Content Standards Subcommittee (CSS)
Annual Report, July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018
Submitted by Mary Huismann

Members (as of March 2018)

Mary Huismann (Chair, appointed 2016), Ben Barba (2018), Kristi Bergland (2017), Janice Bunker (2018), Ann Churukian (2016), Patty Falk (2016), Monica Figueroa (2017), Kevin Kishimoto (2016), Peter Lisius (2015), Anna Alfeld LoPrete (2016), Rick McRae (2016), Jennifer Olson (2015), Shelley Rogers (2016), Michelle Urberg (2017), Linda Blair (BIBCO Music Funnel Coordinator), Mark Scharff (NACO-Music Project Coordinator), Chris Holden (LC Representative), Jay Weitz (OCLC Representative)

We thank Drew Beisswenger and Tomoko Shibuya, who rotated off the Subcommittee in February 2018.
We would also like to thank LC Representatives Michi Hoban and Valerie Weinberg for their many years of service to the Subcommittee. We welcome Ben Barba, Janice Bunker, and LC Representative Chris Holden, who joined the Content Standards Subcommittee in March 2018.

Report On Activities

1. RDA Best Practices for Music

CSS continues to maintain the RDA Best Practices (in the RDA Toolkit) and the supplements document (at the CMC website). A Google form (available at the CMC website) was developed for the community to submit requests for new or revised RDA best practices.

Since the RDA Toolkit content was frozen in April 2017, only a small amount of “fast track” changes have been permitted. Huismann worked with CMC webmaster (Elizabeth Hille Cribbs) and ALA’s Managing Editor for the RDA Toolkit (James Hennelly) to accomplish those changes.

2. Joint Task Groups

a. Joint MLA/OLAC Playaways RDA Best Practices task group
Olson continued to work on the joint MLA/OLAC task group to create RDA best practices for Playaways. In summer 2018 the decision was made to expand the scope of this task group to include all formats containing pre-loaded content (e.g., GoChip, SlotMusic, USB, etc.). CSS will solicit additional members to serve on this group.

b. Joint MLA/OLAC MARC 33X/34X task group
Huismann chaired a joint task group with OLAC to examine and make recommendations on issues of consistency and application of various RDA elements encoded in MARC 336, 337, 338, 344, and 347 fields. The recommendations issued in November 2017 serve as a starting point to harmonize application of these elements between resource formats (e.g., audio recordings, video recordings, etc.).
CSS members Bergland, Falk, Figueroa, and Urberg participated in the task group.

4. Other

Huismann and Kishimoto served as members of the RSC Music Working Group.

Huismann served as liaison to ALA/CC:DA (Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access). Reports from the meetings held at ALA Midwinter and Annual were posted to the CMC blog and published in the
Music Cataloging Bulletin.

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made Toward Each Goal

1. Perform a comprehensive review of the RDA Best Practices while the RDA Toolkit content is frozen.
Status: Ongoing. The comprehensive review was begun, but generally placed on hold until the new Toolkit text is issued in final draft form.

2. Prepare to revise the RDA Best Practices as required for the RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign (3R) Project.
Status: Deferred. The time-line for issuing the new RDA Toolkit experienced several delays resulting in a “beta” release in June 2017. Per ALA Publishing, we will need to wait until we receive guidelines and the file before proceeding with revision of the RDA Best Practices.

3. Work collaboratively with LC, RMWG, OLAC, and others to provide input and/or revisions to RDA proposals, LC-PCC Policy Statements, and other documents
Status: Deferred/Ongoing. CSS will continue to work on the joint task group with OLAC and will resume working with LC and RMWG once the work on the RDA Toolkit resumes.

4. Engage in webinars and other training opportunities as needed, especially for the IFLA-LRM implementation/RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign Project (3R Project).
Status: Ongoing. Huismann attended ALA pre-conference workshops on the 3R Project and participated in online meetings with ALA Publishing regarding policy statement development in the new Toolkit.

Goals for 2018-2019

The Content Standards Subcommittee’s goals for 2018-2019 are as follows:

1. Perform a comprehensive review of the RDA Best Practices while the RDA Toolkit content is frozen.

2. Revise the RDA Best Practices as required for the RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign (3R) Project once the guidance and files are received from ALA Publishing.

3. Work collaboratively with LC, RMWG, OLAC, and others to provide input and/or revisions to RDA proposals, LC-PCC Policy Statements, and other documents.

4. Engage in webinars and other training opportunities as needed, especially for the finalized version of the new RDA Toolkit.

All of these CSS goals support MLA’s goal areas of value of the profession and education.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Huismann
20 July 2018