AACR2 to Expand Seriality at Last!

After five years of meetings, papers, discussion and votes, we expect to see a new revision of AACR2 this summer which will make major changes in how we catalog serials. This TSLL column has presented some of the changes as they've developed.

Descriptive cataloging rules will change. We'll see new rules on when to make a new bibliographic record — some kinds of title changes will no longer require a new bibliographic record, resulting in fewer new bib records. This will result in fewer holdings statements, and less clutter in our catalogs. And some relief to our cataloging workload. Hallam's special rules for cataloging loose-leaf services will be part of mainstream AACR2. The principles of cataloging an integrating loose-leaf service will also be applied to integrating web sites.

We will have some new MARC values, and some new uses of existing MARC tags. These MARC changes will have to be added to our online catalog programs, either by the system vendor or by someone in your library, depending on what changes your software allows you to make.

We hope to provide some preparation for all of these changes by offering an informal session during AALL 2002 in Orlando, during the Cataloging and Classification Roundtable time slot, on Tuesday, July 23, 2002, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Since this isn't a formal AALL program, it will be listed in the published program only as the Roundtable.

We are very grateful to Nancy Poehlmann, Chair of the Cataloging and Classification Committee for making this time available. I'm also very pleased to thank Richard Amelung, who has taught cataloging, for agreeing to speak about the cataloging aspects, and Susan Goldner, AALL's representative to MARBI (which determines changes to MARC tags), for agreeing to speak about the changes to MARC tags to accommodate these revisions.

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