structure.

We met this goal. Please see the CMC website.

GOALS for 2016-2017

Continue to participate in explorations of BIBFRAME and other Linked Data ontologies, and contribute to the work of the Linked Data for Performed Music grant project.
Continue work on development and problem-solving related to the conversion of music subject headings to medium of performance (LCMPT), music genre (LCGFT), demographic group, geography, and other controlled, faceted terms.
Provide expert comment on RDA revision proposals created by the RSC [formerly JSC] Music Working Group, ALA, and other constituencies, as well as other documents issued for community review.
Propose LC-PCC Policy Statements relating to RDA music cataloging as needed.
Contribute to continuing MARC21 developments through the MARC Advisory Committee. Communicate with the LC MARC Office on MARC issues related to music and RDA.
Maintain cataloging best practices documents (including RDA, LCMPT, and LCGFT best practices).
Maintain the Metadata for Music Resources site, Types of Composition list, Thematic Indexes list, LCGFT, and LCMPT, and vet music-related terms for LCSH.
Leverage committee members’ expertise by providing educational and training presentations, such as webinars and workshops, as opportunities arise.
Collaborate as appropriate with other MLA, ALA, and music-related groups.

These goals support the MLA Strategic Plan goal areas of Organizational Excellence, Value of the Profession, and Education, through CMC’s continuing commitment to excellence and its collaborations with other national and international library organizations; through the visibility which CMC brings to MLA through our liaison and other professional relationships; through the relevancy of CMC’s work to current issues in librarianship, especially CMC’s work with the developing RDA standard and the LC thesaurus vocabularies; and through CMC’s efforts to use technology to provide online training for music metadata practitioners.

CATALOGING and METADATA COMMITTEE