Name change list

Dear TSRT readers,

Ian Fairclough (Marion [Ohio] Public Library) and I have set up a notification list for issues about personal names in bibliographic and authority records. The list is PERSNAME-L. This list will interest those of you who are concerned with the accuracy of headings, which I trust includes most readers of this message.

If you find a personal name heading that has been inappropriately assigned, or that needs changing-- FIRST you should report such matters in the first instance to the appropriate agency in accordance with that agency's own policies. (For example, report WorldCat records to OCLC at mailto:bibchange@oclc.org; report records of the Library of Congress online catalog http://catalog.loc.gov/ to mailto:cpso@loc.gov.) ADDITIONALLY, you can report them to PERSNAME-L so that other people working with those records can be advised. NACO members are welcome to report newly established headings, as well as adjustments to existing records, particularly when you have successfully disambiguated a vexatious situation. If you have a question about a personal name, you can ask, and hopefully receive advice, on PERSNAME-L.

If you simply wish to be advised when a heading has been updated in a record, PERSNAME-L will serve as a means for doing so. You can then adjust your local database as appropriate. It's recommended that you first take steps to insure that any action you take is in accordance with local policy and procedures.

PERSNAME-L is intended for announcements rather than discussion. To insure that our subscribers receive only pertinent material, we will moderate PERSNAME-L and approve only those messages which we deem appropriate. Based on my experience with the DEWEYERROR list, I'm confident that your subscription will be worth the time you invest in reading the messages that are posted.

As before, discussion of such matters can take place on OCLC-Cat, Autocat, and other forums. Why then start PERSNAME-L? PERSNAME-L is intended strictly as a tool for cooperative quality assurance. It will join a suite of such tools as DEWEYERROR and the Typo of the Day for Librarians blog. In situations where people are assigned responsibility for different aspects of quality assurance, individuals can work with just those tools that apply to the aspect they're concerned with.

To subscribe to PERSNAME-L, follow this link http://lists.ou.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=PERSNAME-L and click on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)". Or send a message to MAILTO:LISTSERV@LISTS.OU.EDU with the words SUBSCRIBE PERSNAME-L followed by a forename and surname. To post to the list, send your message to MAILTO:PERSNAME-L@LISTS.OU.EDU. The list has no formal connection with OCLC, the Library of Congress, or the NACO project.

P.S. Corporate names are not in scope!

Submitted by: Ian & Jay