Metadata & Cataloging Committee

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11213/18620

The Committee works on issues of comics cataloging and metadata. Current and past projects include: the cataloging guidance document Best Practices for Cataloging Comics and Graphic Novels; and a joint working group with the ALA CORE Subject Analysis Committee proposing revisions to Library of Congress' Subject Headings Manual instruction H 1430 (pertaining to cataloging comics). Other future initiatives may include, but are not limited to: comics classification surveys; a Wikidata comics project; Wikipedia edit-a-thons to establish titles, authors, characters, topics, etc.; comics subject and genre proposal suggest-a-thons and SACO/NACO projects; cataloging outreach; comics-related "Relationship Elements" for the RDA Registry; and so on.

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Report of the GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee on the Inclusion of Manga Subgenres in the LCGFT Vocabulary
    (2023-06) Bailund, Allison; Tomaras, Deborah
    Following the establishment of “Manga” as a subject and genre in November 2022, the GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee approached the Library of Congress about proposing terms for manga subgenres, to continue improving patron access to this comics format. The Library of Congress was willing to receive and consider a report and proposals for various terms but had some reservations about the inclusion of manga subgenres in the LCGFT vocabulary, addressed here.
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    Report of the Joint GNCRT/SAC/OLAC Working Group on Compound Terms in the LCGFT Vocabulary
    (2023)
    At the PCC Operations Committee meeting on May 6, 2022, librarians from multiple institutions questioned the ban on compound terms in the LCGFT vocabulary, favoring the inclusion of such terms as “Paranormal romance fiction.” In response to this support for compound terms in the library community, the American Library Association’s Subject Analysis Committee (SAC) and On-line Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc. (OLAC) voted in September 2022 to form a joint working group with the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table’s Metadata and Cataloging Committee (GNCRT). This working group is charged with approaching the Library of Congress to advocate for revisions to the LCGFT vocabulary to allow for the inclusion of compound terms.
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    Report of the GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee on the Inclusion of Anime in the LCGFT Vocabulary
    (2023) Bailund, Allison; Boyd, Kathleen
    In an email exchange discussing their endorsement of the Report of the GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee on the Inclusion of Manga in the LCGFT Vocabulary, the PCC Standing Committee on Standards expressed a hope that “Anime” would also eventually be added to the LCGFT vocabulary. Following the establishment in November 2022 of “Manga” as a subject and genre, and given the similarities between the justifications for prior rejections of “Anime” and “Manga,” the GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee decided to research “Anime” and advocate for its inclusion in the LCGFT vocabulary. This report summarizes their findings and recommendations.
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    Best Practices for Cataloging Comics and Graphic Novels Using RDA and MARC21
    (2022)
    Comics cataloging can be complicated. Libraries serve both community constituencies (public) and highly selective constituencies (school or special libraries) using various discovery platforms. These differing audiences and library systems, as well as differing levels of library staff training and resources, can lead to variations in cataloging levels for comics, in both depth and breadth of metadata recorded. The multiplicity of uses for comics collections across institutions and consortia—pleasure reading, research, curricular support, etc.—also influences cataloging decisions. The following guide attempts to distill comic book cataloging best practices from several representative institutions, acknowledging commonalities and requirements while honoring the colorful MARC record palette customizable to a specific readership and support technology.
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    Report of the Joint GNCRT/SAC Working Group on Subject Headings Guidance for Comics and Comic Characters
    (2022)
    In December 2021, the American Library Association’s Subject Analysis Committee (SAC) voted to form a joint working group with the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table’s Metadata and Cataloging Committee (GNCRT). This working group is charged with approaching the Library of Congress to request revisions to their Subject Headings Manual instruction H 1430, including allowing “special provisions” for subject assignment and proposals for fictional comics, in line with the “special provisions” in Subject Headings Manual instruction H 1790 for other types of fictional works.
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    Report of the GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee on the Inclusion of Manga in the LCGFT Vocabulary
    (2022)
    At the PCC Operations Committee meeting on May 6, 2022, librarians from multiple institutions questioned the lack of “Manga” as an accepted term in the LCGFT vocabulary, and expressed a desire to have manga added to the LCGFT. The GNCRT Metadata and Cataloging Committee contacted the Policy, Training and Cooperative Programs Division at the Library of Congress, and offered to research and report on “Manga” from the perspective of comics librarians and the comics community more broadly.