Home--Minutes

AJL RAS Cataloging Committee Virtual Midwinter Meeting Minutes

8 January 2024, 12-1pm EDT / 7-8pm IST

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: Lili Brown (Stanford), Nora Dolliver (NYPL), David Floyd (Binghamton), Haim Gottschalk (LC), David Roth (NLI); Daniel Scheide (FAU, chair); Aaron Taub (LC, ex-officio)

Continuing/New Business

1. Training new catalogers (Haim)

• Upcoming Cataloging Forums: manuscript waste part 2; Hebrew grammar for catalogers
• Jasmin: will need to make sure the content of this does not overlap with the Hebrew for catalogers course being offered through AJL/JTS Judaica Librarianship Certificate program
• Monthly Cataloging Clinic: smaller group, intended for both new and existing catalogers to collaborate on day-to-day cataloging concerns; contact 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 probably 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 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 headings (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 in BM550 (Haim)
• Other considerations were BM755 or BJ1287
• Number chosen is based on the classification pattern for Maimonides
• Update on Hungary class numbers (Haim)
• Goal is to revise the Hungary - BM321.75-77 schedule, based on Ukraine model (
• LC classification based on LC collection - 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? Must show there is a need outside LC. Will discuss more next week at AJL

       4. NACO Funnel update (Jasmin)

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

       5. NLI updates (David Roth)

• Hopefully moving in the next few months, opening to the public shortly after, closing current building by end of calendar year. Some books have already been moved to new building. Reading rooms will close around rosh hashanah to facilitate moving books
• Q: will system numbers be maintained? A: yes. old numbers will be linked
• Q: for those who have links to mifal (Bibliography of the Hebrew Book, BHB), how will they be maintained when they change over to merhav (NLI’s OPAC)? A: Contact Ahava Cohen with questions

• Haim: Cataloguing forum - narrow topical forums, 8 so far. Idea of partnering with the cataloging committee to offer smaller workshops. Cataloging clinic grew out of forum. Free-form place for catalogers to discuss issues. Next meeting in July; contact Ari Kleinman (arikleinman@brandeis.edu) if interested
• Aaron: We need to bring in the next generation of cataloguers and Judaica librarians. Certification program was developed as a joint venture between AJL and JTS. Michelle (Margolis), Naomi (Steinberger, JTS), Marjorie (Lehman, JTS) have been leaders, Aaron joined. 3 required courses: Intro to Judaica cataloging (already happened - 15 students from all over the world), Collection development (about to begin), Judaica reference (in the fall). Plus an internship and two electives
• Lili and Ari both took the course and found it helpful
• Intended as supplement to MLS, not replacement
• Jasmin: Taught 3/7 modules in Intro to Hebrew cataloging course; went through the HCM-RDA (and saw where updates are needed); great opportunity to reach out to the new generation
• More info here: https://jewishlibraries.org/lib-certification/; contact Michelle Margolis (mc3395@columbia.edu) for info about upcoming classes - sometime in next calendar year

In attendance (based on Zoom participants)

Sharon Benamou (UCLA)

Lili Brown (Stanford, member)

Nora Dolliver (NYPL, member, notetaker)

Neil Frau-Cortes (chair, Broward County, FL)

Haim Gottschalk (LC, member)

Ari Kleinman (Brandeis)

Anne K. Knafl (UChicago)

Asher Lewish (LC)

Rita Lifton (JTSA)

Michelle Margolis (Columbia)

Caroline Miller (UCLA)

David Roth (NLI, member)

Daniel Scheide (FAU)

David Schlitt (Western Washington Univ.)

Hadassa Schwartz (Harvard)

Jasmin Shinohara (UPenn)

Avrom Shuchatowitz (YU)

Aaron Taub (LC; RAS president, member, ex officio)

Elizabeth Vernon (Harvard)