June 20, 2012 Library Announces New Services at ALA Conference

CIP Expands to E-Books; Enhanced Bindery Software Available

Press Contact: John Sayers, Office of Communications (202) 707-9216
Public Contact: Karl Debus-López, CIP (202) 707-6641 | Jeanne Drews, Preservation (202) 707-5530
Contact: The Library of Congress at ALA 2012

The Library of Congress is announcing two new service enhancements for librarians and publishers in advance of this year’s American Library Association annual conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 21–26.

CIP for E-Books

Starting in July, the Library’s Cataloging in Publication (CIP) Program will expand its scope to include electronic books. This moves into production a pilot project begun in October 2011, whereby the Library has provided pre-publication CIP metadata for titles that are published simultaneously in print and electronic format to four participating publishers (RAND Corporation, the University Press of Mississippi, Wiley—including Wiley imprint Jossey-Bass—and the World Bank). After the launch in July, the Cataloging in Publication Program will invite additional publishers to participate.

This new initiative enables the Library of Congress to provide quality metadata for use by the international library community for the growing number of electronic books that are published simultaneously with the print book.

Since July 1971, the Library’s CIP program has served the nation’s libraries by cataloging, in advance of publication, books widely acquired by the nation’s libraries. Instead of individual libraries cataloging the same work repeatedly, the work is cataloged once, and thousands of libraries benefit. As CIP moves into the world of e-books, libraries throughout the United States will benefit from being able to use high-quality records that have been created according to the highest cataloging standards.

Advanced Bindery Library Exchange (ABLE) Software

The Library’s Preservation Directorate has announced the release of version 7.0 of the Advanced Bindery Library Exchange (ABLE) software, a web-based software product that automates preparation for monographs and serials for commercial binding.

The ABLE software was originally developed jointly by a group of binding vendors. The new version is the result of the implementation of a series of enhancements requested by the Library of Congress that supports enhanced functionality needed for a variety of vendors and libraries.

ABLE version 7.0 is available from commercial binders at no cost.

For more information on CIP for e-books, visit www.loc.gov/publish/cip/. For more information on the ABLE 7.0 software and its new enhancements, visit www.loc.gov/preservation/. Library staff will be available in the American Library Association Conference exhibition hall in Anaheim this year, booth #1418, Friday, June 22 through Monday, June 25. For more information on the Library at ALA, visit www.loc.gov/ala/.

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to advance the knowledge and creativity of the American people through its collections, programs and services. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

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PR 12-127
2012-06-20
ISSN 0731-3527