Home--Minutes

AJL RAS Cataloging Committee Virtual Midwinter Meeting Minutes

8 January 2024, 12-1pm EDT 

Recording (with thanks to Jackie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HvMJF-qJjk

Old Business

1. Welcome, designate note-taker (Daniel Scheide)

• Lili Brown volunteered

1. 2023 minutes approval (Daniel Scheide)
• Minutes approved as amended.
2. Committee membership (Daniel Scheide) 
• Current members

Continuing/New Business

1. Training for new and existing catalogers by the AJL Education Committee (Haim)

• Upcoming Cataloging Forum on manuscript waste part 2
• An upcoming course in May taught by Chaim Meiselman on cataloging rare Hebrew books;
• An upcoming course in July/August taught by Jasmin on Hebrew grammar for catalogers
• Jasmin: will need to make sure the content does not overlap with the Hebrew for catalogers course being offered through AJL/JTS Judaica Librarianship Certificate program
• Being planned: a course on assigning LCSH
• Monthly Cataloging Clinic: smaller group, meeting monthly, intended for both new and existing catalogers to assist each other and discuss day-to-day cataloging concerns; contact Haim Gottschalk or Ari Kleinman to join

       2. Judaica cataloging mini-conference (Haim)

• Starting with 2025, should there be a mini-conference or separate conference for AJL members to discuss cataloging only?
• Q: What is the advantage to having this over more cataloging sessions at AJL or more cataloging forums? A: This mini-conference would not be for best practices, but more so to report cataloging achievements or sessions. But overall, it would be nice to see more presentations around cataloging at AJL
• Daniel Scheide: If proposals around cataloging aren’t that popular at AJL to begin with, then planning a specific conference for this would be difficult
• Idea for a mini-conference session: a panel on the history BM classification, moving away from best practices in cataloging; aim is to reframe how we present cataloging
• Aaron: There is a long history of cataloging panels being offered at the AJL annual conference - that’s the first place to build more content. If that schedule is too packed, then we can discuss organizing alternatives
• Daniel Scheide: Next step could be reaching out to conference organizers to see if there is room for more proposals (they were due December 31, 2023), and if so then Daniel will reach out to our cataloging community to encourage more submissions around this topic
• Q: Caroline: ALA has pre-conferences, could a half-day conference dedicated to cataloging work? A: Daniel Scheide: Perhaps too late to do that this year, 2025 is virtual so need to keep that in mind
• Rachel: Judaica Librarianship article submissions on cataloging are always welcome
• Emily Bergman (from chat): To get more interest, how can you make sessions relevant to us synagogue librarians?  We are not part of a NACO funnel or work with LC classification, but I do care about LCSH
• Jasmin: This cataloging committee is within RAS, so cataloging presentations have typically been focused on topics related to academic cataloging work. It's hard for us to know what topics would be of interest to SSCPL catalogers, but we're always open to hearing from our colleagues what will be useful for them
• Haim: There is/was a cataloging forum for SSCPL division
• Emily will be in touch with Jasmin and Haim

      3. LCSH and LC Classification updates and disucssion

          i. Task force to identify Christian bias in LCSH (Marlene)

• The task force was established so that people could volunteer to submit proposals for these subject headings, but haven’t seen any volunteers take on proposal submission
• New meeting of task force members to be scheduled by Marlene

          ii. Jewish-Arab relations/Arab-Israeli conflict new and revised subject headings and classification (Jasmin)

• 11 new subject headings:
• Israel--History--20th century
• Israel--History--21st century
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict--1993-
• Jews, Israeli
• Jews, Israeli--Relations with Palestinian Arabs
• Palestine--History--19th century
• Palestine--History--21st century
• Palestine question (1948-)
• Palestine question (To 1948)
• Palestinian Arabs--History--21st century
• Palestinian Arabs--Relations with Jews, Israeli
• 6 revised subject headings:
• Al-Aqsa Intifada, 2000-
• Arab-Israeli conflict
• Gaza War, 2008-2009
• Gaza War, 2014
• Israelis
• Jewish-Arab relations
• For full details, see LCSH Approved Monthly List 2308
• Classification revisions: Closed dates on First & Second Intifadas; SH Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 1993- now correlated to classification schedule. For full details, see LCC Montly List 2308

          iii. Subject headings to consider in light of recent/current events (Haim)

• We will need to work on current conflict/war once literary warrant emerges

          iv. Other projects

• Mohels subject was established (Marlene)
• Other subjects under considerations (Marlene)
• Threat of Divine destruction
• Jews of Color
• Orthodox Jews (Ex-Orthodox Jews already exists as a subject)
• Roger: Orthodox Jews was proposed a few years ago; LC did not approve it because they felt the heading was too broad, i.e., how does a cataloger distinguish between Modern Orthodox, Religious Zionist Orthodox, Chassidish Orthodox, Litvish/Yeshivish Orthodox, Ultra-Orthodox?
• David Floyd: Orthodox Jews was established as an LCDGT in Sept 2023
• Classification for Saadia Gaon is now established as BM550.S (Haim)
• Other considerations were BM755 or BJ1287
• Original class chosen was based on the classification for Maimonides, at BM545
• Update on Hungary class numbers (Haim)
• Goal is to revise the Hungary, BM321.75-77, based on Ukraine model (DK5001-DK5995)
• LC classification based on LC's collection. We need to write a white paper to show why the Hungary expansion is needed. Which libraries have a collection of Judaism in Hungary to demonstrate the need for this? Need a larger group to help work on this

       4. NACO Funnel update (Jasmin)

• Welcome to new member Mirit Naaman Lerner, US Holocaust Memorial Museum

       5. NLI updates (David Roth)

• NLI operations have successfully moved to the new building. Despite the war, they've been open to public since mid-October
• Still organizing rare books, but they should be open to the public within the next two months
• As of Jan 1, 2024, the old building officially closed
• Dicta project work is continuing between Avi Shmidman and the Library of Congress
• New ULI interface: moved over to Alma like the rest of NLI catalog/OPAC
• Ahava:
• Old ULI interface still exists, but beware that bib records will no longer be updated in the old ULI by end of January 2024
• Access via http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/61UCMCBBENPFSDD6FAVB5CVTEPQ9YETE7R3QN9XAU9P4HY21V7-02143?func=find-b-0&con_lng=eng 
• Roger: New ULI entries do not have or do not correspond to ULI system numbers
• Ahava: This reflects changes in the ULI interface as these system numbers were not stable. NLI is currently working on permanent links for ULI records (bib & authority) to remedy this
• Authority records will continue to be added/updated in both interfaces
• New ULI authority file is not yet ready; continue to access via old ULI interface
• Ahava will present on how on how to access and use the authority database in new interface at a cataloging forum in the future
• New metadata team at NLI, run by Ariel Lock; questions can go to his email: Ariel.Lock@nli.org.il
• Sylviane Stampfer retired from RAMBI, which is now run by Aviad Rosenberg; questions can go to his email: Aviad.Rosenberg@nli.org.il
• Ahava:  NLI is moving forward with a long-term project to create NAFs for all of the hostages and the fallen during current conflict
• Mental health of catalogers doing this work could be a good mini-conference or general presentation topic at AJL
• Caroline: that could be helpful, especially around other current conversations in cataloging communities regarding ethical description

In attendance (based on Zoom participants)

Sharon Benamou (UCLA)
Emily Bergman (Temple Sinai, Glendale, CA)
Lili Brown (Stanford University, member, notetaker)
Ahava Cohen (NLI)
Nora Dolliver (NYPL, member)
David Floyd (Binghamton University, member)
Neil M. Frau-Cortes (Broward County Public Libraries)
Haim Gottschalk (LC, member)
Ari Kleinman (Brandeis)
Roger Kohn (LC)
Rachel Leket-Mor (Arizona State University)
Caroline Miller (UCLA)
David Roth (NLI, member)
Daniel Scheide (Chair, FAU)
Marlene Schiffman (Yeshiva University)
Jasmin Shinohara (University of Pennsylvania)
Avrom Shuchatowitz (Yeshiva University)
Daniel Stuhlman (Temple Sholom Chicago)
Aaron Taub (LC, member ex-officio)