[SAC17-ANN/8]
Music Library Association
Report to ALA Subject Analysis Committee
ALA Annual 2017, Chicago
Submitted by Casey Mullin (Western Washington University)
June 9, 2017
LCGFT Update
The following LCGFT music terms have been established or revised since the 2017 Midwinter Meeting (in order of approval):
Cowboy songs gf2015026744
Freak folk (Music) gf2016026016
Ghazals (Music) gf2015026106
Jukebox musicals gf2017026030
Konkoma gf2017026029
Kwaya gf2015026100
Lo-fi (Rock music) gf2016026013
Palos (Music) gf2015026102
Post-rock music gf2017026021
Shavuot music gf2014027193
Skate punk music gf2016026015
Sukkot music gf2014027192
Twist songs gf2017026023
Musical texts gf2017026002
Hymns gf2014026872 (revision)
Hymns texts gf2017026006
Music gf2014026952 (revision)
Popular music gf2014027009 (revision)
Popular music lyrics gf2017026003
Rap lyrics gf2017026007
Rock lyrics gf2017026008
Sacred music texts gf2017026004
Song texts gf2017026005
Songs gf2014027103 (revision)
Opera adaptations gf2017026043
Additionally, the following music terms appear on Tentative Lists 1705 or 1706:
Carol texts gp2017026071
Carols gp201402669 (scope note added)
Concertos gp2014026725 (UF Concerti added)
Filk music gp2017026050
Hanukkah music gp2017026057
Industrial dance music gp2017026062
Musical settings gp2017026061
Rock operas gp2017026056
Visual albums gp2017026058
As of March 2017, SACO proposals for music LCGFT terms are being accepted. SACO catalogers may submit proposals their existing mechanism, but are encouraged to submit proposals through the SACO Music Funnel (coordinated by Nancy Lorimer, ) for expert guidance. Catalogers at institutions that are not established SACO contributors may also submit proposals through the SACO Music Funnel.
LCMPT Update
The following LCMPT terms have been established or revised since the 2017 Midwinter Meeting (in order of approval):
contrabass trombone pp2015015011
talempong pp2015015010
tenoroon pp2015015001 (UF fagottino added)
Additionally, the following terms appear on Tentative List 1705:
bang zi pp2016015009
da kuan hsien pp2016015012
dan pi ku pp2016015010
gyil pp2017015005
hsiao luo pp2016015011
jao pa pp2016015008
Proposals for LCMPT terms must still be submitted through the SACO Music Funnel. PSD, with input from MLA/VS, is in the process of developing content for the new Medium of Performance Terms Manual, which must be in place before LCMPT proposals may be submitted outside the funnel.
MLA/VS continues work on several projects to develop areas of LCMPT and LCGFT needing refinement or reexamination. The LCMPT electronics terms project, begun in 2015, is in its final stages. Several other small projects, pertaining to both LCMPT and LCGFT terms, are in the pipeline; these include changing the LCGFT term Electronic dance music to Underground dance music, and to “split” Rap music from the existing term Hip-hop (Music). New and updated LCMPT and LCGFT terms resulting from these projects will be proposed through the SACO Music Funnel and announced on Monthly Lists on an ongoing basis.
Deriving Faceted Music Terms from LCSH (a.k.a. “Retrospective Implementation”)
Following on the preliminary work done by the former Subject Access Subcommittee just prior to the 2015 MLA Annual Meeting, the current MLA/VS group evaluated several iterations of a program written by Gary Strawn (Northwestern University) to derive LCMPT terms in 382 fields from LCSH music form/genre/medium headings in 650 fields. The latest version (and associated natural-language documentation) was completed by Strawn in May 2015.
In early 2016, the ALA Subcommittee on Genre/Form Implementation began work in this area across disciplines. That spring, a SGFI task group prepared a mapping of LCSH form subdivisions to their corresponding LCGFT terms. The MLA/VS task group prepared a mapping for music-specific LCSH subdivisions, and the two mappings were synthesized in a single document (available here).
Since ALA Annual 2016 in Orlando, the MLA/VS task group prepared preliminary mappings for LCSH music headings that contain or imply genre/form terms in 650 $a. A companion algorithm providing mappings for all non-medium facets in LCSH strings, to complement the 382 algorithm prepared in 2015, was completed and is currently being tested. Beginning summer 2017, the MLA/VS task group and Strawn will begin testing both algorithms together, iteratively revising specifications as needed. Additionally, an OCLC macro (inspired by Strawn’s Authority Toolkit) for real-time faceted term generation in individual bib records, is planned; this macro is envisioned as a tool for testing the derivation process, as well as for cataloger use in copy cataloging of music resources.
Working Group on Full Implementation of Library of Congress Faceted Vocabularies.
Mullin was appointed to chair this working group shortly after ALA Annual 2016 in Orlando. This group has prepared a white paper, whose intended audience will include OCLC, the Library of Congress, the Program for Cooperative Cataloging, and other constituencies, including ILS and authority control vendors, advocating for the full implementation (current and retrospective) of new and emerging faceted vocabularies, most notably the Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (LCGFT), the Library of Congress Medium of Performance Thesaurus for Music (LCMPT), and the Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms (LCDGT).
The group submitted a draft of the paper at ALA Midwinter in Atlanta. Based on feedback from SAC members and others, the group revised the paper and will submit the final version to SAC (via SGFI) during the week prior to SAC’s meetings at ALA Annual in Chicago.
3