CUL have a long standing history of training professional staff to catalog materials to PCC level. It started soon after the inception of the PCC in 1995. CUL were one of the early program partners, and many CUL staff participated in the three standing committees initially formed by the program. CUL have been a NACO library since 1989 and implemented series NACO in 1995. In 1996, CUL became a fully accredited BIBCO library, contributing name, series, and uniform title headings to the NAF and later participating in Subject Authority Cooperative Program (SACO) of the PCC (1996) and Cooperative Serials Program (CONSER) of the PCC (1997). Since then bibliographic and authority records have been produced in a variety of roman and nonroman languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Numerous professional cataloging staff have been trained to create BIBCO records and name, series, conference, and uniform title authority records, and to submit subject heading proposals to the Library of Congress (LC). All components of the PCC program have been very successful and prolific over the years. A recent report by R2 Consulting for the LC, Study of the North American MARC Records Marketplace, shows that CUL were the fifth most active contributors to the BIBCO program in 2008.²⁷

One little-known aspect of the CUL PCC training program is that it soon expanded to include some copy catalogers who started contributing PCC-level records for belles lettres in a variety of languages. In the workflow of technical services at CUL, “belles lettres” are defined as works of fiction, poetry, and drama. This paper discusses the process and efforts involved in training paraprofessionals to catalog to PCC level, create authority records, and submit call number proposals for belles lettres. It also shows that the skills acquired by copy catalogers have potential future use for broader authority control projects and initiatives.

CUL historically have had a remarkable partnership between trainers and trainees. Expert professional catalogers and PCC trainers are capable and willing to train in PCC-level cataloging and authority work. The copy cataloging department also has employed highly motivated copy catalogers with excellent cataloging skills and valuable language expertise. From the program's inception and through its subsequent development, crucial institutional and administrative support was provided, including managerial assistance to free resources for training and support and to establish workflows to facilitate this level of cataloging.

The initial training was conducted by the NACO coordinator in two cataloging divisions (called departments until 2008): Monographs Processing Services (MPS) and Original and Special Materials Cataloging (OSMC). Monographs Processing Services is divided into three units: LC Copy Cataloging, Database Maintenance, and Precat (a precataloging backlog of circulating materials lacking a standard record on receipt). The responsibilities of the MPS copy cataloging staff include creating preliminary records, editing standard records according to national and in-house cataloging rules, verifying personal name and series headings and call numbers assigned by agencies other than the LC, and various database maintenance tasks. In addition, all staff in MPS perform some original cataloging, e.g., “variant edition” cataloging based on an existing standard record for a different edition. The Original and Special Materials Cataloging Division performs most of the original cataloging at CUL, including monographs, serials, and rare books. They also support various digital and metadata initiatives throughout the libraries. One of OSMC's goals has been to produce a large number of BIBCO records. Thus the division and its members are perfectly situated to provide training and consultation regarding BIBCO and NACO standards. The NACO coordinator was chosen to train copy catalogers in the principles of PCC cataloging and familiarize them with the NACO manual and creation of authority records for personal names and uniform titles.

The MPS and OSMC staff involved in the training process are the NACO training coordinator and the metadata coordinator in OSMC, several copy catalogers, and two professional librarian, who are supervisors in MPS. Staff from both divisions have an excellent long-standing working relationship that contributes to the success of the training and continuing development of the program.

In 1997 the NACO coordinator in OSMC started the PCC training program for paraprofessionals by training Slavic copy catalogers to contribute names and uniform titles authority headings to the NAF. The decision to train copy catalogers to create records for belles lettres was made under the rationale that most belles lettres do not require subject analysis and the classification is more limited and easier to learn. Slavic languages materials were chosen initially for training purposes for several reasons. First, a steady flow of Russian and other Slavic belles lettres required immediate cataloging to avoid creating a backlog. Second, experienced and motivated copy catalogers were capable and willing to learn new workflows, an important factor that is crucial in a unionized environment. An additional contributing factor was that the NACO coordinator is also the principal Slavic cataloger, so the training and later revisions were facilitated by her language expertise.

The initial training took several weeks of one-on-one sessions familiarizing the trainees with the NACO Participants Manual, the appropriate Anglo-American cataloging rules, the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations, and WorldCat bibliographic searches needed to perform authority work.²⁸ Teaching the trainees to catalog directly in WorldCat also was imperative; prior to training, all copy cataloging work was done in the local integrated library system.

The workflow was and still is very straightforward. The copy cataloger creates a PCC-level record for the monograph in WorldCat, verifies all headings, creates authority records for new name and uniform title headings as appropriate, saves them in the online authority save file, assigns an LC call number, and finishes processing. The fully cataloged book with the attached printout of the proposed authority heading is then routed to the reviewer, who reviews the bibliographic and authority records and discusses any needed edits with the copy cataloger. After the corrections are made, the authority records are produced by the reviewer in WorldCat.

Figure 1 shows a bibliographic record created by a copy cataloger in WorldCat for a Greek title (the example includes only the variable MARC fields of the WorldCat record).

Here the 040 (cataloging source) field is ZCU—the CUL WorldCat code—and the 066 (character sets present) field indicates presence of vernacular scripts, in this case Greek. The record is coded “pcc” in the 042 (authentication code) field and the call number is assigned according to the LC guidelines for creating call numbers for literary authors. The 100 (main entry—personal name), 245 (title statement), 250 (edition statement), and 260 (imprint) fields have parallel fields in Greek; providing the vernacular script for nonroman languages is one of the strengths of the program. The name of the author is constructed according to the NACO principles, and an authority record is submitted to the LC NAF.

Figure 2 shows an example of the name authority record in the LC NAF for the personal author that appears in figure 1 (variable fields only). The name authority record in figure 2 uses the birth date of the author as part of the heading; it also provides the transliterated and Greek form of the name and cites the bibliographic information as found in the book.

The trainers implemented some modifications to the initial ambitious plan. For example, although contributing series authority records (SARs) by paraprofessional staff had been envisioned, it never fully materialized because of the additional extensive training and oversight required. For a period, some copy catalogers created SARs for Slavic materials with the assistance of the MPS cataloging manager. The complex and time-consuming process of formulating, correctly structuring, and revising SARs proved to be an impediment to an otherwise smooth and efficient process of cataloging to PCC level. After the departure of the paraprofessional cataloger who produced most of the SARs, MPS managers decided that this process was too time-consuming to continue.

In 2006, the LC ceased producing series authority records for new series; therefore the CUL decision not to trace most of the series on the belles lettres materials cataloged to PCC level produced by copy catalogers was the most practical one. Currently, the CUL guidelines for copy catalogers mandate recording new series lacking SARs in the NAF in the 490 (series statement) field, second indicator 0, of the bibliographic record.

Since 2003, the workflow includes an additional component that facilitates cataloging subsequent works of the same literary author. Because classification numbers for current literary authors are generally not printed in the LC classification schedules, the class number for a literary author is included in the 053 field of the author's name authority record to keep a consistent shelflist. CUL copy catalogers are trained to assign the call number for the work in the bibliographic record and recommend a class number to be included in the 053 (LC classification number) field of the authority record. This step required additional training and involved further searching in both local and LC shelflists.

The copy cataloger uses a local Library of Congress classification proposal form (figure 3) to propose an LC literary author call number to be included in the authority record's 053 field. When this is finalized, it is used to populate the request sent to the LC. This local form also includes a date, the copy cataloger's name and e-mail address, the author's name as formulated for the name authority record, and brief information about the author's nationality or place of residence, language, occupation, and so forth.

Over time, some nonroman scripts (mostly Slavic and Modern Greek) have been added to both bibliographic and authority records, requiring further training for creating name and uniform titles authority records. For example, copy catalogers needed to learn the differences in fixed fields of authority records with and without vernacular scripts as well as the order of the transliterated fields or positions versus those in the vernacular script.

The program uses locally developed and WorldCat macros for complex cataloging tasks. The in-house macros are used in the 053 proposal form for supplying diacritics in authors’ names. This step is especially important because of the variety of vernacular scripts used in the 053 proposal forms. The WorldCat macros include creating authority records to be contributed to the NAF and adding nonroman scripts to the bibliographic record in WorldCat. Some macros, such as those to create name and uniform title authority records, were first tested in the workflows of the OSMC Division; others (e.g., adding the vernacular script to the bibliographic record in WorldCat) were initially implemented in MPS. All macros facilitate quicker cataloging of materials and result in an accurate and typo-free environment crucial for cataloging materials to PCC level.

Since the inception of the program, seven copy catalogers have been trained to create PCC-level records for belles lettres materials in a variety of languages. Most recently, Greek, English, Spanish, and some African languages have been added to the Slavic and Eastern European languages that inaugurated the program. Only seven copy catalogers were chosen to participate in the program because of a combination of the availability of belles lettres materials in certain languages that match the copy catalogers’ language proficiency and a need for a high degree of cataloging judgment and a good understanding of national cataloging principles in addition to a thorough understanding of CUL's local procedures. MPS contributes a significant number of PCC-level cataloging to the CUL BIBCO and NACO production. The recent PCC production statistics for 2008–10 indicates that 21.6 percent of CUL PCC output is created by copy catalogers.

The process of painstakingly producing PCC-level records, and especially creating authority records for name and uniform titles, requires significantly more complex skills than does basic copy cataloging. It is a time-consuming process involving considerable intellectual effort. The skills required for this type of high-level cataloging work can be taught to copy catalogers, but ongoing support is necessary to promote their continuing development. To identify the correct form of a personal name and appropriately construct it, researching personal names and performing additional bibliographic and authority record searches to identify the proper form of the author's name are essential. Paraprofessional staff need to continually practice establishing authority records on a regular basis to maintain these valuable skills.

Also worth mentioning are potential bargaining union issues associated with assigning original PPC-level cataloging to copy cataloging staff. Copy catalogers, unlike professional librarians at CUL, are unionized, and CUL has established a special task for PCC cataloging of belles lettres materials in its union classification system. This requires a high degree of cataloging judgment, very good understanding of national cataloging principles in addition to a thorough knowledge of CUL's local procedures, and often a substantial knowledge of specified foreign languages. Assigning this task to a copy cataloger has meant upgrading a union position to the highest level in the union classification system. This practice has been successful in the CUL environment primarily because specialized language skills are needed to perform these tasks. However, libraries lacking a steady volume of belles lettres acquisitions may not fully benefit from implementing similar programs.

Using a WorldCat search combining the PCC marker, language of cataloging, and imprint date, the authors determined that many U.S. academic and some U.S. public libraries contribute PCC-level records for belles lettres materials. Whether any of them employ paraprofessional catalogers to create PCC-level records is unknown. In this respect, sharing this program experience with technical services managers and practitioners is important because, despite initial training expenditures and efforts to establish workflows, it is an efficient process that brings high-quality records to WorldCat to be shared by libraries and cataloging agencies.

This program has many positive results for catalogers and users alike. The success of this training and resulting contributions to BIBCO and NACO can be seen in the absence of a belles lettres backlog at CUL. Aside from revisions and corrections, professional catalogers’ time is not used to process these materials. The belles letters are available to patrons in a timely manner, thus contributing to comprehensive collection development. If the work is in a nonroman language, the record provides access to the original script, facilitating users’ discovery of these materials. CUL enjoys a well-organized shelf list in the literary authors’ area because of the extra attention to the classification and 053 proposals. The establishment of a literary author class number leads to a better collocation of materials for works of the same author, allowing for better user browsing capabilities. CUL PCC records for belles lettres are immediately available in WorldCat, which gives other libraries an opportunity to use them for copy cataloging faster and increases the cooperative value of the program. The contributions of the PCC-level records for belles lettres by paraprofessional staff amounts to an average of 1,060 bibliographic records per year.

In addition, CUL's NACO and BIBCO training program and steady production of name authority records by copy catalogers paves the way for future expansion, especially in developing new tools and potential opportunities for catalogers to employ their knowledge and skills. The skills acquired by copy catalogers also could be used in other projects such as name disambiguation, metadata creation, and contributing to any type of future authority file. Recently, a survey conducted by Veve and Feltner-Reichert revealed that 71 percent of copy catalogers would like to have a broader variety of job duties and would like to be on the “cutting edge of cataloging.”²⁹ In this survey, professional and nonprofessional catalogers alike perceived creating non-MARC metadata is a “natural extension of catalogers’ responsibilities.”³⁰

Furthermore, Banush underscored the importance of “consistent naming conventions” in the current information environment, and he believed that the PCC—and especially its NACO component—have the potential to preserve vital principles of authority control.³¹ Contributions of name authority headings to the WorldCat Cooperative Identities Hub (www.worldcat.org/identities) or to the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF) (http://viaf.org), which were proposed in the 2009 “Report of the PCC Task Group on the Internationalization of the Authority Files,” can serve as examples of potential libraries participation.³² Name authority control becomes crucial to ensure discoverability in the new networking environment. Copy catalogers well versed in PCC cataloging and creation of name authority records could be trained to participate in name disambiguation projects or the identification and distinguishing of names in a metadata context.

The CUL PCC training program for copy catalogers has proven to be a valuable investment of cataloging resources. The program benefits not only CUL but the entire cooperative cataloging community. It provides opportunities for professional development and has great potential for the future.

The program for training paraprofessional catalogers to catalog belles lettres materials to PCC level, create name and uniform titles authority records, and propose class numbers for literary authors serves the immediate needs of CUL for more efficient and practical solutions to cataloging these materials. The belles lettres materials are available to the users in a timely manner, they are not backlogged, and, because of the authority work and a careful revision process, they represent high-quality bibliographic records. The program for training copy catalogers to create PCC records for belles lettres materials not only has a potential to benefit libraries with extensive collections of foreign poetry, drama, and fiction, but provides a model for cataloging more commonly held English language belles letters. Moreover, the upgrade of vendor records found in WorldCat to PCC level represents an additional benefit to shared cataloging. In addition to providing bibliographic records, which can be shared immediately with peer institutions, the program trained paraprofessionals whose professional development was very much influenced by the assigned task. Of the seven copy catalogers trained in the CUL PCC program, four graduated from library schools and became professional catalogers. The success of the program also suggests other potential benefits. Currently, when the international potential of the PCC program is tested, expanding the pool of catalogers who can expertly contribute headings to either the NAF or the VIAF becomes an important consideration.³³ As the bibliographic universe becomes increasingly complex, the need for quality metadata, consistent author numbers, and author disambiguation will only increase in importance.