Front L-R: Jennifer Bowen; Sally Strutt; Barbara Tillett; Deirdre Kiorgaard
Back L-R: Margaret Stewart; Hugh Taylor; Nathalie Schulz.
(Photo courtesy of Cambridge University Library)

Outcomes of the Meeting of the Joint Steering Committee Held in Cambridge, England 18-21 October 2004

This is a summary of the JSC meeting in Cambridge. A complete list of topics discussed is contained in the agenda.

Editor's draft of AACR3 part I

At the meeting, JSC discussed the Editor's first draft of AACR3 part I, including:

• Principles. JSC reviewed the underlying principles which will be incorporated into the introduction of AACR3.
• Organization of the rules. JSC confirmed that there would be a section containing general rules (including rules and chapters on different modes of issuance), a section containing supplementary rules applicable to specific types of content, and a section on supplementary rules applicable to specific types of media.
• Generalization. The work done by the Editor to remove redundancy in the rules followed on from the work done by the ALA Task Force on Consistency across Part I of AACR2. The JSC also agreed to further generalization of rules at the meeting.
• Treatment of ISBD area 5. The Editor worked in collaboration with the ALA Task Force on Consistency across Part I of AACR2 to develop a prototype for the area 5 rules in AACR3. JSC considered the proposed revisions to area 5 (renamed "technical description area"), which address the applicability of a consistent approach across all types of media.
• Sources of information. JSC discussed revisions by the Editor to the rules for source of information to relate the choice of sources of information to the focus of the description (e.g. a single-part resource, or a resource issued in successive parts). JSC agreed that the proposed revisions (and the Editor's revisions to rules for resources issued in successive parts) helped to resolve many of the ongoing issues regarding the treatment of multipart monographs.
• General Material Designations (GMDs). JSC discussed the proposals by the Editor for the GMD to contain an indication of the type of content contained in the resource and/or the medium in which the content is conveyed.

In November 2004 the Editor will prepare a draft of part I of AACR3 for constituency review. The review period will extend from mid-December 2004 to mid-February 2005, and JSC will discuss the responses with the Editor at the April 2005 meeting.

Tom Delsey, Editor of AACR3

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Organization of Part II of AACR3

The Editor of AACR3 discussed two documents with the JSC, a paper on the function of the catalogue, and a strawman proposal for the organization of part II. The paper on the function of the catalogue articulated the objectives underlying the rules in AACR that relate to choice of access points. JSC members will comment informally on the paper so that it can be used in discussions on part II at the April 2005 meeting.

In his strawman proposal for the organization of part II, the Editor addressed a number of the key issues raised in The Logical Structure of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules - Part II that formed the basis for the terms of reference for revising chapter 21. A key element of the strawman proposal was the differentiation between access points for a work, and access points for a resource. In simple cases, a resource will contain one work, while in other cases a resource may contain a compilation, or a composite work, or two or more works without a collective title.

The Editor will draft part II of AACR3 for discussion at the April 2005 meeting. From May to September 2005 there will be a period of constituency review, and JSC will discuss the responses with the Editor at the October 2005 meeting.

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Other Agenda Items

Among the other items discussed were:

• An ALA proposal containing revisions coming from the preparation of Cartographic Materials. JSC approved the proposal, and the revised rules will be included in the 2005 update.
• A BL proposal to revise rules A.2A, A.4A, and A.30 to cover capitalization of single letters used to represent words, and multiple-letter prefixes in compound terms, in headings for corporate bodies and in titles, e.g. “eBay” and “drkoop.com, Inc.” JSC approved changes to the rules which will be included in the 2005 update.
• An ALA proposal to extend and generalize optional rule 21.0D (Designations of function). JSC decided not to include revised rules in the 2005 update, and asked the Editor to examine the issue further while preparing the draft of part II of AACR3.

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Next Meeting

JSC will meet April 24-28, 2005, in Chicago, U.S.A.

Nathalie Schulz
Secretary, JSC
19 November 2004

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