[rak-list] AACR/RAK

[Bernhard Eversberg]

On 11 Dec 01, at 11:21, Jim E Cole wrote:

> Because I have had the opportunity to observe both codes in
> practice--AACR first hand through my work, and RAK through the Deutsche
> Nationalbibliographie and online through the ZDB and various German library
> catalogs, I am much distressed by your decision to abandon RAK in favor of
> AACR and MARC 21.  This may indeed be an economic decision; perhaps it is
> political. 
There is not quite a decision yet! There will first be a feasibility study.
The change will be doomed to failure if it will not be backed by a
wide consensus among all people concerned. A large majority must be behind
it, and they must be firmly convinced that the move will bring improvement, or we 
better keep our hands off. To begin building this support is one of the next
logical steps, and the "politicians" will certainly have that high up on their 
agenda, and they will need to exercise considerable psychological skill.

> I am extremely sad, however, to see the logic of RAK as it was originally framed abandoned
> in its entirety, and felt it necessary to express my extreme dismay.
> 
I'm sure these feelings are presently being shared by quite a few people here, 
and we ought to be grateful to read this sympathetic remark from a colleague 
based in AACRland.

> However such a turn of events has been executed, one thing is clear
> to me: the better catalog code is disappearing, and the Joint Steering
> Committee for the Revision of AACR is further extending its authority in
> Europe, while Germany will undoubtedly have a greatly diminished voice in
> international cataloging decisions.
Well, it wouldn't be for the first time that an "international standard" or
"industry standard" swept away better solutions... But it remains to be seen if 
the JSC will not consider listening to German voices more than it did in the past.
They might consider a proactive attitude and include German views in the current
revision process and thus help ease the transition, if it comes. This would be
useful and helpful for both sides. To my knowledge, the JSC and the AACR 
community-at-large are interested in phasing out casuistics in favor of logic.

> German libraries will suffer from
> another disruption of their catalogs and databases, and catalog users and 
> catalogers alike will have to be re-educated once again.
> 
The list of problems is long, and such fears are part of it. The feasibility 
study will have to take all this into account. We'll have to wait what the bottom 
line of that study will say, but we have to provide input for the study first.
And voices like Jim's are very welcome.

Regards,
B.E.


Bernhard Eversberg
Universitaetsbibliothek, Postf. 3329, 
D-38023 Braunschweig, Germany
Tel.  +49 531 391-5026 , -5011 , FAX  -5836
e-mail  B.Eversberg at tu-bs.de