Dear Colleagues,

It has been some time since I updated you all on the progress of the
Serials Cataloging Cooperative Training Program (SCCTP).  By now you or
someone you know may well have attended one of the sessions of the Basic
Serials Cataloging Workshop.  To date, 36 workshops have been held in the
U.S., Canada, and most recently in Mexico City, and 8 workshops are
scheduled in 2000, including a week-long session in Taiwan.  In addition,
I will be presenting parts of the course to catalogers in Great Britain in
September.  Comments from the workshop participants have been
overwhelmingly positive and a selection of them can be viewed at:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/bswcomments.html.  We now have a
total of 46 trainers who can train in English, French, Chinese, and
Spanish!

There are two complaints consistent throughout the evaluations: typos
in the trainee manual and not enough time.  I am addressing the first
by revising the trainee manual, which should be available for late
summer and fall courses.  The timing factor will depend on each
situation, but I do encourage those who can, to add more time when
possible.  The course is designed for two days, but it is a very full
two days!

We are now hard at work on developing new courses.  Frieda Rosenberg
(University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and Thom Saudargas
(College Center for Library Automation, Tallahassee, Fl.) are
developing a one-day course on the MARC Holdings Format with a focus
on serials.  We will test the session at the University of Georgia in
the fall and hold a train-the-trainer session in conjunction with ALA
Midwinter in Washington, January 2001.  Some time in early fall, I
will send out a call for trainers for this course.  We will be trying
something new in the distribution of the course.  Instead of
preprinting the text and selling it with binders and tabs, CDS will be
providing fee-based access to PDF files that can be printed out by the
sponsor.  The goal is to provide materials quickly, inexpensively, and
in a form that allows them to be updated as necessary.  CDS is
currently working on a pricing structure that they hope to have by
September.

In addition, we are beginning work on an Advanced Serials course.  We
have three excellent developers identified and are in the beginning
stages of reviewing course content.  We hope to have the course
available by July 2001.

I am greatful to the talented trainers who have made the sessions so
successful and to the many sponsors who have made the courses
possible.  Sponsors have included OCLC network affiliates, library
associations and consortia, and individual institutions.

For complete information on SCCTP and the latest workshop schedule,
consult the SCCTP Web site at:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/acq/conser/scctp/home.html
I am always happy to receive comments and suggestions concerning the
program.

Jean Hirons
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress

(202) 707-5947
<jhir@LOC.GOV>