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31-480: The MARC Standards, which BIBFRAME seeks to replace, were developed by Henriette Avram at the U.S. Library of Congress during the 1960s. By 1971, MARC formats had become the national standard for dissemination of bibliographic data in the United States, and the international standard by 1973. In a provocatively titled 2002 article, library technologist Roy Tennant argued that "MARC Must Die", noting that

62-649: A computer science library, she quickly read several library science text books in order to learn the appropriate jargon. She also hired a librarian to assist her in the design process. It was through this project that Avram was introduced to the Library of Congress Card Division Service. She also did consulting work with Frederick Kilgour , father of the Online Computer Library Center , on OCLC's first attempt at computerizing bibliographic information. In March 1965, Avram heard of an opening at

93-619: A cure for cancer , which was prevalent in her family. She therefore majored in pre-medicine at Hunter College . In 1941, she married Herbert Mois Avram , who was enlisted in the Navy. By the end of World War II , he was a decorated Lieutenant Commander who had been assigned to both the Atlantic and Pacific Theatres. The Avrams had three children: Marcie, Lloyd, and Jay, and maintained residence in New York until 1951, when Herbert Avram took

124-683: A decade. At this time she was also chair of the IFLA Working Group on Content Designators, which used the ISBD to develop the international version of MARC format known as UNIMARC . By 1980 Avram was directing a staff of seven hundred in the Processing Department of LC. In her position as the first Director for Processing Systems, Networks and Automation Planning, she was responsible for networking, automation activities, and bibliographic products and services. When Avram became

155-691: A job with the National Security Agency in Washington, D.C. Herbert Avram would also work for the CIA , eventually becoming a pioneer in the digital court reporting industry, which developed Closed Captions for television. The couple moved first to Arlington , and later to Silver Spring . Once settled in Virginia, Avram left her life of homemaking behind. She began studying mathematics at George Washington University and joined

186-493: A linked data alternative to MARC. Later that year, the library announced a new model called MARC Resources (MARCR). That November, the library released a more complete draft of the model, renamed BIBFRAME. The Library of Congress released version 2.0 of BIBFRAME in 2016. BIBFRAME is expressed in RDF and based on three categories of abstraction (work, instance, item), with three additional classes (agent, subject, event) that relate to

217-627: A part of the development of the International Standard for Bibliographic Description for Monograph Publications (ISBD(M)) when she attended an International Meeting of Cataloguing Experts sponsored by the International Federation of Library Association (IFLA) in 1969. A year later, Avram became Chief of MARC Development Office at LC. She continued to head the MARC and RECON projects, but was also responsible for all of

248-544: A problem. Avram won the Virginia State Championship three consecutive times from 1952 to 1954. He won the Maryland Open – and thus became Maryland State Champion – twice, in 1955 and 24 years later in 1979. He was one of the very small fraternity of players to take a point from Bobby Fischer in a rated game, defeating the 14-year-old Brooklyn prodigy in a 1957 New Jersey tournament. Fischer

279-480: A role in this cycle. He also worked in the court reporting (stenography) market. He founded a company in this industry, and his efforts in this field led to the application of Closed Captioning on television. Herbert Avram died in January 2006 at age 92. His wife of 64 years, computer programmer Henriette , succumbed to cancer three months later. This biographical article relating to an American chess figure

310-663: Is much more to do." Herbert Avram Herbert Avram (24 January 1913 – 15 January 2006) was an American chess player, and a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy . He was born in New York City . During and after World War II , he worked at the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency . The sensitive nature of his intelligence work meant that he could never be alone with Soviet chess players in chess tournaments or at chess clubs. However, this rarely, if ever, posed

341-585: The American Library Association and the American National Standards Institute to make it a national standard. Not content with earning the national standard in 1971, Avram continued lobbying until MARC became an International Organization for Standardization standard in 1973. Largely due to her efforts, MARC is now used as the basis for library automation and bibliographic communication throughout

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372-510: The National Security Agency (NSA) in 1952 as one of the first computer programmers working with IBM 701 . In the early 1960s, Avram moved to the private sector working first with the American Research Bureau and later for Datatrol Corporation, a software company. Both jobs consisted of systems analysis and programming, but it was at Datatrol that Avram had her first professional experience with libraries. Asked to design

403-478: The Assistant Librarian for Processing Services three years later, her staff doubled. She was now in charge of cataloging , acquisitions, overseas operations, and development of networking and automation planning. This position lasted for six years. In speaking of her decision to remain with LC, despite other, more lucrative opportunities, Avram said, "I stayed because I loved the place, the people, and

434-766: The Library of Congress, and was hired as a systems analyst in the Office of the Information Systems Specialist. Avram, considered a "librarian by achievement" by the American Library Association (ALA), owed much to the Library of Congress, about which she said, "... when I speak of and refer to it as 'the Great Library,' I do so with sincerity and appreciation for everything that I learned within those walls." Avram

465-539: The RECON Pilot Project, which was never completed. The RECON Project was a plan to convert retrospective materials to MARC format. Because this project was not embraced by LC, retrospective conversion has taken place across the country, rather than as a nationwide coordinated effort. Avram said, "This failure has severely impacted all libraries." She also called lack of support for RECON the "single most disappointing experience" of her career. Avram became

496-626: The automation involved with LC's processing activities. Her duties further expanded when she became the Director of the Network Development Office in 1976. She was then in charge of coordinating library networking and bibliographic resources and standards at both the national and international levels. In addition, she became chair of the LC Network Advisory Committee, a position which she held for over

527-699: The bibliographic record, "she translated what she learned into a set of fields ... bearing a name (the tags), handling instructions (the indicators), and parts (the subfields)." Avram's title at LC changed to Assistant Coordinator of Information Systems in 1967. In this position, she continued to direct the MARC Pilot Project, which concluded in June 1968; she directed the MARC Distribution Service, which began in March 1969; and she began

558-592: The challenge." When she retired from LC in 1992, Avram was the Associate Librarian for Collections Services. Her staff of seventeen hundred was responsible for acquisitions, cataloging, preservation, collection development, overseas operations, network and automation planning, and processing and servicing special format materials. MARC, MAchine-Readable Cataloging , is the method by which paper-and-ink card catalogs were converted to computer catalogs. This automated library systems, in turn greatly enhancing

589-688: The core categories. While the work entity in BIBFRAME may be "considered as the union of the disjoint work and expression entities" in IFLA's Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) entity relationship model, BIBFRAME's instance entity is analogous to the FRBR manifestation entity. This represents an apparent break with FRBR and the FRBR-based Resource Description and Access (RDA) cataloging code. However,

620-481: The death of her husband. She was 86 years old. Avram once said, I'd like to be remembered as a good manager, as having done something that was significant in this world, of service to others. Her energetic, diplomatic leadership and remarkable contribution to automation and bibliographic control are proof that she achieved this goal. Though proud of her accomplishments, Avram's famous drive never quit. "We must not sit back and be satisfied, though," she said, "there

651-488: The feasibility of interlibrary lending and paving the way for networking capabilities. Avram was a key figure in the revolution of librarianship into information science . MARC, in her words, is "an assemblage of formats, publications, procedures, people, standards, systems, equipment, etc., that has evolved over the years stimulating the development of library automation and information networks ... nationally and internationally." MARC has had many incarnations through

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682-440: The model from being used for serials cataloging. BIBFRAME lacks several serials-related data fields available in MARC. A 2014 report was optimistic about BIBFRAME's suitability for describing audio and video resources, but also expressed concern about the high-level Work entity, which is unsuitable for modeling certain audio resources. Henriette Avram Henriette Davidson Avram (October 7, 1919 – April 22, 2006)

713-492: The original BIBFRAME model argues that the new model "can reflect the FRBR relationships in terms of a graph rather than as hierarchical relationships, after applying a reductionist technique." Since both FRBR and BIBFRAME have been expressed in RDF, interoperability between the two models is technically possible. The BIBFRAME model includes a serial entity for journals, magazines, and other periodicals. Several issues have prevented

744-579: The sharing of bibliographic information electronically between libraries using pre-existing cataloging standards. Henriette Regina Davidson was born in Manhattan on October 7, 1919, to a father who was a watch material distributor and a mother who was a Philadelphia Ledger reporter. Although she never intended to become a librarian, Henriette did spend many Saturdays of her childhood reading in neighborhood stores, which, at that time, housed mini-public libraries. Henriette Davidson dreamed of finding

775-429: The standard was old; used only within the library community; and designed to be a display, rather than a storage or retrieval format. A 2008 report from the Library of Congress wrote that MARC is "based on forty-year old techniques for data management and is out of step with programming styles of today." In 2012, the Library of Congress announced that it had contracted with Zepheira , a data management company, to develop

806-492: The subject before tackling the computer solution," Avram, along with two librarians, began this process by examining the information contained in a catalog record. A separate mathematical algorithm would be needed for each piece of information, and there were millions of items in the catalog, in hundreds of different languages. She also studied ALA rules and LC filing rules to learn all that she could about bibliographic control. When Avram had thoroughly examined every aspect of

837-867: The world. Avram was also one of the original planners of the Linked Systems Project. In this role, she was "tireless in spreading the gospel of using international standards to link databases housed on disparate computer systems." Though she never intended to be a librarian, Avram became a "towering figure in library automation and bibliographic control." After retirement, Avram and her husband moved to California, Maryland . The couple remained active through St. Mary's College , where Henriette often arranged for Library of Congress officials to be guest speakers. After Herbert, her husband of sixty-four years, died in their home on January 15, 2006, Henriette relocated to Florida. She died of cancer at Miami's Baptist Hospital on April 22, just three months after

868-550: The years, from the initial Planning Memorandum Number Three, which resulted from that first catalog card analysis at LC, to MARC 1 (as the format was subsequently named after the MARC Pilot System, November 1966-October 1967), and eventually to MARC 21, the format that is used today. Avram is the author of the book, MARC, its history and implications , published by the Library of Congress in 1975. In order to ensure that MARC would be adopted nationwide, she worked with

899-490: Was a computer programmer and systems analyst who developed the MARC format (Machine Readable Cataloging), the international data standard for bibliographic and holdings information in libraries . Avram's development of the MARC format in the late 1960s and early 1970s, at the Library of Congress had a revolutionizing effect on the practice of librarianship , making possible the automation of many library functions and

930-565: Was often noted for her petite stature, New York accent, and indefatigable drive. She was also an adept leader. "She was able to foster a cooperative spirit among the computer specialists and librarians on her staff. In her typical fashion, she stepped into the world of libraries and learned libraries' problems, adopting them as her own." Avram was hired in 1965 by the Library of Congress (LOC) to analyze cataloging data for computer processing. In keeping with her training at NSA, where she learned "the prime necessity of thoroughly understanding

961-506: Was the reigning U.S. Junior champion having won "The Game of the Century" shortly before this game was played. As a player, Avram was noted for his materialism and his dogged defense, although he was also quite capable of launching sparkling attacks on the king. His chess activity tended to be marked by intervals of great activity followed by periods away from the game. The demands of his intelligence work, family life or both may have played

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