RAK/AACR: noch eine amerikanische Meinung

["Bernhard Eversberg" <ev _at__ buch.biblio.etc.tu-bs.de>]

Wieder einmal hat mir ein Kollege aus Amerika, der sich nicht persoenlich 
exponieren moechte, aber mir die Weiterleitung gestattet, seine Einschaetzung
unserer Situation mitgeteilt. Dies moechte ich denn auch nicht vorenthalten, 
etwas gekuerzt, da sehr lang:

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I am absolutely *shocked* about the possible change to AACR2 and MARC. If I may
ask: how much of AACR2 would you go for? Specifically, what would you do with the
Library of Congress authority files? And MARC! ... I have done a lot of cataloging
of German materials, and I, along with my colleagues, were always impressed by the
quality of German CIP. It came in very handy. By the way, I am relieved that, if
you do change to AACR2, all your headings would remain in German!

My own experience with new cataloging practices is: I see a computer as a
tool to help me do my job, like a hammer or a screwdriver, therefore I
want the very best hammer I can get so I can do the best job I can.
Computers can be very good tools.

But, computer people are now becoming the dominant force in information
science, which is beginning to encompass traditional areas of
librarianship. Thus, computer people are beginning to make major decisions
concerning libraries. When these computer people see an area they want to
computerize (in this case, the cataloging/processing of library books), if
they see that a human being is involved in their workflow, that person is
considered to be a "bug" that must be eliminated. So, computer people see
their computers as replacements to people, while I see them as a tool for
people.
And of course, the final goal of a quality catalog record is beyond their
comprehension.
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[Und dann ganz andere Aspekte, die allerdings fuer unsere Entscheidung
weniger relevant sein duerften. Oder?]
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... I also remember a discussion on my Slavic librarian's listserve, where the
Brits had a name for a Russian corporate body, which was superior to the LC one.
(The LC name mixed up a present-day corporate body today with the pre-1917 one). I
suggested that LC should change their heading, but the Brits changed theirs!

 ... I would like to mention one thing, which
tormented me as a Slavic-languages cataloger. ... If you decide to go with AACR2,
and the RI's, and MARC format (which are all becoming almost a single entity), do
not underestimate the overriding influence of the Library of Congress *as an
extension of the US government which reflects US domestic and foreign policies.*
... [er faehrt fort mit einer laengeren Erklaerung, wie die Politik das Zuteilen
der Sprachcodes zu den Publikationen aus dem frueheren Jugoslawien diktiert hat:]
A couple of years ago, the US State department mandated that this be changed. It
turned out that the ambassadors from these countries were angry. ... The way some
catalogers are dealing with this is by assigning the language code based on the
place of publication! Totally incorrect. It is either very difficult, or
impossible to assign a correct MARC language code. ... something that formerly
worked fine and was no problem, turned into a cataloging terror, and ultimately
hurts access. All this because of mandates from the diplomatic sector of the US
government and LC is a political organization, which reflects US policy. I could
give you other examples... ... situations similar to the one about Yugoslavia will
probably only increase in the future. At one time, nobody really cared about the
catalog except as a way to find items (if even then!). Today, it has to make
people feel good!

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Bernhard Eversberg
Universitaetsbibliothek, Postf. 3329, 
D-38023 Braunschweig, Germany
Tel.  +49 531 391-5026 , -5011 , FAX  -5836
e-mail  B.Eversberg _at__ tu-bs.de