Canadian BIBFRAME Readiness Task Force

In 2013, the Library of Congress announced that it would be exploring a linked data successor to the MARC format.  LC contracted the development company Zepheira to produce a linked data schema for encoding bibliographic data. The schema produced through this partnership is the Bibliographic Framework (BIBFRAME), currently in its second iteration, BIBFRAME 2.0. In June 2018, the Library of Congress announced that it would be migrating from MARC to BIBFRAME. This will result in an enormous change that will affect all Canadian libraries.

MARC (Machine Readable Cataloguing) has been the standard encoding scheme used in Canadian libraries since the 1970s and it forms the basis for most Integrated Library Systems (ILS) and Library Service Platforms (LSP). The MARC standard is maintained by the Library of Congress and is governed by the MARC Steering Group, which includes a representative from Library and Archives Canada. The Canadian Committee on Metadata Exchange (CCM) is a member of the MARC Advisory Committee (MAC), which advises the MARC Steering Group on changes to the MARC 21 format. MAC members include national libraries, OCLC, and a number of specialist cataloguing groups representing a broad cross section of the cataloguing community. The core members of CCM are two members representing LAC, two representing CFLA-FCAB and two representing the Fédération des milieux documentaires (FMD).

BIBFRAME remains largely an LC project, but it is expected to be rolled out across the globe in all libraries currently using a MARC-based ILS or LSP. The full implications of this migration are currently unknown, but it will obviously have a major impact on libraries in terms of infrastructure, staffing, and costs. The Canadian role in the development or implementation of BIBFRAME is not yet clear, but it is hoped that LAC and CCM will continue to have a role that mirrors the one currently held in MARC governance.

To help Canadian libraries prepare for the shift to BIBFRAME, the CFLA-FCAB Cataloguing and Metadata Standards Committee/ Comité sur les normes relatives au catalogage et aux métadonnées (CMSC/CNSM) is partnering with FMD (Fédération des milieux documentaires) and Library and Archives Canada to strike the Canadian BIBFRAME Readiness Task Force. The task force will prepare documentation that CMSC/CNSM will use to develop a Canadian BIBFRAME strategy, and present a set of recommendations for education and advocacy that will help Canadian libraries make informed decisions.