[Heb-NACO] Reviving Heb-NACO

[Heidi G Lerner]

Dear all, 
  
After almost twenty years since its inception, the Heb-NACO listserv is becoming more and more under-utilized. The original purpose was to serve as a forum for Hebraica NACO Funnel members to discuss issues surrounding the creation of Hebraica NARs for the NAF (now LCNAF). It very quickly expanded to cover any topic relating to the cataloging of Hebraic and Judaic materials and the listserv was opened to Hebraica and Judaica catalogers around the world. 
  
In recent years the traffic on the listserv has slowed greatly with catalogers choosing to send queries privately to Joan and me. Now that Joan’s retirement date is approaching, it’s necessary to reconsider the purpose and functioning of the Heb-NACO listserv.  With staffing cuts in every institution and the advent of RDA, everyone is swamped with work and no one has time available to answer cataloging queries on a one-on-one basis.  
  
Let’s give the list more of a chance to fulfill its original purpose of sharing expertise widely among colleagues who catalog Hebraica materials.  Most of the questions in recent years haver been related to subject cataloging problems and the identification and formulation of complex liturgical headings.  Too often, though, such discussions have petered out without being solved, or have been solved in desperation by fiat.  In the future, let’s bring more questions to the group and follow through with the discussions.  No one but us can solve the particular questions that arise with our materials. 
  
The job of the LC liaison and me can no longer be to advise individuals on any and all questions.  Those appropriate to the NACO and BIBCO Funnels should be handled through the Funnels*.  The LC liaison will perform the duties that other libraries cannot, correcting errors in the LC database and deleting duplicates when needed. 
  
Hopefully this winnowing of queries before they are brought to the list will result in a concentration there on the problems that our joint expertise can and must solve. 
  
Here are some suggestions for dealing with the less complex queries: 
  
Romanization Queries 
1)  Look up the problematic word or phrase in the latest available edition of Even-Shoshan 
2)  If that doesn’t provide the answer, question the list, giving the context in which you found the problematic word 
3)  So that everyone may benefit from your research, if you question another library’s romanization, give the title which contains the word you question, and offer your preferred romanization.  It’s not necessary and in very bad form to name the cataloger or identify the the institution (by MARC Organizational Code or OCLC code) which produced the record.  Give your e-mail message the subject line “Romanization”. 
  
Duplication Queries 
1)  If you identify duplicate authority records, choose the better heading and transfer relevant references and 670s from the other record to the chosen one 
2)  So that everyone may benefit from your research, notify the list of your findings.  Ask the LC liaison to delete the unwanted duplicate.  Give your e-mail message the subject “Duplication”. 
3)  If you are not authorized to add data to authority records, spell out the problem in your e-mail message and request the attention of the LC liaison or me as Coordinator of the funnel. 
  
Authority Problems 
1)  If you identify works which have been attributed to the wrong author, correct the records in your own catalog 
2)  So that everyone may benefit from your research, notify the list of your findings and corrections. Again, it’s not necessary to name the cataloger or the institution which you feel has misattributed authorship.  Give your e-mail message the subject “Authorities”. 
  
Most of us cataloging Hebraica today have been doing so for five years and more. We all have different strengths, backgrounds, knowledge. Let us all contribute our collective knowledge and allow the listserv to once again be a valuable tool for all of us. 
  
Thank you, Joan (LC Liaison, NACO Hebraica Funnel) , Heidi (Coordinator, NACO Hebraica Funnel) 
  
*We hope to establish a Bibco Hebraica Funnel in the near future.  I have been serving as a BIBCO reviewer for both Hebraica and western European languages and in the interim will be available to answer or field questions related to the BIBCO program and the creation/submission of PCC bibliographic records--Heidi 


Heidi G. Lerner 
Hebraica/Judaica Cataloger 
Metadata Development Unit 
Stanford University Libraries 
Stanford, CA 94305-6004 
e-mail: lerner at stanford.edu 
ph: 650-725-9953 
fax: 650-725-1120 

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