JSC Music Working Group Meeting Report
MLA Annual Meeting 2015, Denver, Colorado
Submitted by Damian Iseminger, Chair

Present: Damian Iseminger, chair, New England Conservatory; Jean Harden, University of North Texas; Kevin Kishimoto, University of Chicago; Daniel Paradis, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec; Thomas Pease, Library of Congress; Raymond Schmidt, Wellesley College; Tracey Snyder, Cornell University; Steve Yusko, Library of Congress

Absent: Anders Cato, European RDA Interest Group; Valerie Weinberg, Library of Congress

JSC Liaison: Kathy Glennan, University of Maryland, American Library Association Representative, Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA

The JSC Music Working Group (JMWG) held an open meeting at the Music Library Association Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, on February 26, 2015 from 4:30-6PM. Chair Damian Iseminger provided a brief summary of the work that JMWG had completed since March 2014. The JMWG submitted 9 proposals to the Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (JSC). They were:

MusicWG/4, Revisions to Instructions for Creating Access Points for Musical Expressions.

This proposal sought to liberalize and rationalize the creation of access points for expressions in RDA 6.28.3. The proposal was accepted by the JSC and will be published in the April 2015 RDA Toolkit update. The changes to RDA can be viewed on the JSC Web site in the document 6JSC/MusicWG/4/rev/Sec final (http://www.rda-jsc.org/docs/6JSC-MusicWG-4-rev-Sec-final-rev.pdf).

MusicWG/5, Revisions to Instructions for Recording the Information for Scores and Parts Bound Together in a Single Physical Unit.

The JSC noted some inconsistencies in wording between RDA 3.4.3.2 and 3.21.2.5 and asked the Working Group to investigate. The proposal was accepted by the JSC after some modifications and will be published in the April 2015 RDA Toolkit update. The changes to RDA can be viewed on the JSC Wedb site in the document 6JSC/MusicWG/5/rev/2/Sec final (http://www.rda-jsc.o/docs/6JSC-MusicWG-5-rev-2-Sec-final.pdf)

MusicWG/6, Revision and Reorganization of Preferred Titles for Musical Works.

The intent of the proposal was to make the process of determining a preferred title for musical works easier to comprehend in RDA 6.14. This was by far the proposal that generated the largest amount of work. The initial proposal underwent extensive modifications due to changes proposed by other JSC constituencies for the general instructions for preferred titles at RDA
6.2.2. At the time of the JMWG meeting those changes were still being worked out. On March 12, 2015 the changes were finalized in the document 6JSC/MusicWG/6/rev/Sec final (http://www.rda-jsc.org/docs/6JSC-MusicWG-6-rev-Sec-final.pdf) and will be published in the April 2015 RDA Toolkit update

MusicWG/7, Abbreviations for the Word “Number” in Part Titles.

The proposal codified in RDA current and historical practice of abbreviating the word “Number” or its equivalent in another language, or adding the abbreviation for the word “Number” or its equivalent to an unadorned number to part title in RDA 6.14.2.7. The proposal was accepted by the JSC and will be published in the April 2015 RDA Toolkit update. The changes to RDA can be viewed on the JSC Web site in the document 6JSC/MusicWG/7/rev/Sec final/rev (http://www.rda-jsc.org/docs/6JSC-MusicWG-7-rev-Sec-final-rev.pdf)

MusicWG/8, Revisions to Music Conventional Collective Titles and Glossary definitions for Conventional Collective Titles.

The proposal removed the closed lists of terms for conventional collective titles in RDA 6.14.2.8 and removed the definitions for these terms from the Glossary. The proposal was accepted by the JSC and will be published in the April 2015 RDA Toolkit update. The changes to RDA can be viewed on the JSC Web site in the document 6JSC/MusicWG/8/rev/Sec final/rev (http://www.rda-
jsc.org/docs/6JSC-MusicWG-8-rev-Sec-final-rev.pdf)

MusicWG/9, Additional Terms for Base Material and Applied Material.

The proposal added terms and definitions that would cover more of the physical characteristics of audio recordings to RDA 3.6.1.3 and RDA 3.7.1.3 . This proposal was folded into a similar proposal made by the British Library. At the time of the JMWG meeting those changes were still being worked out. On March 12, 2015 the changes were finalized in the document 6JSC/MusicWG/8/rev/Sec final/rev (http://www.rda-jsc.org/docs/6JSC-MusicWG-8-rev-Sec-final-rev.pdf) and will be published in
the April 2015 RDA Toolkit update.

Iseminger thanked the group for all of their hard work during the past year. Iseminger also announced that Thomas Pease from the Library of Congress will be stepping down from the group. James Alberts, also from Library of Congress, has agreed to take his place.

Before discussing the tasks of the JMWG for the upcoming year, Iseminger informed the group of the JSC Working Principle for the next 2-3 years because of its potential impact on the tasks of the JMWG. Because of factors that will affect the development of RDA for the next 2-3 years, (developing RDA for international, linked data, and cultural heritage communities; forthcoming
significant changes to the consolidated Functional Requirements models (FRBR, FRAD, and FRSAD), etc.) the JSC will not accept proposals that will require significant review and amendment. Small-impact changes unlikely to be affected by external factors, however, will continue to be accepted.

With this principle in mind, the JMWG discussed potential tasks for the upcoming year. The two largest proposals will involve modification of RDA 6.15, Medium of Performance and RDA6.16. Numeric Designation of a Musical Work. Regarding RDA 6.15, the group felt it was bestto ask the JSC for clarification on the best way to approach any revisions of this very complex instruction. Iseminger stated that he would contact the JSC Chair and present several options for possible revision to RDA 6.15. For RDA 6.16, the group felt more confident in its ability to present a proposal that would not run afoul for the JSC Working Principle . Work will more than likely begin in earnest on RDA 6.15 and 6.16 by late April or early May 2015.

The JMWG also felt that changes requested by the NACO Music Project for breaking conflicts between authorized access points in RDA 6.28.1.10 and RDA 6.28.1.10.1 could be done with a minimal impact. The same conclusion was reached concerning additions to authorized access points containing conventional collective titles at RDA 6.28.1.11. The group agreed to start work on both of these revisions straight-away.

In addition to proposal development, the JMWG agreed to generate discussion papers concerning the suitability of external vocabularies for music-related elements in the RDA element set, adding a new element for Medium of Performance of the Expression to RDA, and re-envisioning many of the instructions for authorized access point formation in 6.28 as instructions in RDA 6.14 and in RDA chapters 19-20. All proposals and discussion papers will be due to the JSC by the first week of August 2015.

Iseminger thanked the members of the JMWG and guests for attending and participating in theopen meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6PM.