PCC Resources for
Prepared by Ed Jones
Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records (Mnchen, 1998) is the product of a study undertaken following the 1990 Stockholm Seminar on Bibliographic Records to delineate in clearly defined terms the functions performed by the bibliographic record with respect to various media, various applications, and various user needs. FRBR does so by means of a conceptual model that identifies and defines: (1) entities of interest to users of bibliographic records; (2) their attributes; and (3) the relationships that operate between them.
Since its approval by the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Cataloging, FRBR has provided the basis for intensive analyses of both the cataloging codes used in the creation of bibliographic records and the machine systems designed to manipulate those records.
The FRBR model defines three groups of entities: Group 1 entities are the products of intellectual or artistic endeavor (content); Group 2 entities are those responsible for the creation of that content, its physical production and dissemination, and its custodianship; and Group 3 entities are (along with the Group 1 and 2 entities) the subjects of that content.
It is the Group 1 entities that so far have attracted the most attention, both from those engaged in analyzing existing cataloging codes for conformity with FRBR and from those engaged in creating so-called FRBR-ized catalogs from databases of existing bibliographic records. This focus on Group 1 entities has occurred both because Group 2 and 3 entities are typically under authority control (and so must await completion of FRBRs companion study, Functional Requirements of Authority Numbering and Records [FRANAR]) and because Group 1 contains a particularly problematic entity: the expression.
The FRBR model defines four Group 1 entities, from the most abstract to the most concrete. A work (a distinct intellectual or artistic creation) is realized through one or more expressions (expressed in some set notation [alphanumeric, musical, etc.], in sound, in image, as an object, etc., or in some combination of these), which in turn may be physically embodied in one or more manifestations (e.g., a printed book, a videotape, a CD-ROM), that finally may be exemplified as one or more items (i.e. individual copies of such books, videotapes, etc.).
Current cataloging practice in the AACR2 community typically occurs at the level of the manifestation, though the use of standard headings and uniform titles enables their collocation in order to represent greater levels of abstraction. This abstraction typically occurs at the level of the work, though it may sometimes occur at a level intermediate between the work and the manifestation (e.g., translations). Beyond this, some CONSER cataloging takes place de facto at this intermediate level rather than at the manifestation level (i.e., US Newspaper Program master records representing both the print original and any microreproductions; and aggregator-neutral records for electronic serials appearing in aggregations).
Problems with the expression entity arise from both its vagueness and its precision. Interpreted strictly, it becomes almost indistinguishable from the manifestation. Such an interpretation might be appropriate to rare-book and other specialist cataloging. Interpreted broadly, however, it can become virtually indistinguishable from the work. In the context of union catalogs and the sharing of bibliographic records, where different agencies may apply incompatible interpretations, this becomes problematic. Current projects aimed at applying FRBR to existing bibliographic databases (LC, OCLC, RLG, VTLS) have also encountered problems with the expression entity.
Prospectively, the impact of FRBR may be even more dramatic. Over the coming decade, FRBR will serve as the basis of comparison for a worldwide analysis of cataloging codes. This comparative analysis may ultimately lead to the development of an international cataloging code (ICC). The first IFLA Meeting of Experts (IME ICC) was held in Frankfurt in 2003.
Background documents, databases, etc.
FRBR Review Group documents (including FRBR)
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/wgfrbr/wgfrbr.htm (external link)
FRBR overview (PowerPoint presentation by B. Tillett, Toronto,
2003)
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ALCTS/Continuing_Education2/Presentations/Tillett.ppt (external link)
LC FRBR-related activities
http://www.loc.gov/marc/marc-functional-analysis/functional-analysis.html (external link)
OCLC FRBR-related activities
http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/frbr/default.htm (external link)
RLG FRBR-related activities (RedLightGreen)
http://www.rlg.org/redlightgreen/ (external link)
VTLS FRBR-based catalog (Chameleon)
http://hermes.vtls.com:8000/cgi-bin/gw_42_16/chameleon (external link)
VTLS overview (PowerPoint presentation by V. Chachra & J. Espley, Toronto, 2003) http://www.vtls.com/documents/FRBR.PPT (external link)
IME ICC papers (including PowerPoint meeting report by B. Tillett, Berlin, 2003) http://www.ddb.de/news/ifla_conf_papers.htm (external link)
