2/14/07
A discussion on the NACO-Music e-mail list concerning the current exception not to treat composers and performers as "contemporary authors" under AACR2 22.2B3 and applicable LCRIs has led to a reexamination of the need for the exception.
Before 2000, this exception resided only in the Music Cataloging Decisions (MCDs) [no longer published] and was applied by Library of Congress music catalogers and members of the NACO-Music funnel. NACO contributors unaware of the MCD may have created separate records for contemporary composers and performers under the conditions authorized in AACR2. The placement of the exception in LCRI 22.2 when it was moved from the MCDs has also generated some degree of confusion, misinterpretation, and misapplication (AACR2 itself discusses only "contemporary authors" in 22.2B3).
Given these issues, and the fact that the Cataloging Policy and Support Office has found contradictory information as to the reasons for the exception in the first place, CPSO recommends that the exception be removed from LCRI 22.2. This action may result in the creation of multiple name authority records for contemporary composers and performers (i.e., they will be treated like all other "authors"). This may raise questions about how many NARs to create for authors that are known to have (or use) numerous pseudonyms; thus LCRI 22.2 will continue to be available to assist catalogers in making judgments regarding the number of records to create. This LCRI also provides instructions for linking separately established records so that catalog users can still discover all the different names used by a single author.
- Send comments or questions to CPSO by March 9, 2007.
- Draft revision of LCRI 22.2
(PDF- 2 p.; 25.4K)
