In recognizing the need to harmonize the German cataloging rules more with those of the international cataloging community, the past couple of years have witnessed renewed interest on the part of German librarians to learn more about Anglo-American cataloging culture. An important impetus can be found in the frustration experienced by the strongly diverging cataloging records originating from the American utilities OCLC and RLIN. Because these records are so different from German cataloging records, they cannot be readily used in the German cataloging systems. A concerted effort is now in progress to revise the German rules to reflect the changes currently taking place internationally, and also to develop conversion programs for MARC records originating in North America.

In discussions with German colleagues attending ALA's 1998 Annual Conference in Washington, a strong need was recognized for a better understanding of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR2) in Germany. For many years German librarians have understood the usefulness of having a German translation of AACR2, and rough translations have been attempted with various sections of the rules. Cataloging professionals on both sides of the Atlantic, however, recognized that if a translation of AACR2 was to appear any time in the near future, it would need to be approached as a cooperative project by a larger group of translators. Roger Brisson, Coordinator of the German Resources Project; Heidi Hutchinson, librarian at the University of California, Riverside; and Monika Münich, of the University of Heidelberg Library, agreed to organize and lead a group of translators in an international undertaking. Two teams were proposed, one working in the United States on Part I of the rules, and another in Germany working on Part II. With additional assistance and support from the Deutsche Bibliothek, the Swiss National Library, and the University of Basel, the teams of translators have now been organized and are developing guidelines for their work. With both Americans and Germans working on the translation, there is a much greater likelihood of providing accurate translations of the technical vocabulary found in AACR2.

The formal work of the teams began in January 1999, and after initial discussion began work with a translation of the glossary. Administrative requirements have been arranged and are now settled, such as securing the translation rights from the Library Association in the United Kingdom. Saur Verlag has agreed to publish the translation, and discussions are progressing on coordinating the activities between the translators and publisher. The two translation teams communicate via a special listserv set up for them, and in this way a consistent translation is being facilitated. They will begin by translating the glossary collectively via the listserv to assure a common basis for the translation. Once rough translations have been worked out by the individual translators, the translations will be exchanged among the working members of the two groups and polished translations completed. The project coordinators will then go over the entire translation to insure a consistent style to the whole. It is anticipated that the entire project will take several months to complete.

For further information on this important project contact the German Resources Project Coordinator.