Hidden Franco American holdings

Dear colleagues,

Here (hopefully) pasted and attached is an important announcement. Those of you who are interested in what we are doing for and about Franco-Americans at Keene State College
can contact me directly. Please copy me at both my e-mails: mlangfor@keene.edu and mslang@sover.net.

I’ll compile the results for the WIF list.

Amitiés,

Margaret

“Franco-American” is now an official Library of Congress search term!

All new publications concerning the Franco-American will be catalogued under this heading in the future. Even casual browsers will be able to find works written by or about Franco-Americans. This was impossible in the past.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the process of creating a new Library of Congress search term, here is a brief overview. There are very few US libraries that can help with such requests. And only certain librarians in these libraries can craft and forward the necessary documentation to the Library of Congress. Several years ago, my Librarian colleague Patrick O’Brien, and I (Margaret Langford) asked Manon Théroux, Yale Librarian, to do so. What transpired next is an exciting saga that would require more than this short note to tell in detail.

Thanks to the efforts of Rhéa Côté Robbins who created an electronic discussion list for the purpose, many Franco-Americans expressed their sentiments. I forwarded a distillation of these conversations to Manon. However, as some of you may know, the Library of Congress requires that all requests be based on a review of print materials. Manon undertook this task on our behalf, and this January we received the good news (see her letter on the next page.) Manon saw the process through to the end, even after her departure from Yale to become head of Cataloging and Media Services at George Mason University.

For all of you interested in the Franco-Americans, there is still much to be done. Many libraries contain precious hidden holdings: Franco-American writings dating back to the mid 1800’s. To uncover these treasures, here is what is needed: a willing Librarian and any information necessary to assist in this process. Some of the tools are easily available. You may be aware of Pierre Anctil’s excellent bibliography Anctil, Pierre. A Franco-American Bibliography: New England. Bedford, NH: National Material Development Center, 1979. It is still available through the Franco-American Centre in Manchester, New Hampshire, as are the reprints of number of Franco-American classics reprinted by the National Materials Development Center for French in the 1970s and 1980s. The link is: http://www.francoamericancentre.com My colleague Patrick and I would also be happy to be of assistance.

Margaret S. Langford, Professor of French and Franco-American Studies
Keene State College
Keene, NH 03431
mlangfor@keene.edu



Here is the announcement we received in January:

January 30, 2008

Dear Margaret and Patrick,

Well, it's been a long time in coming but I'm very happy to report that the Library of Congress has accepted our proposal. Their catalog now has an established subject authority record for "Franco-Americans" with a scope note that reads:

"Here are entered works on people of French-Canadian birth or ancestry who are permanent residents of the United States, including naturalized citizens. Works on French-Canadian aliens, students, etc. living in the United States on a temporary basis are entered under "French-Canadians--United States". Works on people of French birth or ancestry who are permanent residents of the United States, including naturalized citizens, are entered under "French Americans."

You can see the full authority record here: http://authorities.loc.gov/ . Just click "Search Authorities" and then search the term "Franco-Americans"

You can also search the subject in their catalog and see which works they have assigned the heading to: http://catalog.loc.gov/ . Just select "Subject Browse” and search the term "Franco-Americans"

Thank you so much for originally suggesting the term so long ago and for all your patience in seeing it through the long submission process! Tenacity wins the day!

A happy new year to you both,

Manon

Manon Théroux
Head, Cataloging & Metadata Services
George Mason University
Fenwick Library, MSN 2FL
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030