Home--Minutes--Minutes Archives

AJL RAS Cataloging Committee Meeting, 53rd AJL Conference, Boston  
Monday, June 18, 2018, 10:30-12:00

1. Welcome and introductions; approve 2017 Minutes:
   The meeting was called to order by Chair Jerry Anne Dickel. The 2017 minutes were approved.

2. Should Rav Milim (Online) and Morfix (Online) be added as authorized resources for Romanization of Hebrew words not found in the latest edition of Even-Shoshan?
   Voting members Haim Gottschalk, Marlene Schiffman, Vanessa Freedman, and Jerry Anne Dickel approved the following: Rav Milim and Morfix are now authorized sources of romanization of Hebrew words not found in Even-Shoshan's ha-Milon he-ḥadash.  The most recent edition of Even-Shoshan remains the primary source for romanization.  Note: Rav Milim (subscription) and Morfix (free) are two different interfaces to the same database, so there should be no conflict between the two sources. 

3. Romanization questions
1. דֵּיְט (deṭ deyṭ deiṭ):
   The word was found in Rav Milim vocalized with a sheṿa under the yod, suggesting that yod be treated as a consonant. Per Hebraica Cataloging RDA, “The yod in Hebrew is romanized as "y" only when it is followed by a vowel” (HCR, p.17).  The preference was expressed, however, to romanize the word as “deṭ” in accordance with the general guidelines in the ALA/LC romanization table. Jasmin Shinohara asked whether this problematic example suggests that the Committee should revisit the issue of foreign loan words altogether. Following the meeting, the Committee approved romanizing דיט  (and also דייט) as “deṭ.”

2. ברסלב (Braslav, Breslev, Breslov):

Variant romanized spellings for the place/dynasty/rite have been applied, as a result of various pronunciations, as well as the influence of differing orthographies found in Hebrew script sources. The inconsistency is also a result of the influence of varying Latin script forms, including those found in LCSH, which are based on English language sources. It was noted that “Breslev” reflects the Hasidic pronunciation, and should perhaps be applied in Yiddish contexts. Meeting attendees generally preferred “Braslav,” following Joan Biella’s suggestion to follow a more Hebrew-style pronunciation. Joan had advised against retrospective modifications that might risk changing instances in which the name appeared vocalized another way.  It was noted that if the word appears in a title,  246 fields may be added to account for alternative romanizations desired. After the meeting, the Committee approved romanizing unvocalized ברסלב as “Braslav” going forward, but not retrospectively changing earlier records to prevent incorrectly changing the romanization of a vocalized ברסלב.

3. Vocalized Tetragrammaton (yod-heh-ṿaṿ-heh)
   Although there is guidance in HCR (p. 30) for unvocalized instances of the divine name, the question was raised of how to romanize the name if the vowels for Adonai or Elohim appear. Jerry Anne proposed recording “Adonai” or “Elohim” (as indicated by the vowels), adding a 246 reflecting the variant, YHṾH, and indicating in a note that the word is vocalized. Furthermore, she suggested that this approach be considered a “best practice” rather than a rule, as some institutions might not be comfortable with the approach, and given the flexibility in RDA. David Levy appreciated the respectfulness of discussion.  The Committee endorsed the following “best practice”:  In the case of a Tetragrammaton vocalized with the vowels for Adonai or Elohim, we will romanize according to the vowels, i.e., Adonai or Elohim. The cataloger has the option of adding a 500 note stating that the tetragrammaton is vocalized. If it is vocalized with pataḥ and segol, we will romanize it as Yahṿeh.  This is a statement of best practices, not a rule.  We should follow this practice in the OCLC master record, but each cataloger has the option to make a different choice in their library’s local catalog based on what would be best for their library and their library users.

4. A Hebrew grammar for catalogers – Haim Gottschalk
   To address the fine points of grammar that impact romanization and pose challenges, especially to new catalogers, Haim Gottschalk offered to take the lead in developing a Hebrew grammar resource tailored to the needs of catalogers. The resource would be posted on the Cataloging Committee wiki and linked to the HCR. Heidi and Gabriel suggested that it could be a compendium of grammar rules, based on the elements in the Even-Shoshan appendix, but in English. Heidi also has a training “cheat sheet” that she can share as a model. The Committee endorsed the project.

5. RDA update – Heidi Lerner

On June 13, 2018, the Beta version of the new RDA was released. Heidi conducted an initial review, and described it as “מבלבל לגמרי ולא מתאים.”  She noted the appearance of many definitions, but much was still skeletal. There was a useful search box, but no rule numbers.  The PCC has not yet populated the version with policy statements.  The crosswalks to AACR2 rule numbers and to MARC21 are gone.  The new version is expected to open the door to new flexibility, and will help the transition to the linked data environment.  It was not known when to expect the formal release of the new version. The Committee will continue to hold off on major editing of HCR until it becomes more clear how LC and PCC will handle the updated RDA.  Heidi also reported testing the LC Bibframe Editor and the Infomatics Editor, and described a record created in the Bibframe Editor. She noted that Stanford will be adopting Bibframe in perhaps six months, but it was not known which editor would be selected. Results have not been shared from LC’s Bibframe test. Heidi recommended the IFLA Library Reference Model: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information for those interested in understanding better the new metadata framework.

6. Anything else?
1. Heidi asked if anyone was experiencing problems with the OCLC NAR generator, especially with diacritics. Nancy Sack recommended using the generator tool developed by Gary Strawn.

2. Heidi mentioned an idea that was raised at the OCLC meeting to initiate a Funnel-based deduping project, and offered to investigate further the feasibility of a HebNACO-based project.

3. Jerry Anne announced that this was the last meeting of the Committee under her leadership. Heidi is the incoming Chair.  Both Jerry Anne and Neil Frau-Cortes will be rotating off of the Committee. Attendees thanked Jerry Anne for her leadership of the Committee.
   
   

In attendance:
Jerry Anne Dickel, Yale, geraldine.dickel@yale.edu (Chair)
Lenore Bell, USHMM, lbell@ushmm.org

Sharon Benamou, UCLA, benamou@library.ucla.edu

Yossi Galron, Ohio State, galron1@osu.edu
Haim Gottschalk, Library of Congress, hgot@loc.gov
Ruth Haber, UC Berkeley, reh@berkeley.edu

Heidi Lerner, Stanford, lerner@stanford.edu

David B. Levy, Touro College,  davidblevy@msn.com

Yisroel (Jeremy) Meyerowitz, LC, ymey@loc.gov

Gabriel Mordoch, U. of Michigan, mordoch@umich.edu
Olga Potap, Boston U., optap@bu.edu

Tarina Rosen, Emory, libtr@emory.edu

Janet Russell, Boston U., janetr@bu.edu

Nancy Sack, U. of Hawaii, sack@hawaii.edu
Daniel Scheide, Florida Atlantic, dascheide@gmail.com
Marlene Schiffman, Yeshiva, schiffma@yu.edu
Hadassa Schwartz, Harvard, hadassaschwartz@gmail.com

Jasmin Shinohara, U. of Penn., jshino@upenn.edu
Avrom Shuchatowitz, Yeshiva, shuchatow@yu.edu
Rachel Simon, Princeton, rsimon@princeton.edu
Aaron Taub, Library of Congress, atau@ushmm.org
Galina Teverovsky, LC, gtev@loc.gov