About the program:
LC-CEAL Cataloging Internship Program provides training opportunities for those who may not have access to adequate cataloging training support in their own institutions, or for those who seek to gain greater competency in the formalities of their cataloging language as well as experienced catalogers who wish to develop in-depth expertise in cataloging are also encouraged to apply for the program.
Current Members (2026-2029):
- Jian P. Lee (Chair)
- Sarah Byun (CTP member)
- Saupan Cheng (CTP member)
- Keiko Hill (ex-officio, CTP chair)
Past Subcommittee Members
2023-2025:
- Runxiao Zhu (Chair)
- Jian P. Lee (CTP member)
- Kumiko Reichert (CTP member)
- Lia Contursi (ex-officio, CTP chair)
Past Subcommittee Members
2020-2023:
- Keiko Hill (Chair)
- Erminia Chao (CTP member)
- Yan He (CTP member)
- Naomi Shiraishi (ex-officio, CTP chair)
For the previous subcommittees, go to: CEAL CTP Subcommittees, Task Forces and Working Groups page.
Background:
The Cataloging Guidelines for Chinese Rare Books serve as the primary reference for North American research libraries in the creation of bibliographic records for Chinese rare books in machine-readable formats. The guidelines were first introduced in 2000, following the establishment of the Chinese Rare Books Project (CRBP) in 1989. Since their inception, the guidelines have undergone two significant revisions: the first in 2009, necessitated by the integration of RLIN into OCLC WorldCat, and the second in 2018, which incorporated elements from the Resource Description and Access (RDA) standard. This marked another key milestone in their ongoing development.
Today, the cataloging of Chinese rare books faces significant shifts due to advances in technology and the evolving cataloging ecosystem. Recognizing the need for the guidelines to stay current with these changes, Haiqing Lin from UC Berkeley and Shuwen Cao from Princeton University formed a working group in CEAL in 2021 to review and revise the 2018 edition of the guidelines. The working group has undertaken a comprehensive set of tasks, including:
- Environmental scanning
- Examination of underlying cataloging issues
- Collection and dissemination of information and data
- Preliminary observations and analysis
However, given the complexities of these challenges, the working group requires additional time to carefully draft and revise the 2018 Guidelines. Once revisions are complete, the updated document will be circulated among a select group of librarians to gather feedback. This iterative review process will help ensure the revised guidelines effectively address new developments and continue to be a critical resource for the Chinese rare books cataloging community.
Following the submission of the revised guidelines, a subcommittee should be established within the Committee on Chinese Materials (CCM) to promote the Chinese Rare Book Project in alignment with the updated guidelines.
Working Group Report to:
- CEAL Committee on Technical Processing (CTP)
- CEAL Committee on Chinese Materials (CCM)
Membership (2025-2026)
- Yuzhou Bai (Chair, Harvard University)
- Shuwen Cao (Princeton University, retired in September, 2025)
- Jian Ping Lee (University of Washington)
- Ann Roddy (Library of Congress)
- Yi Shan (University of Texas at Austin)
- Ya Min Wu (University of British Columbia)
- Anlin Yang (University of Wisconsin – Madison)
- Yangyang Zeng (Library of Congress)
- Wei Zheng (Columbia University)
- Haiqing Lin (Consultant, UC Berkeley)
Past Members:
2021-2023
- Haiqing Lin (Chair, University of California, Berkeley)
- Shuwen Cao (Princeton University)
- Brian Cheung (Library of Congress)
- Jian Ping Lee (University of Washington)
- Tang Li (University of Southern California)
- Stephen Qiao (University of Toronto)
- Ann Roddy (Library of Congress)
- Anlin Yang (University of Wisconsin – Madison)
- Karen Yu (University of Chicago)
- Yangyang Zeng (Library of Congress)
- Wei Zheng (Columbia University)
- Runxiao Zhu (Oberlin College, CTP Representative)
2024-2025
- Wei Zheng (Chair, Columbia University)
- Yuzhou Bai (Harvard University)
- Shuwen Cao (Princeton University)
- Jian Ping Lee (University of Washington)
- Ann Roddy (Library of Congress)
- Ya Min Wu (University of British Columbia)
- Anlin Yang (University of Wisconsin – Madison)
- Yangyang Zeng (Library of Congress)
- Jessalyn Zoom (Project Advisor, Library of Congress)
- Haiqing Lin (Consultant, UC Berkeley)
Access to the Guidelines and Contact Information:
The Cataloging Guidelines for Chinese Rare Books (2018 edition) is available on:
- The Library of Congress Descriptive Cataloging page
- Rare Books Cataloging folder on RDA & CJK Workshop Wiki
The working group welcomes all participants of the Chinese Rare Books Project and institutions using the guidelines to share their feedback. Please send your comments to chrbceal@gmail.com.
Background:
The mixed practices as far as how Taiwanese access points are constructed have been a longstanding issue in the LC/National Authority File, OCLC and online catalogs. For example, there are three types of qualifiers used in access points for Taiwanese government agencies and corporate bodies—“China”, “China (Republic : 1949)” and “Taiwan”, and this kind of inconsistency defeats the purpose of authorized access points or authority control to enable more precise search results. From a user’s perspective, it is very challenging to search using these names, as there is no unified search strategy they can employ to achieve comprehensive search results. The LC-PCC PS for RDA 16.4 (for Taiwan) is simply carried over from the LCRI (LC rule interpretation) without any solution for the existing problems.
Charges:
- Examine all related issues, in consultation with current standards and instructions, as well as LC, PCC, and OCLC.
- Make recommendations with options to address the issues, including proposing revisions to the LC-PCC PS, with an analysis of the pros and cons of each option.
- Develop a CEAL proposal to the LC PSD and/or PCC for a PS (policy statement) revision that would reinforce best practices to meet the goals of consistency and user discovery.
- Stand ready to help plan and carry out database cleanup.
Term:
- March, 2016-
- Preliminary report due on October 15th, 2017
- Final report due on January 31st, 2018
Membership:
- Charlene Chou (NYU), Chair
- Shi Deng (UCSD), CJK NACO Coordinator
- Sarah Elman (Retired from Columbia University)
- Jia Xu (Yale)
- Hsi-chu bolick (U North Carolina)
- Stephen Qiao (U Toronto)
- Ex-Officio: Chengzhi Wang (CCM Chair, Columbia) & Naomi Shiraishi (CTP Chair, UC Berkeley)
- LC liaison: Jessalyn Zoom
For the previous subcommittees, go to: CEAL CTP Subcommittees, Task Forces and Working Groups