The Library of Congress >> Especially for Librarians and Archivists >> Standards

MARC Standards

HOME >> MARC Development >> Discussion Paper List


MARC DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 2021-DP11

DATE: May 27, 2021
REVISED:

NAME: Recording Non-Cartographic Scale Content in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format

SOURCE: MARC/RDA Working Group

SUMMARY: This paper explores the option to broaden the field definition and scope in field 507 (Scale Note for Graphic Material) in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format to better align with the RDA scale definition when recording non-cartographic scale content.

KEYWORDS: Field 507 (BD); Scale Note for Graphic Material (BD); Field 034 (BD); Coded Cartographic Mathematical Data (BD); Field 255 (BD); Cartographic Mathematical Data (BD); Scale (BD); RDA Toolkit Restructure and Redesign Project; RDA

RELATED:

STATUS/COMMENTS:
05/27/21 – Made available to the MARC community for discussion.

06/29/21 – Results of MARC Advisory Committee discussion: The paper was generally supported. There were suggestions to rename field 507 to be consistent with the field definition. The question of why field 034 was not suitable for recording controlled or numerical values  for "scale designation" in $0 and $1 arose, since 2021-13 had essentially expanded the use of 034 for recording coordinates in non-cartographic resources. It was noted that there is a tighter connection, with respect to recording scale, between 034 and 255, the latter being exclusively defined to apply to cartographic resources. Field 507 is the only acceptable place by the cartographic cataloging community for recording scale information for non-cartographic resources.  The paper will return as a proposal, pursuing field 507, with added examples to illustrate the application.


Discussion Paper No. 2021-DP11: Recording Non-Cartographic Scale Content

1. BACKGROUND

In new RDA toolkit, scale is defined as an element in the expression level:

"A ratio of the dimensions of an expression of an image or three-dimensional form to the dimensions of the thing that is represented. Scale can apply to horizontal, vertical, angular, or other measurements represented in an expression."
(cf: https://access.rdatoolkit.org/Content/Index?externalId=en-US_ala-872a7f9b-18be-3eca-9aa1-d2abd3f4e4e8)

RDA scale element can be recorded in structured or unstructured methods. The RDA scale definition is broad enough to include both cartographic content, and non-cartographic content in still image or three-dimensional form. There is an example of a scale of a model of a human ear at 7.25.1.3 in Original RDA Toolkit. This paper examines the option to record the scale of non-cartographic content in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format.

RDA Toolkit also provides an option to use scale designation to supplement the scale element. It is defined as:

"A general designation of the lack of a ratio of the dimensions of the content of an image or three-dimensional form to the dimensions of the thing that is represented."
(cf: https://access.rdatoolkit.org/Content/Index?externalId=en-US_ala-e840e444-4853-3a44-af00-6b5a5bad8de1)

The RDA scale designation element is associated with its own vocabulary encoding scheme (VES) as set out below:

not drawn to scale
scale not given
scale varies
scales differ

As it is a separate issue from recording the RDA scale element, the MARC/RDA Working Group has decided to leave this topic out of the scope of this paper, but welcomes cartographic and visual materials communities to explore options to include the RDA Scale Designation VES in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format.

2. DISCUSSION

In the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format, the following fields, subfields, and indicator values are defined to record scale element:

034 - Coded Cartographic Mathematical Data (R)

First Indicator: Type of scale
0 - Scale indeterminable/No scale recorded
1 - Single scale
3 - Range of scales


$a - Category of scale (NR)
$b - Constant ratio linear horizontal scale (R)
$c - Constant ratio linear vertical scale (R)

255 - Cartographic Mathematical Data (R)

$a - Statement of scale (NR)

507 - Scale Note for Graphic Material (NR)

$a - Representative fraction of scale note (NR)
$b - Remainder of scale note (NR)

In addition to the three fields, field 500 (General Note) can also be used to record unstructured scale element. As field 500 is not intended to record the scale element specifically, it is not included in the discussion.

Fields 034 (Coded Cartographic Mathematical Data) and 255 (Cartographic Mathematical Data) have been clearly indicated to record cartographic content in their field names. In general, field 255 $a (Statement of scale) is used to provide descriptive information intended for the end users' display; while field 034 provides granularity in first indicator values and subfield $a (Category of scale), $b (Constant ratio linear horizontal scale), and $c (Constant ratio linear vertical scale), to make the cartographic scale content machine actionable. Both fields have served the purpose of recording cartographic scale element, but are unlikely candidates to record the scale information for non-cartographic content. In addition, both fields are twinned in recording cartographic information. There can be a potential risk to break the system if a modification to either field is proposed.

Field 507 (Scale Note for Graphic Material) was initially designed to record the map scale, but was broadened later to "architectural drawings or three-dimensional artifacts" scale information. The current definition is narrower than the RDA definition. When recording other types of still images, i.e. a print of painting, users have to use field 500 (General Note), but are not allowed to use field 507 based on the Field Definition and Scope.

3. PROPOSED CHANGES

In the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format, broaden the field 507 Field Definition and Scope to better align with the RDA scale definition (changed text in bracketed italics) to record the non-cartographic scale content, as follows:

507 - Scale Note for Graphic Material (NR)

Field Definition and Scope
Scale of a graphic material item given as a note. For visual materials, this field contains the scale of [images, for example,]architectural drawings, or three-dimensional artifacts [forms]. For maps, the scale of an item is contained in this field only in pre-AACR 2 cataloging records. Scale information is contained in field 255 (Mathematical Data Area) in AACR 2 formulated records.

4. BIBFRAME DISCUSSION

BIBFRAME includes the property bf:scale and its definition can be similarly adjusted.

5. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

5.1. Is field 507 the appropriate field to record non-cartographic content information in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format?

5.2. Is the need to broaden the field 507 Field Definition and Scope to better align with the RDA definition sufficiently articulated?

5.3. Are there other options to record non-cartographic scale content that should be explored?

5.4. Is there anything else that should be taken into account?


HOME >> MARC Development >> Discussion Paper List

The Library of Congress >> Especially for Librarians and Archivists >> Standards
(10/22/2021)
Legal | External Link Disclaimer Contact Us