This year, MLA generously contributed funding toward in-person attendance by two of our music PCC funnel coordinators at the annual PCC Joint Operations Committee (“OpCo”) meeting in Washington, DC, May 2-3 2024. Please enjoy reflections below on DC, participating in-person at a hybrid meeting, and meeting content, by Leo Martin, SACO Music Funnel Coordinator, and Casey Mullin, BIBCO Music Funnel coordinator. 

From Leo:

It was a balmy 86°F when I landed in Baltimore, Maryland, one day before the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Joint Operations Committee Meeting held at the Library of Congress. I spent the day catching up with an old friend from high school before heading to the capitol later that evening. I arrived at my AirBnB later that evening with enough time to iron my travel weary attire in preparation for the OpCo meeting the following morning. 

Still adjusting to the 1-hour time zone difference, I walked down to the Library of Congress complex just a 15-minute walk from the Capitol. After passing through the security screening at the Madison Building, I made my way upstairs to the sign-in area in the atrium outside the Mumford Room. Upon entering the venue, I was greeted by both familiar and new faces eager to meet or reconnect. The Library of Congress also provided attendees with refreshments and beverages at the rear of the Mumford Room which served as a gathering place during breaks during both days of the meeting. Attendees took their seats as PCC Chair Casey Mullin began his introductions flanked by a pair of project screens in front of the audience. 

The first day of the OpCo meeting agenda consisted of an introduction from the PCC Chair, followed by rounds of PCC Standing Committee updates, various 45-105 min. presentations from programs of the PCC, and additional updates from various Library of Congress Divisions. Two discussion were of particular interest to MLA affiliated attendees: Embracing Authenticity: Non-Latin Script Input in BIBFRAME and FOLIO (Jessalyn Zoom, Library of Congress) and Modernizing LC’s Approach to Controlled Vocabularies (various LC presenters). Attendees had lunch at the Madison Café midday and returned to the Mumford Room for the rest of the day. Jessalyn Zoom’s presentation discussed the history of non-Latin script cataloging, best practices for non-Latin input in BIBFRAME, and various non-Latin script related topics. The slate of “Modernizing LC” presentations discussed ongoing changes in LC’s controlled vocabularies with relation to modernization, linked data, and future opportunities and challenges. The overall philosophy of modernization was implementing linked data with each string having an identifier, emphasizing keywords, providing faceting, and retaining post-coordination. Melanie Polutta’s section on LCSH was a guided discussion, subtitled “Ideas for change,” emphasizing preliminary steps towards modernization. These steps included deprecating form subdivisions in favor of LCGFT faceted terms and medium of performance terms in favor of LCMPT. 

Day 2 of the meeting consisted of a pair of OCLC and ISSN updates and a section CONSER training. The meeting concluded with “Future of the Operations Committee Meetings (Open Discussion,” an open discussion facilitated by PCC Chair Casey Mullin. Questions ranging from procedural to philosophical punctuated the hour and a half long discussion. The accompanying slides and background information is well worth a read for anyone interested in PCC programs and future opportunities to engage with the group. Overall, the audience appreciated the hard work, scheduling, and attention to detail for the OpCo Meeting at the Library of Congress. However, concerns over the future of the programs’ meeting modality and attendance in the era of austerity loomed over the discussion as well. 

Thanks again to Casey Mullin, PCC Chair and Rebecca Belford, MLA-CMC Chair, and thanks to the Music Library Association for funding my attendance at the 2024 OpCo meeting at the Library of Congress.

From Casey:

Although I’ve been involved with the PCC Policy Committee for seven years, this was my first time attending the PCC Operations Committee meeting in person (I’d attended virtually once or twice in the past). Luckily, I was no stranger to the Madison Building where the meeting was held and settled in quickly. I found out soon after arrival that our expected emcee would not be in attendance and so I was drafted at the last minute for the job! No bother, of course. I was already going to be up front for my opening remarks as PCC Chair, anyway, and I had a little bit of experience running a hybrid meeting. The priority, of course, was ensuring that virtual attendees had the same basic level of access to the conversations in the room as we did. This entailed repeating questions so Zoom folks could be sure to hear, insisting that in-room commenters state their names and institutions, and having  a chat monitor at all times so that chat comments could be interwoven with in-room comments. This was especially important during the discussion-based parts of the meeting, including the Future of OpCo open discussion.

When I wasn’t busy with my emcee role, I was able to sit back and put on my other hat, that of BIBCO Music Funnel Coordinator. I particularly enjoyed the sessions on NACO training and on the use of other controlled vocabularies in PCC records. One area in which in-person attendees have an edge over virtual attendees is in the informal socializing that happens during such meetings, at breaks and between sessions. I was acquainted with a large number of folks already, but met a number of folks for the first time, including those I had only known from their listserv emails or online presentations. All in all, with the small-ish size of the group, the experience was in look and feel closer to the MLA conference experience than the ALA conference experience. As the PCC moves into a new era of synchronous programming, with a reimagined mix of virtual and in-person content, we will need to keep in mind the diversity of needs within our community. Sharing knowledge is at the heart of what the PCC provides to the world, but it is only one facet of engagement our members crave.