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Technical Subcommittee on Descriptive Standards Charge
I. Purpose
The Technical Subcommittee on Descriptive Standards (TSDS) is responsible
for developing, maintaining, monitoring, and promulgating standards used
by archivists to describe their holdings. This includes descriptive
standards developed within the SAA as well as those developed outside the
archival community.
II. Committee Selection, Size, and Length of Term
TSDS consists of six appointed members, who serve staggered three-year
terms, one of whom shall be appointed annually to serve as chair, and six
ex officio members. Ex officio members of TSDS are:
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Chair of the SAA Description Section or designee
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Chair of the SAA Reference, Access and Outreach Section or designee
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SAA's representative to the American Library Association's Committee on
Machine Readable Bibliographic Information (MARBI), responsible for
maintenance of the MARC formats
- [NOTE: SAA's MARBI liaison serves a 2-year term and is appointed by
the incoming SAA President, with advice from the chair of the Appointments
Committee and the chairs of the Standards Committee and TSDS.]
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SAA's representative to the American Library Association's Committee on
Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA), responsible for maintenance
of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules
- [NOTE: SAA's CC:DA liaison serves a 2-year term and is appointed by
the incoming SAA President, with advice from the chair of the Appointments
Committee and the chairs of the Standards Committee and TDSD.]
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Representative from the Canadian Council of Archives' Canadian Committee
on Archival Description
- [NOTE: The chair of CCAD is responsible for either serving as liaison
or appointing someone to serve in that capacity. The chair of CCAD serves
for a 3-year term with possible renewal.]
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Chair of the Encoded Archival Description Working Group (EADWG),
responsible for the maintenance of EAD
The chair of the Standards Committee, in consultation with the current
chair of the TSDS, makes the appointments. Because technical expertise
is expected of TSDS members, re-appointments are permitted when
necessary. The chair of the Subcommittee serves as a regular or ex
officio member of the Standards Committee.
TSDS may be disbanded by the Standards Committee. TSDS may form
and disband Working Groups to focus on specific descriptive standards.
Working Groups are ad hoc and their charges are renewed annually; certain
working groups for on-going, complex standards might continue for many
years. Individuals who are not members of SAA may serve as regular
or ex officio members of Working Groups.
III. Reporting Procedures
The chair prepares and submits an annual report to the chair of the
Standards Committee. Working Group chairs are responsible for
preparing and submitting an annual report of the group's activities to the
TSDS chair in time for distribution to TSDS members at the SAA annual
meeting.
IV. Duties and Responsibilities
To fulfill its mission as described above, the Subcommittee is
specifically charged with:
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Evaluating proposals for formal SAA endorsement of archival descriptive
standards as requested by the SAA Standards Committee.
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Conducting maintenance reviews of SAA-endorsed internal and external
descriptive standards in accordance with the established review cycle for
each standard or as requested by the Standards Committee.
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Providing expert analysis and opinion to external organizations, SAA
Council, and other SAA groups on proposed changes to existing and emerging
descriptive standards and archival descriptive practice in general.
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Promoting and facilitating development of archival descriptive standards,
recommending descriptive standards for SAA endorsement, and establishing
cooperative projects for the reporting and collocation of descriptive
information.
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Monitoring changes to external standards, including but not limited to
the MARC format, ISAD(G), and ISAAR(CPF), that affect descriptive
practice.
V. Meetings and Communication
TSDS meets at least once a year, during the SAA annual meeting, but
may also request support for a mid-year meeting should the business of
the Subcommittee necessitate it. Such a request would be directed
through the Standards Committee.
TSDS maintains a closed listserv to facilitate communication between
Subcommittee members and other interested individuals, who may apply to
TSDS for inclusion in that listserv. TSDS members may also conduct
business through direct electronic mail and/or other Internet communication
vehicles (e.g., World Wide Web sites). The Subcommittee may establish
rules for electronic communication and decision-making each year at the
discretion of the chair. Opinions expressed in any of these venues
are only those of the individual sender, and do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of the entire Subcommittee nor of SAA.
Official statements from TSDS may only be made by the chair of the
Subcommittee or the chair's designated spokesperson. TSDS cannot
make official statements on behalf of the Society of American Archivists.
Last updated: September 1998
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