Search

Vocabularies Subcommittee Annual Report 2024

submitted by Janelle West

Current Roster

  • Janelle West, Chair (2026)
  • Jim Alberts (2027)
  • Josh Aldorisio (2025)
  • Kristi Bergland (2025)
  • Blaine Brubaker (2026)
  • Ann Churukian (2024)
  • Laikin Dantchenku (2027)
  • Patty Falk (2024)
  • Mary Huismann (2024)
  • Ivan Kaproth-Joslin (2027)
  • Rick McRae (2026)
  • Tomoko Shibuya (2026)
  • Tracey Snyder (2024)
  • Clare Spitzer (2025)
  • Alice Sujana (2027)
  • Mark Scharff, NACO Music Project Coordinator (2025)
  • Leo Martin, SACO Music Funnel Coordinator (2026)
  • Maarja Vigorito, Library of Congress Representative
  • Morris Levy, OCLC Representative

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • Continue review of music-related LCSH, LCGFT, LCDGT and LCMPT terms appearing in monthly LC tentative lists with task group, VS LC representative, and the Music SACO Funnel Coordinator; submit comments to LC when appropriate. Continue with defined projects and ad hoc proposals for LCGFT and LCMPT.
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship, including, but not limited to, members of the Association
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.6: Promote MLA as being an Association that will advocate for our profession, our members, our users, our institutions and for diversity. Prioritize the visibility and awareness of advocacy
    • Goal Area 3: Cultivate Inclusivity, Objective 3.4: Reflect DEIA principles in MLA’s leadership, membership, core values, mission, strategies and operations. Devote resources to clarifying and strengthening the “E” and “I” in DEIA
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
    • Progress:
      • Task group has reviewed the monthly tentative lists and submitted comments to LC Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division (PTCP) when appropriate.
      • Proposals vetted, submitted, and in various stages of SACO or LC approval:
        • LCMPT: viol ensemble
        • LCSH: Viola organista; Viola organista music
      • Proposals approved:
        • LCMPT: viola organista
        • LCSH: Blackface minstrel shows; Blackface minstrel music; Minstrel shows (revised); Minstrel music (revised); African American wit and humor (revised); Minstrels (revised); Blackface entertainers (revised)
  • Continue to serve as managing and vetting body for the Types of Compositions; enhance usability of the Types of Compositions list by adding plural terms as appropriate
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship, including, but not limited to, members of the Association
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
    • Progress:
      • Vetted new or modified terms: Trio Sonata/Trio Sonatas; Eloadasi darab/Eloadasi darabok; Kirche Sonata/Church sonata; Kousek/Kousky; Gesange revision
      • Plural terms project: Finished review of most plurals from phase 2 of the project
  • Continue to serve as managing and vetting body for the Thematic Indexes list
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship, including, but not limited to, members of the Association
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
    • Progress:
      • Approved entries: Bach, J.S. (Blanken); Galuppi (Illy); Kraus (Van Boer1998); Michl (Schwemmer); Ordoñez (BrownA); Platti (Iesuè)
      • Rejected entries: Moor (Pirani)
  • Continue work to provide tools to partially automate creation of faceted subject/genre/medium fields in catalog records; work toward consensus on mapping decisions regarding deferred or complex musical/conceptual areas
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
    • Progress:
  • Issue revised MLA LCGFT Best Practices document, in a web-based format, if possible, by the MLA 2024 annual meeting; include requests received through open suggestion box
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.6: Promote MLA as being an Association that will advocate for our profession, our members, our users, our institutions and for diversity. Prioritize the visibility and awareness of advocacy efforts
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
    • Progress:
      • Best Practices for Using LCGFT for Music Resources v.1.3 was released April 9, 2024, and is now available on the CMC website
  • LC Vocabularies ad hoc task group will distribute LC Controlled Vocabularies for Music Survey to various listservs and will have preliminary results to share by the MLA 2024 annual meeting
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
    • Progress:
      • Survey was distributed and data collected; preliminary results were shared at the MLA annual meeting in a joint presentation titled A Subject, a Genre, and a Medium of Performance Walk into a Search Bar…
  • Other activities supporting MLA Strategic Plan:
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
      • Represented and reported on behalf of MLA as liaison to the Core Subject Analysis Committee during their 2024 Mid-winter and Annual business meetings

List of Future Goals

  • Continue review of music-related LCSH, LCGFT, LCDGT and LCMPT terms appearing in monthly LC tentative lists with task group, VS LC representative, and the Music SACO Funnel Coordinator; submit comments to LC when appropriate. Continue with defined projects and ad hoc proposals for LCGFT and LCMPT.
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship, including, but not limited to, members of the Association
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.6: Promote MLA as being an Association that will advocate for our profession, our members, our users, our institutions and for diversity. Prioritize the visibility and awareness of advocacy
    • Goal Area 3: Cultivate Inclusivity, Objective 3.4: Reflect DEIA principles in MLA’s leadership, membership, core values, mission, strategies and operations. Devote resources to clarifying and strengthening the “E” and “I” in DEIA
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
  • Continue to serve as managing and vetting body for the Types of Compositions; enhance usability of the Types of Compositions list by adding plural terms as appropriate
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship, including, but not limited to, members of the Association
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
  • Continue to serve as managing and vetting body for the Thematic Indexes list
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship, including, but not limited to, members of the Association
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
  • Continue work to provide tools to partially automate creation of faceted subject/genre/medium fields in catalog records; work toward consensus on mapping decisions regarding deferred or complex musical/conceptual areas; explore options for making MLA’s mapping lists and documentation publicly available
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.4: Support members working in various disciplines within an organization that also includes aspects of music librarianship
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA
  • Continue to monitor the open suggestion box and document issues warranting attention and inclusion in future revisions of the LCMPT and LCGFT best practices
    • Goal Area 2: Develop and Retain Membership, Objective 2.6: Promote MLA as being an Association that will advocate for our profession, our members, our users, our institutions and for diversity. Prioritize the visibility and awareness of advocacy efforts
    • Goal Area 4: Strengthen Communication, Objective 4.5: Participate in the community of music librarianship existing outside of MLA