PCC Resources for
June 19, 2017
PSD policy specialist responsible for this list: J. Young
CLASSIFICATION
Announcement
PN1992.922-PN1992.928, Internet broadcasts. Webcasts
This list included a development for Internet broadcasts, also known as webcasts. The range of numbers follows those for radio and television broadcasting, and is in the same hierarchy. As with the ranges for radio and television broadcasting, this new range should be used to classify works about the content, production and direction, authorship, etc., of individual fictional webcasts and also webcasts treated collectively. Works on the content, etc., of individual nonfiction webcasts should be classed with the subject of the webcast.
Works on the technological aspects of Internet broadcasting should continue to be classified in the technology schedules.
Other decisions:
BQ9519.S66-.S669
Other biographies of Sŏngch'ŏl Sŏnsa have been classified in BQ988.O64957, and the meeting prefers to continue that practice. The proposal was not necessary.
G6491.S73
G6491 is subarranged by Table G1, and World War II appears at .S7 in that table. This proposal to class World War II at G6491.S73 appears to have been made because it has been used five times in LC’s shelflist. Approving the proposal would make it appear that World War II is classed in two different places within G6491, and that would cause even more confusion. The proposal was not approved.
QP278.4; QP278.5
QP278.4 was proposed as a number for general works on sex determination. General works on sex determination were already classified at QP278.5, and the proposal sought to change the scope of that number to works specifically on genetic sex determination. Classification numbers are generally not redefined in that way. Further, genetic sex determination is the most common form of sex determination. The meeting therefore changed the caption at QP278.5 to “Sex determination. Genetic sex determination.” The proposal for QP278.4 was not approved.
QP278.53; QP278.55
QP278.53 was proposed for environmental sex determination, while QP278.55 was proposed for temperature-dependent sex determination. Most environmental sex determination is based on temperature. Therefore, QP278.53 will cover both environmental sex determination in general and based on temperature. The proposal for QP278.55 was not approved.
TX719.2.B47
TX719.2.A-Z is a list of styles of French cooking. If Berry is a particular style of cooking, and not just cooking using local ingredients, it should be proposed as a subject heading (Cooking, French—Berry style). However, if the work is about cooking in Berry, France, in general, then it should be classified in TX719, general works about French cooking, and assigned the headings Cooking, French and Cooking—France—Berry. The proposal may be resubmitted if Berry is a style of cooking.
SUBJECT HEADINGS
Subdivisions to be added to lists of free-floating subdivisions:
H 1200, Wars
$x Deaf (May Subd Geog)
$x Participation, Deaf
Other decisions:
American bison remains (Archaeology); White-tailed deer remains (Archaeology)
There is no precedent in LCSH for headings for the archaeological remains of individual species, and such headings would serve to separate similar materials instead of collocating them. The works may be cataloged by assigning the heading for the species along with the heading Mammal remains (Archaeology). The proposals were not approved.
Biosphärenreservat Schaalsee (Germany); Biosphärenreservat Schorfheide-Chorin (Germany)
The citations in these proposals do not indicate the locations of the reserves, and therefore do not support the choice of qualifier as required by the principle laid out in SHM H 202 sec. 1.a(6). The proposals may be resubmitted.
Calea Victoriei (Bucharest, Romania)
The citations in this proposal do not indicate the location of the street and therefore do not support the choice of qualifier as required by the principle laid out in SHM H 202 sec. 1.a(6). The proposals may be resubmitted.
Children’s periodicals, Syriac
The proposal includes a cataloger-supplied translation of the title of the work being cataloged, but that title does not support the language qualifier in the proposed heading. The proposal may be resubmitted.
Coal mine subsidences
It is unclear how a coal mine subsidence would differ from the subsidence of any other type of underground mine, and therefore the headings Coal mines and mining and Mine subsidences should be assigned to the work being cataloged. If there is indeed a difference, the proposal may be resubmitted with source citations supporting that fact.
Folk literature, Māvaḷī
The qualifier on the proposal, Māvaḷī, refers to a dialect of Marathi. The dialect is not established in LCSH, so it must be proposed. Proposals for the Māvaḷī dialect and Māvaḷī folk literature may be resubmitted.
Sex differences in sports
The concept of sex differences in sports is brought out with the free-floating combination Sports—Sex differences. The proposal was not necessary.
Haiku, Macedonian
Only a Macedonian title was provided in support of this proposal. The proposal may be resubmitted with information in English that explains the relationship of the proposal to the work being cataloged.
Homeland
This proposal was made to support the proposal Homeland in art, which also appeared on this list and is needed for a work about the depiction of Heimat in art.
The German word Heimat and the English word homeland are not synonymous, because Heimat has emotional, social, and political connotations that homeland does not. The meeting considered whether the proposed heading should be revised to Heimat under the provisions of SHM H 315, Foreign Terms, but found insufficient grounds for doing so.
H 187 states that headings should be proposed for “discrete, identifiable” concepts, and that when a topic is new and but is not discrete and identifiable, the available subject headings that most accurately designate the topic of the work should be assigned. While Heimat is certainly not a new topic, its meaning is not discrete and identifiable.
Works about the depiction of Heimat in various arts and media are have been covered by the headings Homeland in literature, Homeland in motion pictures, Homeland in music, and Homeland in photography, although the base concept of homeland has never been included in LCSH.
There is a rarely invoked exception in LCSH that allows a derivative phrase heading such as [topic] in art to be approved without a heading for the base topic. The existence of headings such as Homeland in literature lead the meeting to believe that this practice was invoked for homeland years ago, and wishes to continue it.
The proposal for Homeland was not approved because the concepts of homeland and Heimat are sufficiently distinct from each other that they cannot be used interchangeably, although Heimat is sometimes translated as homeland.
The proposal for Homeland in art was approved and should be used for works about either homeland or Heimat as a theme in art because Homeland in art is the subject heading that most accurately reflects the topic of the work being cataloged.
Human behavior genetics
Works about human behavior genetics have been assigned the heading Behavior genetics. The meeting wishes to continue that practice. A UF Human behavior genetics has been added to Behavior genetics. The proposal was not approved.
Humorous stories, Indonesian
The proposal includes a cataloger-supplied summary of the work being cataloged, but that summary does not support the language qualifier in the proposed heading. The proposal may be resubmitted.
Incantations, Hungarian
Headings for the incantations of a specific ethnic group are qualified by the ethnic group. The work being cataloged is about incantations of Csangos. A proposal for Incantations, Casango, may be resubmitted.
Jews in the theater
The work being cataloged is a study of how that Jews were depicted in theatrical productions in the 19th century. Headings in the form [ethnic group or class of persons] in the theater are used for works discussing all aspects of the group’s involvement in the theater. Works about the group as a theme are entered under [ethnic group or class of persons] in literature (see the scope notes on Blacks in the theater and Women in the theater). The work may be assigned the existing heading Jews in literature along with headings for theater. The proposal was not approved.
Learning ability in children
Works about the learning ability of children have been assigned the heading Learning ability. The work being cataloged is adequately described by the headings Learning ability and Special education. The proposal was not approved.
Mausoleum of Helena (Rome, Italy)
The subdivision –Tomb is free-floating under names of individual persons (H 1110). The heading Helena, Saint, approximately 255-approximately 330—Tomb should be assigned to the work being cataloged. The proposal was not necessary.
Names, Sobaipuri
The qualifier Sobiapuri refers to a language that is not yet established in LCSH. A proposal for the language should be submitted and the proposal for Names, Sobiapuri, should be revised to include a UF in the form [language]—Names, as indicated by the UFs for analogous headings. The proposal may be resubmitted.
Purley Park (Purley on Thames, England)
The citations provide useful information about the name and history of Purley Park, but do not indicate where it is located. If the estate was in the town of Purley on Thames, the qualifier is correct, but if it was not, then it should be qualified by England (see H 1334 sec. 3). The proposal may be resubmitted with a citation that indicates the location of the estate.
Reportage literature, Russian
Only a Russian title was provided in support of this proposal. The proposal may be resubmitted with information in English that explains the relationship of the proposal to the work being cataloged. The meeting particularly requests that the information clearly shows whether the work fits into the definition of Reportage literature as indicated in the scope note for that heading, as opposed to Reporters and reporting or Journalism.
Sangu River (Bangladesh)
This proposal was marked resubmit on the list for December 2016. The Summary of Decisions for that list stated:
Geonet includes entries for two rivers of this name in Bangladesh. More research should be done to determine whether the entries in fact refer to the same river. If they do, the variant names provided in one of the entries in Geonet should be cited in the proposal and provided as UFs. The proposal may be resubmitted.
The Geonet citation in the proposal was revised to reflect the “other” river – the one not reflected in the original proposal. However, the revision does not show whether there are two rivers named Sangu in Bangladesh, or if there is a single river with two Geonet entries. The proposal should include information from one or more other reference sources, such as gazetteers and atlases, that shows how many rivers named Sangu are in Bangladesh. This information is necessary because it may affect the qualifier.
The proposal may be resubmitted.
Sectarianism
The work being cataloged is about the effect of sectarianism on Arab countries, not a study of sectarianism as a concept. Similar works have been cataloged with the headings [sect]—Relations—[sect] (e.g., Shīʻah—Relations—Sunnites); Islam and politics; and Arab countries—Politics and government. Other headings may also be relevant depending on the precise focus of the work, including Islamic sects; Islam and civil society; and Islam and state. The proposal was not necessary.
Whirlpool Rapids (N.Y. and Ont.)
The citations provided indicate that the rapids are “in the vicinity of Niagara Falls” and are in Niagara County, N.Y., but not that they are also in Ontario. A citation to support the entire qualifier should be added to the proposal or the qualifier should be adjusted. The proposal may be resubmitted.
Zoque poetry
The work being cataloged appears to be a collection of poetry by a single author. According to H 1800 sec. 2.b, a collection by a single author may not be assigned nonspecific form heading such as the one proposed. The proposal was not necessary.
GENRE/FORM TERMS
Commentaries
The word commentary has multiple meanings. In a bibliographic sense, it can refer to any work that expresses an opinion on a topic, or, more specifically, to a work that critiques another work. The latter is the definition proposed for this proposed term, while the existing term Radio commentaries falls into the former definition. Using the word commentaries in two different ways makes it likely that the unqualified term Commentaries would be used much more broadly than intended, making it so broad as to be meaningless.
LCGFT already includes the term Law commentaries, which is used for systematic interpretation and analysis of legal documents. Following that precedent, the meeting is willing to entertain proposals for individual high-level terms representing commentaries and criticism in particular disciplines, when such usage is clearly supported by reference sources. For example, proposals for literary criticism or Biblical commentaries would be considered if it is clear that practitioners of the discipline refer to commentaries in that way.
The proposal was not approved.
Imaginary voyages
The reference works cited in the proposal indicate that imaginary travel is a plot device that is used in epics, romances, historic works, and in other long narratives. It was also the precursor to modern science fiction, much of which involves travel into the unknown. A large and diverse array of works could fall into the category, including Around the World in 80 Days, The Divine Comedy, Don Quixote, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gulliver’s Travels, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Odyssey, The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Time Machine, and James Fenimore Cooper’s Homeward Bound. An imaginary voyage is also the central plot element in Lear’s The Owl and The Pussycat.
One of the sources cited in the proposal was GSAFD, which includes the term Voyages, Imaginary. That heading has been used only 176 times in OCLC, while Science fiction has been used over 135,500 times, Fantasy fiction, 131,000 times, and Robinsonades, 891 times. Therefore, the GSAFD heading has been assigned to very few works, relative to the number of those that easily fall into the category.
The meeting also considered the fact that LCGFT already includes the term Road fiction, which is defined as “Fiction in which a life-changing journey is a central part of the action.” The existing and proposed terms would have to be defined in clear contrast to each other, and it is unclear how that could be accomplished.
Finally, LCSH includes the heading Voyages, Imaginary, which can be assigned as a topical subject heading to bring out the theme of a literary work that is an epic, science fiction, etc.
In summary, the proposed term has a very wide scope, there is empirical evidence that the term is rarely used when it has been approved for use by another controlled vocabulary, it is difficult to define in opposition to the existing term Road fiction, and imaginary travels can be considered to be the theme or plot device of a literary work instead of a genre. The proposal was not approved.
MEDIUM OF PERFORMANCETERMS
Announcements
Medium of Performance Thesaurus Manual
Drafts of the initial 18 instruction sheets of the Medium of Performance Thesaurus Manual are now available on LC’s website at http://www.loc.gov/aba/publications/FreeLCMPT/freelcmpt.html. When it is complete, the Manual will provide guidelines and instructions for making proposals and for applying medium of performance terms. Additional draft instruction sheets will be posted as they are completed.
Comments on the drafts may be directed to Janis L. Young at [email protected].
Medium of Performance proposals
PSD is now accepting proposals for new and revised medium of performance terms. All proposals should follow the guidelines on form of authorized term, references, scope notes, research, etc., presented in the draft Medium of Performance Thesaurus Manual (see above).
All proposals should be entered in to the Proposal System. LC catalogers should make printouts of the proposals and send them to PSD, just as they do for subject and genre/form proposals. SACO members are encouraged, but not required, to submit their proposals through the SACO Music Funnel. SACO members not making proposals through the funnel should follow established practice and email [email protected] when a proposal is ready for PSD review.
Information about the Music Funnel may be found at http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/mpage/cmc_saco.
