Karen Coyle wrote:
> Bernhard Eversberg wrote:
>
>> In current MARC, there are no reliable means at all to link
>> bibliographic records with each other! We are badly in need of this
>> for whole-part relationships, like multipart records, and then all
>> the other work - expression - manifestation relationships envisaged
>> by FRBR and RDA. This has been known for a long time, but what has
>> MARBI done about it?
>
> You may be mis-interpreting the role of MARBI. MARBI is an advisory
> group to LC on the MARC21 data standard. At each ALA it looks at
> recommendations that have been received by LC, and that LC has passed on
> to the committee. MARBI does NOT originate any proposals itself. As a
> matter of fact, I don't know if it is possible to present a proposal
> directly to MARBI rather than to and through the Library of Congress.
So my mis-interpretation was a gross over-estimation of MARBI's
capacities. Too bad. The question, however, doesn't go away with that,
it only turns into "What has LC done about it?" And as I said earlier,
and more than once, without LC making a major move, nothing's
going to move. The bibliographic universe revolves around LC. If I
understand it right, they are now getting to feel uneasy about this
role, though. But with this center of gravity loosening its pull, will
our poor little universe not expand and evaporate into all directions?
B.Eversberg
Received on Mon Dec 03 2007 - 05:54:54 EST