Welcome to the String Encoding Scheme Working Group

This week the RSC was able to discharge the Extent Working Group, as it passes the baton to the String Encoding Scheme Working Group, whose first duty will be to see the Extent proposals through to completion. 

At the January RSC Meeting, voting members were happy to approve the direction of travel recommended by Thomas Brenndorfer (Chair, pictured) and the rest of the Extent Working Group - Gordon Dunsire, Keith Knop, Liz O'Keefe, Mark Scharff, Alice Robinson, James Hennelly (ex officio) and Chris Holden (ex officio). This will be carried forward by the SES Working Group - Thomas Brenndorfer (Chair), Gordon Dunsire, Ebe Kartus, Keith Knop, Getaneh Alemu (ex officio), Jessica Grzegorski (ex officio), James Hennelly (ex officio), Chris Holden (ex officio) and Elisa Sze (ex officio). 

The increased number of ex officio members reflects not only an influx of technical expertise and enthusiasm in the case of Dr Getaneh Alemu, but also the recognition of the RSC that context is particularly important for SES. In discussion of the Extent proposals in January, it was clear that both Examples and Guidance would need to be considered very carefully and so our Examples Editor and Education and Orientation Officer were happy to volunteer. As Elisa Sze said at the time, "Guidance is vital not only in training those who are using RDA for the very first time, but also for all of us who are adjusting to changes in the text. It can also provide us with clarity when we are making a decision, as all cataloguing agencies must when they make decisions around whether to use unstructured description or structured description like SES." 

RSC Chair Renate Behrens and Working Group Chair Thomas Brenndorfer were both clear in January in stressing, in answer to a question from observers in the Public Session, that the Extent SES were intended to be used by cataloguing agencies who wanted to use structured description. "Unstructured description is always an option. The Extent proposals are for those who choose structured description," they said. They hope that Jessica and Elisa will help ensure that context is clear in the next round of proposals.

In discharging the Extent Working Group, Renate thanked all members very much for their service. Task and Finish Working Groups are intended to run for two years, and these individuals gave double that time in working out the conceptual route forward for this complex area of cataloguing. 

Welcoming the SES Working Group, she thanked Thomas, Gordon Dunsire and Keith Knop for their willingness to stay on. All three are long-standing members of the RDA community who have contributed both conceptually and practically to its development over a number of years. Gordon was, of course, the de facto architect of the standard, and both he and new SES Working Group member Ebe Kartus are heavily involved in the design of SES at IFLA. As Renate said, "The SES Working Group is small in number because of the level of technical expertise it requires. The list of names on its roster is a testament to that, and we are very grateful that this team of experts is willing to recommend to us the best routes forward for SES."