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Library of Congress Professional Guild

AFSCME
Local 2910

Advocacy, Representation, and Leadership at the Library of Congress

 

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AFSCME, Local 2910

Library of Congress, LM-G41

Mailstop 9994

101 Independence Ave., S.E.

Washington, DC 20540-9994

Phone: 202-707-6493/1304

Fax: 202-707-1873

Email: guild@loc.gov

We are the Library of Congress Professional Guild, AFSCME Local 2910, representing over 1500 employees at the Library of Congress. Welcome to our homepage.

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Testimony of Saul Schniderman Before the Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Legislation Branch Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives, May 11, 2011 click here

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The Future of Cataloging

"What is Distinctive about the Library of Congress in Both its Collections and its Means of Access to Them. . . ," by Thomas Mann, November 6, 2009.

Thomas Mann has submitted a new paper which covers three major topics: "What is Distinctive about the Library of Congress in Both its Collections and its Means of Access to Them," "The Reasons LC Needs to Maintain Classified Shelving of Books Onsite," and "A Way to Deal Effectively with the Problem of 'Books on the Floor'."

In addressing these concerns the essay provides an important clarification of the mission, functions, and responsibilities of the Library of Congress in relationship to Google, Amazon, OCLC, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Internet.

Also see:

Library of Congress: Study of the North American MARC Records Marketplace, by Ruth Fischer and Rick Lugg for R2Consulting, Oct. 2009

"Library of Congress cataloging continues to be widely valued ... There is heavy reliance on LC's output throughout all segments of the profession and industry." Quoted from the Study of the North American MARC Records Marketplace, October 2009, by R2 Consulting, LLC.

The R2 Consulting report, contracted by LC, studies the economics of production and distribution of cataloging records. They gathered information with survey responses from 972 libraries and 70 vendors. The report addresses many issues, including the value of and challenges facing cooperative cataloging, the costs of original cataloging, and responsibility for those costs. The entire report is 47 pages long, and conclusions are condensed on pages four and five.

Click here to read essays posted since 2005 from an important debate underway at the Library of Congress on the future of cataloging.

 

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This page was last updated on May 17, 2011.