ATLA offers NACO Training 

February 26- March 2, 2007
at the Cenacle Conference and Retreat Center 
in Chicago, Illinois

Instructor: Judy Knop, ATLA Digitization Coordinator

This is the fifth such training in the past ten years. There are currently ten active participants in the funnel project, and we hope to add more through this training, increasing our contribution to the national Name Authority File in the area of religion. One of the main benefits of participation to the local library is the reduction in catalog maintenance.

The underlying principle of the NACO program is that participants agree to follow a common set of standards and guidelines when creating or changing authority records in order to maintain the integrity of a large shared authority file. During the week of NACO training, these standards and guidelines are discussed and built upon with a view to streamlining processes while building a consistent and predictable file that will reduce the duplication of efforts of the global library community and maximize its resources. The workshop consists of a study of the standards and guidelines in the morning, with time for practice in the afternoon. Participants will create authority records and will contribute them to the national Name Authority File during the week of training.

Requirements include institutional or personal membership in ATLA; 1-2 years cataloging experience; a letter of support from your supervisor or library director indicating a willingness to permit ongoing time for authority creation. Participants will use a laptop computer with internet connectivity during the training and are encouraged to bring their own, or may rent one locally for $200.

To apply, send an email to jknop@atla.com containing your name, title, institution, address, phone, fax, email, a statement summarizing your cataloging experience, a statement indicating what type of records you anticipate creating, and an indication of how many you might realistically expect to create in a given time period.

Participants will be responsible for travel and lodging expenses. ATLA has arranged for overnight lodging at the Cenacle for a discounted price of $225 for the week. Additional nights and meals may be requested. ATLA has made every effort to minimize the expenses related to this training for all participants and will fully subsidize the instructor and materials expense for the course. There is no additional financial assistance available at this time.

The cost of the training is as follows:

• Registration fee: $265 (includes breakfast and lunch, parking and wireless internet access for five days)
• Overnight fee (includes single room for five nights): $225
• A laptop computer with wireless internet connectivity is required for the training. ATLA can arrange for a rental laptop for an additional $200.