










































NACO/SACO


272  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

NACO/SACO
Alexis N. Weiss, Member Engagement Librarian, Atla

ABSTRACT The Program for Cooperative Cataloging Operations Commit-
tee meets annually to update participants on developments and informa-
tion related to working cooperatively with other catalogers within the pro-
gram. The Listen and Learn session is an overview of important points of 
this meeting, as well as an update on the state of affairs of the Atla NACO 
and SACO Funnels programs.

The purpose of the NACO/SACO Listen and Learn is twofold. First, it 
offers an update as to the state of the Atla Funnels Program. Second, 
it is a report on the PCC Operations Committee meeting, which was 
held in person this year during the first week of May. This was the 
first Operations Committee held in person in three years, so the in-
formation is somewhat extensive. 

ATLA FUNNELS STATISTICS

From September 2022 until June 2023, roughly 75% of Atla’s fiscal 
year, the NACO Funnel completed 450 new or updated records, spe-
cifically 349 new and 91 updated. This is down from last year, where 
at the June marker we were at slightly over 600 new or updated re-
cords. Our records for new and proposed changes to headings for 
SACO are also down, at seven compared to nine last year and thirteen 
the year prior. Our number of actively participating institutions has 
also gone down; to date this fiscal year only five institutions have in-
put records to NACO, down from seven last year and eight the year 
prior. This downward trend is being seen throughout the cataloging 
world. The Library of Congress reports that 90% of all NACO work 
has been done by 90 institutions and that 50% of all new work is com-
ing from just 14 institutions. So, we are not unique in our numbers. 
This downward trend leads well into a discussion of the state of the 
Funnels Program.



LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  273

THE STATE OF THE FUNNELS PROGRAM

As can be seen in our statistics, if we want this program to thrive, 
we need to both a) encourage members in the program to contrib-
ute, and b) increase the number of participating institutions. A “c” 
could be added for having qualified leadership and mentorship in 
the program: while Atla staff are able to care for the administrative 
side of being the Funnels Coordinator, none are qualified to mentor 
because they are not independent NACO contributors. 

The following steps are being made by the Atla staff to reinvigo-
rate the program. First, we are working with program directors at the 
Library of Congress. Atla’s hope is to be able to offer directed NACO 
training as well as SACO training sometime in the next year for any-
one that needs to brush up and for anyone interested in becoming 
part of the program. We will also allow and encourage Atla metadata 
staff to become participants in the program and they will be a part 
of the training. We are also in talks to partner with the technical ser-
vices group at the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL), creating 
memberships for catalogers from ACL so that they can participate in 
and receive training with the Atla Funnels. That was all part of step 
one. Second, we are hoping to create a collaborative method for men-
toring new members as well as current members who are still not 
independent NACO contributors. As participants know, an evaluator 
is necessary for a period of time before independence. Our hope is 
that we can arrange to have some of the evaluations come from the 
Library of Congress, but we have not made that arrangement yet.

On the part of our current NACO participants, we are going to 
make a request to keep this program going. That request is that if 
you are an independent contributor, we ask that you be willing to 
act as an evaluator for our non-independent contributors. The idea 
is that we can spread that responsibility, which was in the past held 
by the Funnels Coordinator, among several of our members as well 
as staff from the Library of Congress, so that we can both keep our 
non-independent contributors able to submit work and so that we 
can increase the number of participants. All other responsibilities 
related to the Coordinator position will be carried out by Atla staff, 
but we are not able to be an evaluator, which is a necessary function 
to keep the program going. 



274  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

UPDATES FROM PCC OPERATIONS COMMITTEE

Standing Committee Updates
The Standing Committee on Applications has two important points 
to note. First, the committee has completed a survey on the potential 
implications of doing away with the standard of coding the 008/29 
field as “b” and adding the 667 note “Non-Latin script reference(s) 
not evaluated” in name authority records with cross-references in 
non-Latin scripts. Further notes on this will come from the Standing 
Committee on Standards. The second important development is the 
charging of a task group on BIBFRAME-to-MARC conversion, which 
will work to document best practices on conversion, to maintain the 
current repertoire of MARC descriptive fields to BIBFRAME, and to 
create new standards for access points according to the ongoing de-
velopment of related standards. 

From the Standing Committee on Standards, the first point relates 
to non-Latin script coding I have just referenced in the previous com-
mittee. The policy revision will allow new and revised name author-
ity records with non-Latin script references to be coded as “a” in the 
008/29 fixed field rather than “b,” and the 667 reference to evalu-
ation will be omitted if the text has been evaluated. Records with 
non-evaluated scripts will retain their “b” coding and 667 reference. 
Partial evaluation of scripts will need to retain their “b” coding and 
the 667 note should be updated or written to clarify which scripts 
have been evaluated and which have not. NACO Participant’s Man-
ual and the LC Guidelines Supplement will be updated in August for 
these changes. A second point from the committee is that guidelines 
for the use of updated language codes, now ISO 639-3, are available. 
These will create more granular information and access to indige-
nous, historical, artificial, and sign languages. The LC Demographic 
Group Terms continue to maintain a list for linking demonyms and 
associated places in the Name Authority Files and in LCSH. 

Finally, updates from the Standing Committee on Training. First, 
the Linked Data Training Group is in the process of developing a cur-
riculum for PCC members to participate in metadata creation using 
BIBFRAME and linked data. Second, the Documentation Survey Task 
Group put out a survey to PCC members to create a SWOT analysis 
related to the quality of training materials. Finally, and most im-
portantly, the RDA Training Task Group is developing an extensive 
set of training modules on utilizing the RDA Toolkit for monograph 



LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  275

cataloging. The 17-module introductory training is scheduled to be 
released in July and will be found on the Cataloger’s Learning Work-
shop website (https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/).

OCLC Update
Several topics came in the OCLC update that should be noted. First 
and foremost is the end of life for the Connexion browser; this will 
no longer be available as of April 2024. Users of the browser ver-
sion will need to move to the Connexion client. Automatic updates 
being made: all K-level records are updated and OCLC is currently 
updating I-level records with roughly 25 of 42 million records com-
plete. K- and I-level records will no longer be able to be made at this 
point. They are also working to enrich as many records as possible 
with DDC call numbers. Roughly 85 million records are candidates, 
and since February roughly 25 million are complete. OCLC has also 
tested a method to strip 375 gender fields from records in accor-
dance with a previous decision made on gender markers in records; 
they are awaiting Library of Congress approval before proceeding. 
In addition to this, 880 fields for non-Latin scripts have been added 
to the fields that may be added or edited on Program for Coopera-
tive Cataloging (PCC) records with non-PCC authorizations. Finally, 
MARC field 387 (representative expression characteristics) and 788 
(parallel description in another language of cataloging) as well as a 
significant number of subfields have been added.

Other Updates of Concern for NACO/SACO 
The first set of updates comes from the PCC Task Group on Gender 
and has relevant points to both NACO and SACO. As has been stated 
previously, the 375 field to record gender should no longer be used. 
Items currently in work and which will be coming to the Library of 
Congress are: a) a change in documentation related to name chang-
es, specifically in relation to gender transition, i.e., “deadnaming” 
in authority records; b) updating information gendered terms in 
occupation, activities, and associated groups; an example given in 
session was the appropriateness use of the designator “former nun” 
for a transgender male; c) and finally, the task force is preparing in-
formation for the LC Demographic Group Terms related to gendered 
demonyms. They are also looking into LCSH headings for gendered 
relationships, such as the heading “Man-Woman Relationships.”

https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/


276  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

Another update offered relevant to the creation and updating 
of name authority records was related to privacy and security con-
cerns. While no concrete decisions have been made on policy yet, 
the concern has arisen that name authority records for living per-
sons should be as descriptive as possible when needed, but they still 
need to respect the privacy of the author. Real-world examples that 
were given include authors who publish information in opposition 
to their countries of origin, as well as several instances of authors in 
the United States that have recently written on systemic racism, the 
rise of domestic right-wing terrorism, and LGBTQ rights have had 
the extensive information of their name authority record (such as 
the university they teach at) used to harass and dox them. Alternate 
identification, such as ORCID identifiers have been proposed. 

Two relevant subjects came up from SACO updates. The first item 
is on the continuing discussions of utilizing outdated terminology 
for indigenous peoples in LCSH. The Library of Congress is asking 
for patience on this — they are hiring someone specifically to spear-
head the work on terms for indigenous people, but this will take 
time. The second item of interest for SACO Funnel members is that 
a needs assessment for training was completed over the last year. 
While those that utilize the training materials found them useful, 
many responded that the information was unclear and people were 
left uncertain as to how to complete forms. The SACO group at the 
Library of Congress will be reevaluating and updating all training 
materials and will be developing new onboarding and training for 
members and Funnel Coordinators.


