Annual Report, July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019

Submitted by: Karen A. Peters, Chair

Group Name: Encoding Standards Subcommittee

Special Offices: ALA MARC Advisory Committee (MAC) Liaison, ALA Metadata Interest Group (MIG) Liaison, ALA Metadata Standards Committee (MSC) Liaison

Group Members

• James Soe Nyun (Chair, 2015-2019)
• Karen Peters (2019; Chair, 2019-2023)
• Anne Adams (2019)
• Jim Alberts (2023)
• Margaret Corby (2020)
• Ethan D’Ver (2023)
• Matt Ertz (2021)
• Chelsea Hoover (2022)
• Rahni Kennedy (2023)
• Nancy Lorimer (2020)
• Casey Mullin (2023)
• Thom Pease (2019)
• Felicia Piscitelli (2021)
• Tomoko Shibuya (2022)
• Amy Strickland (2022)
• Kimmy Szeto (2019)
• Hermine Vermeij (2019)
• Damian Iseminger (LC Representative)
• Jay N. Weitz (OCLC Representative)

Previous Goals

1. Transition to a new Chair for ESS in February 2019, and work to keep activities moving smoothly during the move.
   • The new Chair took over ESS in February 2019, and ESS activity has continued without interruption.
2. Look for opportunities for ESS to be involved in operationalizing elements of the Performed Music Ontology within BIBFRAME
   • Goal on hold: Sinopia, the platform LDWG plans to use to test PMO, is not yet fully operational. As a result, LDWG could not test PMO this year, so there was no opportunity for ESS to be involved.
3. Continue to monitor and participate in MARC development and communicate any needs for best practices or other documentation to help music catalogers implement changes to MARC.

• • Prior to the MAC Meetings held at ALA Midwinter 2019, ESS Chair Jim Soe Nyun solicited and compiled MLA members’ comments in response to the MARC proposals and discussion papers to be presented at those meetings. He subsequently attended the meetings in his capacity as MLA’s MAC liaison.
  • Prior to ALA Annual 2019, ESS responded to a request from OLAC’s MAC liaison Cate Gerhart for feedback to help ensure that the definition of “transcript” in OLAC’s proposed changes to the MARC 041 field could be distinguished from the existing definition of “librettos.”
  • Prior to the MAC Meetings held at ALA Annual 2019, (new) ESS Chair Karen Peters solicited and compiled MLA members’ comments in response to the MARC proposals and discussion papers to be presented at those meetings. She subsequently attended the meetings in her capacity as MLA’s MAC liaison.
  • In June 2019, three ESS members—Karen Peters, Tomoko Shibuya, and Amy Strickland—joined the new CSS-led RDA/MARC Task Group formed to assist Peters in representing the music community on a new MARC/RDA Working Group convened by NDMSO to evaluate the impact of 2020 RDA (currently beta RDA) on, and propose any changes deemed necessary to, MARC 21.

Additional activities

Both Chairs served as MLA’s liaison to the ALA Metadata Interest Group (MIG), attending the MIG’s meetings at ALA Midwinter and Annual, as well as representing MLA at the meetings of the ALA Metadata Standards Committee (MSC) held at ALA Midwinter and Annual.

Chair Jim Soe Nyun submitted reports of all meetings attended at ALA Annual 2018 and ALA Midwinter 2019, which included sessions devoted to MARC and non-MARC metadata and BIBFRAME, for posting to the CMC blog and publication in the Music Cataloging Bulletin.

New activities undertaken this year

Music for Metadata Resources

The future of the Music for Metadata Resources (MMR) website, a resource for which ESS is responsible, was discussed at ESS’s February 2019 Business Meeting. In March, ESS held further discussion of the matter and concluded that at this point in time, MMR needed to be both updated and redesigned. The Task Group responsible for MMR was reestablished with leader Ethan D’Ver and additional members Chelsea Hoover and Casey Mullin for the year 2019-2020. So far, the TG has completed a preliminary evaluation of MMR and has been developing a “card sort” user experience test to assist in the site’s redesign (currently on hold pending redesign of the larger CMC website).

Cataloging Efficiency

The subject of inefficiency in MARC cataloging was raised at ESS’s February 2019 Business Meeting as well. The consensus was that there might be ways to reduce this inefficiency, and it was suggested that ESS should take the lead in investigating ways to do so. In May 2019, ESS held further discussion on the matter, leading to the establishment of a Task Group led by Matt Ertz with additional members Jim Alberts, Ethan D’Ver, Casey Mullin, Karen Peters, Janice Bunker (CSS liaison), and Jennifer Olson (VS liaison)). The TG is scheduled to begin work in August 2019.

Future Goals

1. Continue to monitor and participate in MARC development—particularly in light of upcoming implementation of 2020 RDA (currently beta RDA)–and communicate any needs for best practices or other documentation to help music catalogers implement changes to MARC (Goal area: Value of the Profession)
2. Continue work on the updating and redesign of the Music for Metadata Resources (via the MMG Task Group) (Goal areas: Value of the Profession, Technology)
   • Determine new and emerging topics to be represented, and appropriate resources for each
   • Once the new CMC website design has been completed and implemented, complete design of and administer “card sort” user experience test, using the results to inform a redesign of the MMG website
3. Activate MARC Cataloging Efficiencies Task Group (Goal area: Value of the Profession)
   • Analysis of inefficiencies and recommendations for remediation to be completed by MLA 2021
   • Work towards a presentation of the TG’s recommendations at MOUG or MLA 2021
4. Pending future LDWG activity, involve ESS in operationalizing elements of the Performed Music Ontology within BIBFRAME (Goal area: Value of the Profession)

Please note that all of these goals contribute to MLA’s mission to ensure and enhance intellectual access to music for all by contributing to the development and revision of national and international codes, formats, and other standards for the bibliographic control of music.