ALCTS Network News v2n08 (September 23, 1991) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/ann/ann-v2n08 ISSN: 1056-6694 ALCTS NETWORK NEWS An electronic publication of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services Volume 2, Number 8 September 23, 1991 In this issue RLIN INTRODUCES ARABIC-SCRIPT CATALOGING ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW LIST AMIGOS FALL '91 CONFERENCE EXPANDED INTO FIVE-DAY FORMAT NEW LC CATALOGING TOOLS AVAILABLE EDITOR'S NOTE ************************************************************************** RLIN INTRODUCES ARABIC-SCRIPT CATALOGING The Research Libraries Group (RLG) has added Arabic-script capability to RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network), thus enabling its users to enter, search, display, and retrieve records written in Arabic script. With this new capability, RLIN becomes the only online bibliographic network in the world to support Arabic script and the only one to support the entire JACKPHY menu of languages that use non-Roman scripts (defined by the Library of Congress as Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Hebraic, and Yiddish); RLIN also supports Cyrillic script. First to use the RLIN Arabic enhancement is the Library of Congress, which encouraged RLG to develop it and beta-tested the system during August 1991. "LC is happy to be the first library to use the new Arabic system," commented Henriette D. Avram, Associate Librarian for Collections Services of the Library of Congress. "We view this as a boon to getting our Arabic and Persian materials under better control. The rich heritage of the works in these languages, coupled with the immediacy of the current political circumstances in the Middle East, makes the availability of this new system especially timely." Also currently using the RLIN Arabic enhancement is the library of the University of Washington; The New York Public Library will begin using it in October. Other institutions planning Arabic-script cataloging on RLIN include the University of Michigan, New York University, and Brandeis University. The RLIN Arabic enhancement features: * Ability to key in and read Arabic characters from right to left, the natural order of Arabic-script languages. * Cursive script and positional character forms. (Arabic characters vary in shape depending on their position in a word--beginning, middle, or end.) The user simply keys in the character, and the terminal software automatically supplies the proper positional form. * Proper placement of vowel points and marks of pronunciation (i.e., above or below consonants). * Lam-alif digraphs automatically provided. * Pan-Arabic character set. Includes characters necessary for Arabic and other Arabic-script languages such as Farsi, Urdu, and Ottoman Turkish. * Use of conventional Arabic typography (nashki). Users will need special RLIN terminal-emulation software and 80286 or 80386 PC-based hardware. Arabic script on RLIN is a major contribution to the advancement of Middle East scholarship and research. Currently, most online Arabic bibliographic records are transliterated (romanized). But, because of the nature of Arabic-script languages (e.g., the absence of written vowels), transliteration is often imprecise and can render an online record irretrievable. The availability of Arabic script on RLIN eliminates this problem and fosters the sharing of Arabic-language bibliographic data worldwide. It is anticipated that Arabic script will eventually be added to the considerable collection of romanized Arabic cataloging records already in RLIN. Development of the RLIN Arabic-script enhancement was partially funded by a grant from The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of the Sciences (KFAS), a private nonprofit organization oriented towards public service, including major efforts in the dissemination of information in Arabic and in the standardization and expansion of dissemination media. The RLIN Arabic-script enhancement will be demonstrated at this year's Middle East Studies Association (MESA) conference being held November 23-26 at the Washington Hilton and Towers in Washington, D.C. For more information about the RLIN Arabic enhancement, please contact the RLIN Information Center, telephone 1-800-537-RLIN, electronic mail address BL.RIC@RLG.BITNET. ************************************************************************* ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW LIST USMARC-L (USMARC Advisory Group Forum) is a moderated computer forum open to members of the USMARC Advisory Group and anyone interested in discussing the implementation, maintenance, changes and development of the USMARC formats. USMARC-L is operated for the USMARC Advisory Group by the Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office in cooperation with the University of Maine System Libraries and Computer and Data Processing Services. It uses the LISTSERV at the University of Maine. To subscribe to USMARC-L, send the following message to LISTSERV@MAINE.BITNET (if your e-mail address in on BITNET) or LISTSERV@MAINE.MAINE.EDU (if your e-mail address is on the Internet): SUBSCRIBE USMARC-L Firstname Lastname InstitutionalAffiliation [Note: Do not put any punctuation in this message and please abbreviate your institutional affiliation.] USMARC-L is moderated by staff at the Network Development and MARC Standards Office: wmoe@seq1.loc.gov (William E. Moen) and rbar@seq1.loc.gov (Randall K. Barry) For more information contact: Sally H. McCallum, Chief, Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540 (smcc@seq1.loc.gov). ************************************************************************* AMIGOS FALL '91 CONFERENCE EXPANDED INTO FIVE-DAY FORMAT AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, Inc. announced its expanded schedule for the AMIGOS Fall'91 conference, November 11-15. To be held at the Harvey Hotel-Addison near Dallas, Texas, the conference is designed to provide the opportunity for both AMIGOS members and non-members to participate in a variety of programs which focus on automation issues for the contemporary library. The schedule of events for the conference includes the following all-day sessions: "Three OCLC/AMIGOS Collection Analysis Reports: How They Work For You;" "The Selector's Role in Preservation: Building Collections That Will Last;" and "What Makes Your Computer Tick? It's High Time to Learn the Basics." For registration materials and information regarding accommodations, transportation, meals and conference rates, contact the Conference Desk at AMIGOS, 800/843-8482 or 214/750-6130 (in Texas). ************************************************************************* NEW LC CATALOGING TOOLS AVAILABLE SUBJECT CATALOGING MANUAL: SUBJECT HEADINGS, 4th edition, has been published by the Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress. The manual provides comprehensive guidelines for assigning LC subject headings and also gives the rationale for assigning headings to specific types of works. The new edition replaces the 1988 third edition and its updates and ensures that catalogers keep current with subject cataloging practice. The fourth edition is fully cumulated, updated, and reformatted to make it more readable. Among the new features, the fourth edition is geared toward catalogers working in automated environments, including those using local cataloging networks or engaged in cooperative cataloging projects with the Library of Congress. The new edition also reflects a growing trend toward cataloging simplification: for example, instructions on cataloging biographies (H 1330), surveys (H 2149), and translations (H 2220) have been greatly simplified. The fourth edition also includes guidelines on the use of free-floating subdivisions. Free-floating Subdivisions: An Alphabetical Index, also available from the Library's Cataloging Distribution Service, is an important companion to SUBJECT CATALOGING MANUAL: SUBJECT HEADINGS, 4th edition. SUBJECT CATALOGING MANUAL: SUBJECT HEADINGS, 4th edition, costs $115 (North America) or $130 (international). The two volume binder set includes one update in 1991. MAP CATALOGING MANUAL, the first comprehensive and practical guide for cataloging and classifying non-book cartographic materials, has been created by LC's Geography and Map Division in response to requests from the growing number of map catalogers who want to apply cataloging rules, practices, and procedures more consistently now that map records are being added to bibliographic utilities at an ever-increasing rate. It covers classification, subject analysis, minimal level cataloging, MARC content designation, special treatment, etc., representing many areas not covered by a 1982 manual issued by the American Library Association and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Committee for Cartographic Materials (AACCM). MAP CATALOGING MANUAL is packaged as a 257-page, tabbed loose-leaf publication to make it easy to add future updates. It costs $30 (North America) or $32 (international). Updates will be issued as the need arises. ALA-LC ROMANIZATION TABLES: TRANSLITERATION SCHEMES FOR NON-ROMAN SCRIPTS brings together in one place all the romanization tables that have appeared over the past twenty years in the Library of Congress Cataloging Service Bulletin. Approved by the American Library Association, the tables in the book are seen as especially useful for librarians, linguists, archivists, writers, journalists, catalogers, and copy editors. Any professional who transliterates words, proper names, titles, or terms from a nonroman script in to the roman script will need this guide. Edited by Randall K. Barry of the Network Development and MARC Standards Office, the book features schemes developed by Library of Congress experts and other foreign language specialists. It includes 50 romanization and transliteration tables covering more than 140 languages and dialects written in nonroman scripts. The price for ALA-LC ROMANIZATION TABLES: TRANSLITERATION SCHEMES FOR NON-ROMAN SCRIPTS is $24 (North America) and $26 (international). These titles may be ordered from Library of Congress, Customer Services Section, Cataloging Distribution Service, Washington, D.C. 20541-5017; telephone: (202) 707-6100; FAX: (202) 707-1334. ************************************************************************* EDITOR'S NOTE: After each issue of AN2 goes out, the ALCTS mailbox is filled with error messages reporting a variety of transmission problems and so forth. But, as nearly every editor will report, it's also nice to get the occasional "pat on the back." The following message is included as we received it. Yes, it's from Hong Kong! Date: Tue, 17 Sep 91 08:43 +0800 From: "Michael J. Costin, HKU Libraries" Subject: Re: AN2, vol. 2, number 7 To: U34261@UICVM.BITNET Thanks much for sending, and don't worry about the time, at least for us! We are twelve hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time and everything is therefore rather upsidedown. Nevertheless, AN2 is our best and quickest source of news in the field, for which we are most grateful. Mike ************************************************************************* ALCTS NETWORK NEWS (ISSN 1056-6694) is published irregularly by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association. Editorial offices: ALCTS, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; Arnold Hirshon, President; Karen Muller, Executive Director. Editor: Karen Muller (u34261@uicvm); Editorial staff for this issue: Alex Bloss and Andrea Wiley. ALCTS NETWORK NEWS is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the division. News items and requests for back issues should be sent to the editor at Bitnet address u34261@uicvm. To subscribe, issue the network command "tell listserv@uicvm sub alcts [your account] [your name]." ALCTS NETWORK NEWS is also available on ALANET through the PUBS menu or the command ALANET4. Send questions about membership in ALCTS to the ALCTS Office, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or education advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting or redistribution or translations, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. *************************************************************************