IFLA Cataloguing Principles: Steps towards an International Cataloguing Code 3. Report from the 3rd IFLA Meeting of Experts on an International Cataloguing Code, Cairo, Egypt, 2005

Citation

Datson, E. (2008), "IFLA Cataloguing Principles: Steps towards an International Cataloguing Code 3. Report from the 3rd IFLA Meeting of Experts on an International Cataloguing Code, Cairo, Egypt, 2005", Library Management, Vol. 29 No. 8/9, pp. 793-795. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120810917413

IFLA Cataloguing Principles: Steps towards an International Cataloguing Code 3, is a monograph presenting the proceedings of the third IFLA Meeting of Experts (IME) on an International Cataloguing Code (ICC), held in Cairo, Egypt, 2005. The first meeting of the IME ICC was held in Berlin, Germany in 2003, for European experts; the second meeting was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2004, for Caribbean and Latin American experts. A further two meetings are planned, one has already been held in Seoul, Korea, in 2006, for Asian experts and the final meeting was held in Durban, South Africa in 2007, for African experts. These series of meetings are updating and reviewing what has become known as the “Paris Principles”, that were first stated in 1961 at the International Conference on Cataloguing Principles (indeed one of the background papers provided to participants of the meeting were these “Paris Principles”). Therefore, these meetings are examining drafts and seeking to reach global consensus on the new Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (SICP) which will cover all types of materials not just books, with each meeting making and voting a on a new draft of the SICP, which is also presented to participants of the previous IME ICC meetings, in order to allow for international consensus.

For the IME ICC3, there were a total of 53 participants representing 13 Arabic‐speaking countries, whilst members of the Planning Committee bought the overall total to 59. As Arabic and English were the official languages of the meeting the proceedings are also bilingual. The contents of the proceedings reflect the draft of the SICP and Recommendations of the IME ICC3; votes of the IME ICC1 and IME ICC2 on the Recommendations of the IME ICC3; papers presented at the meeting; background papers provided to participants before the meeting; recommendations of the five IME ICC3 working Groups and appendices, which provide the miscellania of the meeting.

The five Working Groups of the IME ICC3 covered the following areas: WG1 – Personal Names; WG2 – Corporate Bodies; WG3 – Seriality; WG4 ‐ Uniform Titles and GMD; and WG5 – Multipart Structures. Each of these groups met during the meeting to discuss and make recommendations on the draft SICP, to modify the Glossary (with particular reference to providing recommendations on Arabic terminology), and to recommend inclusions for an International Cataloguing Code. These recommendations are both summarised and outlined in full in the proceedings. One of the major recommendations of the meeting was to recommend making the GMD field mandatory and adding to the list of insensible access points in 7.1.2.1 of the SICP, though there was still some discussion in where to place it in the bibliographic record. This recommendation has been referred to the IFLA ISBD Review Group, who already reviewing the GMD field. Other recommendations include changing sections of the SICP to make them more easily understood and to provide Arabic equivalents for use in the Glossary.

Tillett's paper on the Virtual International Authority Files (VIAF) was the highlight of the volume to this author. A VIAF will bring the concept of authority control to the twenty‐first century, by applying authority control to the web environment. Allowing libraries all over the world to access one authority file, simplifying the maintenance and creation of authority records and to allow users to access material in the script, languages, and the form they prefer or that their own library would normally provide to them. This central VIAF will be a boon to cataloguers' worldwide who never have the time to maintain the authority files they would like. Their own catalogue system could be connected to a VIAF with the click of a mouse, allowing them to transfer an authority record to their own catalogue and make local additions as needed, all with a few clicks of a mouse and keystrokes. This author can only stand and watch with bated breath for the arrival of a VIAF (which is still in development stages) and what a wonderful day for cataloguers that will be.

In the Scope of the SICP (Draft of April 2006) it states, “The highest principle for the construction of cataloguing codes should be the convenience of the users of the catalogue” (Tillett et al., 2006, p. 29). This author can only applaud this sentiment and hope that those that make our cataloguing rules remember it. Indeed, it is not a new concept, it harks back to Ranganathan's “Fourth Law of Library Science – Save the Time of the Reader” (Ranganathan, 1931, p. 337) and it is a law that this author believes should always be held at forefront of every librarian's mind. As the library catalogue can be a confusing place for a library user and anything that helps make using a library catalogue more convenient for users can only be for the better. As will the introduction of an internationally agreed upon SICP, as all users worldwide can be confident in the knowledge that their libraries are striving to present the information in their catalogues the same as their colleagues across the world. An important consideration in today's connected world, where users can use catalogues from all over the globe on the Web.

IFLA Cataloguing Principles: Steps towards an International Cataloguing Code 3 is for all those interested in, practicing or studying cataloguing. It represents the cataloguing world changing and evolving to suit today's wired world and the results of the IME ICC meeting will one day control the way libraries catalogue. So a must for any library wanting to know about the latest developments in the cataloguing field.