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DATE: December 18, 2024
REVISED:
NAME: Adding a Code for Remote Sensing Image to Fields 008/25 and 006/08 (Maps) in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format
SOURCE: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus Library - Cataloging Committee for Cartographic Materials
SUMMARY: This paper proposes adding an additional code for "Remote sensing images" to fields 008/25 and 006/08 (Maps, Type of cartographic material) in the MARC 21 Bibliographic Format in order to provide enough granularity for useful faceting and statistical reporting in library OPACs.
KEYWORDS: Maps (BD); Remote sensing images (BD); Field 008/25 (Maps) (BD); Field 006/08 (Maps) (BD); Type of cartographic material (BD); Aerial photographs (BD)
STATUS/COMMENTS:
12/18/24 – Made available to the MARC community for discussion.
01/29/25 – Results of MARC Advisory Committee discussion: MAC was generally sympathetic to the use case, with broad agreement that using the value of "z" for "Other" is inadequate. Comments conveyed a wide variety of operational and implementation concerns with the proposed solution, including the existence of code values for this content in other control fields and the possibility of leveraging genre terminology. There was also general agreement that there should be clarification of the definitions in terms of defining remote images, maps, aerial photographs, etc. There are complex dynamics regarding aerial photographs in the context of remote sensing images and regarding remote sensing images in the context of cartographic resources, and these should be taken into consideration. There was strong support in the committee and agreement by the authors to collaborate with the cartographic cataloging community to develop any future paper. The paper may return as a proposal or as a revised discussion paper.
AACR2 defines a wide array of materials as cartographic materials, all defined as "e" in LDR position 6: "Any material representing the whole or part of the earth or any celestial body at any scale. Cartographic materials include two- and three-dimensional maps and plans (including maps of imaginary places); aeronautical, navigational, and celestial charts; atlases; globes; block diagrams; sections; aerial photographs with a cartographic purpose; bird's-eye views (map views), etc."
Those cartographic materials can be distinguished into different types of cartographic material in two control fields: field 008 (Fixed-Length Data Elements - General Information) and field 006 (Fixed-Length Data Elements - Additional Material Characteristics) . In both fields the existing types of cartographic materials that can be coded are:
a - Single map
b - Map series
c - Map serial
d - Globe
e - Atlas
f - Separate supplement to another work
g - Bound as part of another work
u - Unknown
z - Other
| - No attempt to code
In the past, our library catalog did not contain aerial photographs. Our collection mainly consisted of map sheets and atlases. The distinctions that are made in the above list of types of cartographic materials were adequate for our needs. In recent years, however, a large number of historical aerial photographs has been added to the library's collection of cartographic materials. They have been scanned, and uploaded to our catalog. Whereas we added a specific 655 field to the cataloging records of our aerial photographs, and can distinguish them in that way in our OPAC search, we feel that the treatment and search for aerial photographs in our catalog and especially in our back office would be more manageable if they were also represented in coded form as a distinct cartographic type. In our day and age, where machine readable coded information becomes increasingly important and finds more and more uses, such a distinction is elementary for the optimal use of our resources.
Since aerial photographs are part of the broader category "remote sensing images", we choose to focus on the broader category for this discussion. According to the U.S. Geological Survey website, "Remote sensing is the process of detecting and monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation at a distance (typically from satellite or aircraft). Special cameras collect remotely sensed images, which help researchers 'sense' things about the Earth." Images of remote sensing can be produced by cameras on satellites and airplanes, and they can be used for various applications such as land cover monitoring, disaster management, urban planning, traffic control, historical and geographical research and more.
In MARC21, the following three fields are used to describe coded information in a bibliographic record:
006 - Fixed-Length Data Elements - Additional Material Characteristics
007 - Physical Description Fixed Field - General information
008 - Fixed-Length Data Elements - General information
If the bibliographic record describes a cartographic material, the LDR in position 06 has the type of record: e = cartographic material
The Type of cartographic material can be specified in fields 008/25 and 006/08 as follows:
a - Single map
b - Map series
c - Map serial
d - Globe
e - Atlas
f - Separate supplement to another work
g - Bound as part of another work
u - Unknown
z - Other
| - No attempt to code
In this list there are basically three defined types of cartographic material:
- map
- globe
- atlas
The other categories are "map series" (Number of related but physically separate and bibliographically distinct cartographic units intended by the producer(s) or issuing body(s) to form a single group); "map serial" (a serial in the subject of maps); and a separate "supplement" or "bound part" to another work.
If the material does not fall into one of those defined categories of cartographic material, one has no choice but to use "Other". The definition of this code is: "None of the other defined codes are appropriate".
When an aerial photograph is cataloged, the only logical choice is "Other", although current practice varies. The fact that in current practice either code "a" (Single map) or code "z" (Other) is used for aerial photographs, points to ambivalence and uncertainty of where to classify this type of cartographic material. Defining a separate category would solve the ambiguity.
A supporting argument for our request is the fact that field 007 has three distinct categories of material for cartographic materials: 007 (Map), 007 (Globe) and 007 (Remote-sensing image).
The three categories for cartographic materials in field 007 are based on distinct elements in each category that set it apart from the other two.
Remote sensing images, including aerial photographs, are important cartographic materials with their own distinct characteristics and uses. Therefore, it would be advisable to be able to have them coded as a separate type, instead of lumping them as "single map" with regular maps, or as "others", which is a very vague and undefined category. This was recognized in field 007 but not in fields 006 and 008.
The fact that MARC has a distinct field 007 for remote sensing images is due to a request in 1996, when catalogers of cartographic material felt the need to treat remote sensing images separately from other cartographic materials: they submitted a proposal (97-6), which was accepted, to add a separate 007 field for remote sensing images, as opposed to the regular 007 field for maps.
If there is a separate 007 field for a specific type of cartographic material (Remote-sensing image) which fills a need by enabling the coding of specific details of remote sensing images which are not relevant to other cartographic materials, it stands to reason, and would seem an obvious choice, that remote sensing images should also have their own code as a type of cartographic material in fields 008/25 and 006/08 (Maps). This can be accomplished simply by adding an additional value "r" = Remote sensing images to the list in those fields. In view of the ever growing need for machine readable coded information, for which purpose the 008 and 006 fields were devised, we strongly advise to enable the addition.
To adequately describe Remote sensing images as a specific type of cartographic material in the 008 and 006 (Maps) fixed fields in the Bibliographic Format, an additional value is proposed, as follows:
008/25 and 006/08 - Type of cartographic material
One-character alphabetic code that indicates the type of cartographic item described.
r - Remote sensing image
Example of an existing record
Example of an existing record
LDR 01430nem#a2200385#i#4500
006 e#######z###o#0###
007 ar#az|||
007 ru#bc0bbuaa
008 000000e19611019is########z###o#0#z#zxx#d
035 $$a (HUJ)9921423760403701
245 $$a [Aerial Photograph] Flight 125 Photo 4179.[https://huji.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/972HUJI_INST/9os3m6/alma9921423760403701]
Example of a proposed record
LDR 01430nem#a2200385#i#4500
006 e#######r###o#0###
007 ar#az|||
007 ru#bc0bbuaa
008 000000e19611019is########r###o#0#z#zxx#d
035 $$a (HUJ)9921423760403701
245 $$a [Aerial Photograph] Flight 125 Photo 4179.
The MARC-to-BIBFRAME conversion can be modified to include this addition. The software does not convert remote-sensing data from the 007 field at this time, and it would probably be evaluated for inclusion in a future software update.
6.1. Is it justified to have a separate code for remote sensing images? Why wouldn't "Other" be specific enough?
6.2. Is the term "remote sensing image" understandable, or is "aerial photograph" preferable?
6.3. Which categories are included in remote sensing images?
6.4. Are there any alternative format solutions to what is being proposed?
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