Vendor Supplied Records (VRAG)

VENDOR-SUPPLIED RECORDS ADVISORY WORKING GROUP (VRAG)

Resources

Mission

  1. Assist and encourage vendors to use appropriate national cataloging standards.
  2. Provide outreach to vendors who wish to produce cataloging metadata by encouraging them to provide sample bibliographic records for evaluation, and by recommending changes and revisions as appropriate.
  3. Encourage vendors to use name, subject, and genre headings in accordance with established national and international authority files (e.g., LC/NACO authority file, Library of Congress Subject Headings, and genre/form terms from established thesauri). Encourage vendors to work with authority control vendors when appropriate.
  4. Review and evaluate supplied cataloging records, based on analysis conducted by members of the working group and/or input solicited from TS-SIS members. Publish and disseminate information about individual sets for use by the TS-SIS cataloging community.
  5. Facilitate communication between the TS-SIS community and vendors who provide bibliographic record sets. Give advice, as requested, to specific libraries on the use of specific vendor-supplied sets.

Reporting Responsibilities

  1. Submit an annual written report of the working group’s activities to the chair of the Metadata Management Standing Committee.
  2. Submit copies of the annual report to the TSLL newsletter editor and to the TS-SIS web manager.
  3. Give oral reports to general TS-SIS membership during the Metadata Management Standing Committee meeting and/or roundtable during AALL Annual Meeting.
  4. Prepare agenda for VRAG meeting during AALL Annual Meeting.
  5. Keep chair of the Metadata Management Standing Committee abreast of working group’s activities.

Structure

  1. Any members in good standing of TS-SIS may apply in writing to serve during a call for volunteers made by the chair of the Metadata Management Standing Committee.
  2. Members should include in their application a brief statement that includes their reasons for wanting to serve on this working group and how they can contribute to the group’s work.
  3. Members are selected and appointed by the current chair of the working group, in consultation with the chair of the Metadata Management Standing Committee.

Membership Responsibilities

  1. Actively contribute to the working group’s responses to vendors seeking feedback on the cataloging of specific record sets and cataloging practices.
  2. Actively contribute to the working group’s responses to members of the law library community requesting assistance in working with vendor records or with the vendors themselves.
  3. Actively engage in discussions initiated by any member of the working group, and contribute to the resolution of questions and concerns referred to the working group regarding vendor-supplied records.

Co-Chairs

(as of August 3, 2022)

Susanna French , co-chair (2021-2023)
University of Connecticut, School of Law Library

Rachel Decker, co-chair (2022-2024)
Chapman University, Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library