DATE: Dec. 2, 1994
REVISED:
NAME: USMARC Authority Records for Genre/Form Terms
SOURCE: Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library
SUMMARY: This paper discusses providing authority control for genre/form terms used in field 655 (Index Term-- Genre/Form). It provides two options: the definition of new fields 155, 455, 555, and 755 in the Authority Format to create authority records for genre/form terms; or, the definition of 008/18 in authority records with field 150 to indicate whether a heading is appropriate for use in field 655.
KEYWORDS: Genre/Form; Index Term--Genre/Form; Field X55 (Authority); Field 008/18 (Authority)
RELATED: DP 63 (Jan. 1993); 93-8 (June 1993); 95-2 (Feb. 1995); DP82 (Feb. 1995)
STATUS/COMMENTS:
12/2/94 - Forwarded to USMARC Advisory Group for discussion at the February 1995 MARBI meetings.
2/16/95 - Results of USMARC Advisory Group discussion - LC was requested to come back with a proposal using Option 1 (Create X55 fields for genre/form), since there was a preference for aligning the variable field tags. The proposal should include an option to also add an 008 element to indicate use of heading. How a thesaurus will code a heading that uses the term for both topic and form needs to be considered. In the proposal for the new block of fields, subfield $v in the Authority format's 7XX fields (Established heading linking entry) needs to be changed. It has been defined as Record control number and now will be needed for Form subdivision.
DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 83: USMARC Authority Records for
Genre/Form Terms
I. BACKGROUND
Institutions have been interested in creating authority
records for genre/form terms used in bibliographic field 655 (Index
Term--Genre/Form) and for physical characteristics terms in field
755 (Added Entry--Physical Characteristics). (Note that Discussion
Paper No. 82 (Merging Field 755 with Field 655) suggests making
field 755 obsolete in favor of 655.) For instance, the Stockton-
San Joaquin County Public Library would like to be able to validate
the terms in field 655 (from a thesaurus indicated in subfield $2)
against an authority file, provide a cross reference structure for
genre/form terms, and give scope notes specifically related to one
of these terms. Others, including Amon Carter Museum Library, have
expressed such a need in the past. In addition, an institution may
want to record an equivalent genre/form term in an authority record
and link it to the authority record for another thesaurus using one
of the 7XX linking fields.
This issue was first discussed by the USMARC Advisory Group
with Discussion Paper No. 63 (Possible New Fields Needed in the
Authority Format) in January 1993 which was a request from the Amon
Carter Museum Library. The paper explored whether new heading
fields were needed in the authority format for genre/form/physical
characteristics terms (fields 155, 455, 555, 755) or whether
existing fields should be used; whether an 008 data element was
needed to indicate that the term could be used as a genre/form
and/or physical characteristics term in addition to or instead of
the possible new heading fields; and, whether new heading fields
were also needed for occupation and function terms used in 656
(Index Term--Occupation) and 657 (Index Term--Function). The
discussion indicated that the consensus was not to define the new
fields, with the recommendation that coded data in a newly defined
008 data element be used to indicate that the 150 heading in the
authority record could be used in bibliographic fields 655-657 and
755.
The Network Development and MARC Standards Office presented
Proposal No. 93-8 (Definition of 008/18-21 in the Authority Format)
to the USMARC Advisory Group for consideration at the June 1993
MARBI meetings. This proposal called for defining character
positions 008/18-21 in the authority format to indicate whether the
heading in field 150 of the record is appropriate as a genre/form
(field 655), occupation, (field 656) or function (field 657) index
term, or as a physical characteristics added entry (field 755) in
bibliographic records. In these situations, the heading would be
recorded in field 150, the code in 008/11 (Subject heading
system/thesaurus) would be set to one of the supplied values or to
"z - other", and the code for the specific thesaurus would be
recorded in field 040 (Cataloging Source), subfield $f (Subject
heading/thesaurus conventions). The institution could code the
character positions that were appropriate for the heading and use
a fill character for the others (the proposal also recommended
changing the definition of the blank (#) from "undefined" to "no
information provided"). The proposal was withdrawn; the
participants wanted to know how thesauri would handle topical terms
that can be used both as a subject and as a genre/term, etc. At
this discussion, there was a slight preference to use new variable
data fields rather than fixed field coded data to indicate the use
of a heading in bibliographic fields 655-657, 755.
II. DISCUSSION
The Stockton-San Joaquin Public Library and previous requests
have indicated a need to resolve this issue so that the format can
be modified to allow for the creation of authority records for
genre/form headings. There has been much discussion on the use of
genre/form headings because of the request to define a separate
subfield for form subdivisions. The issue is related, although
this discussion paper deals with genre/form headings rather than
subdivisions. The use of field 655, particularly by LCSH has been
discussed in the context of defining a new subfield for form. (See
Proposal No. 95-2: Definition of Subfield $v for Form Subdivision
in the USMARC Formats.) In the discussion of Proposal 93-8, the
USMARC Advisory Group requested more information on how thesauri
might handle topical terms that can be used as subject and as
genre/form; this issue is also being discussed in terms of form
subdivisions, particularly in LCSH as part of Proposal 95-2.
This discussion paper deals only with genre/form terms used in
field 655 (and 755). It does not consider occupation or function
terms, since the need for these has not been demonstrated.
There are situations where libraries would like to create
authority records for genre/form terms in order to create cross
references or for validation/global changes. For instance, LCSH
recently changed the heading "Livres a clef" (a genre/form term) to
"Romans a clef". However, the Guidelines on Subject Access to
Individual Works of Fiction, Drama, etc. (code=gsafd) continues to
use "Livres a clef". The Stockton-San Joaquin Public Library would
want to provide a reference to the gsafd term in their catalog from
the unused to the used form and a link to the LCSH heading. If it
were possible to create authority records for genre/form terms,
separate records could be created for the genre/form term, with the
thesaurus indicated in 008/11. Those without a defined value would
indicate the thesaurus in 040$f. Links to other thesauri could be
created using the 75X fields.
Terms used as topical and as genre/form. The question arises
as to whether two authority records would need to be created for a
genre/form term that might be used either as a topical or a
genre/form term. A possible model might be geographic terms, which
are coded as 151 in the authority format and used in field 651.
They may also be used as X10's in main or added entries. If new
heading fields are created for genre/form terms, the decision would
have to made as to whether to create separate records. If an 008
data element is used to indicate that the heading can be used in
field 655, then separate records may be unnecessary.
Same term from different thesauri. Separate records would be
created for terms from different thesauri even if the terms are
identical, in order to allow for cross references and notes that
only apply to one thesaurus.
III. OPTIONS
The following options need to be considered and a decision
made to enable the Network Development and MARC Standards Office to
prepare a proposal to change the authority format so that authority
records can be created for genre/form headings. Note that the
USMARC Advisory Group will consider Discussion Paper No. 82 on
merging field 755 with field 655 in the bibliographic format. For
simplicity, physical characteristics are not always specifically
brought out in the options below. If it is considered undesirable
to make field 755 obsolete, any proposal will include physical
characteristics with genre/form.
Option 1. Create X55 field for genre/form.
This would require the creation of the following:
155 Heading--Genre/Form
455 See From Tracing--Genre/Form
555 See Also From Tracing--Genre/Form
755 Established Heading Linking Entry--Genre/Form
Using the example above of the headings Romans a clef and Livres a
clef, authority records might appear as follows:
Record for LCSH heading:
008/11 LCSH
150 ## $aRomans a clef
450 ## $aLivres a clef
[LCSH reference from unused form]
755 #7 $aLivres a clef$2gsafd
[Linking entry to form used in GSAFD]
Record for GSAFD heading:
008/11 z [other]
040 $aDLC$cDLC$fgsafd
155 ## $aLivres a clef
455 ## $aRomans a clef
[GSAFD reference from unused form]
755 #0 $aRomans a clef
[Second indicator shows LCSH]
Following is an example of a GSAFD record for a heading that does
not exist in LCSH:
008/11 z [other]
040 $aDLC$cDLC$fgsafd
155 ## $aMedical novels
455 ## $aHospital novels
455 ## $aDoctor novels
680 ## $iUsed for $aDoctor novels
An advantage to establishing separate fields is to preserve
parallels of content designation by using the same tag structure as
the bibliographic field 655. If field 755 in the bibliographic
format is not merged with field 655, this option does not allow for
the separate identification as to whether the heading can be used
in 650, 655 only, 755 only, or both 655 and 755.
Questions that arise with this option:
1. Would two authority records be created if the heading may
be used both as a topical and a genre form term? If not, is an
additional data element needed (008/18 as in Option 2) to
indicate in which fields that heading can be used?
2. If the evaluation of Discussion Paper No. 82 indicates
that field 755 should not be made obsolete, is it necessary to
also include an indication of whether the heading is used in
655 only, 755 only, or both 655 and 755?
3. Is it a problem to define field 755 in the authority
format for a linking entry when it is used in the
bibliographic format as Added Entry--Physical Characteristics?
See Attachment A for a description of the proposed new fields if
this option were requested.
Option 2. Create a fixed field data element to indicate the use of
the heading.
This option would require the following new character position:
008/18 Heading use--genre/form index term
# No information provided
a Heading is appropriate for use as genre/form index term
b Heading is not appropriate for use as genre/form index
term
If field 755 is not merged with field 655, it would also require
the following:
008/19 Heading use--physical characteristics added entry
# No information provided
a Heading is appropriate for use as physical
characteristics added entry
b Heading is not appropriate for use physical
characteristics added entry
In the above one or two character positions, code blank (#) would
be redefined from "Undefined" to "No information provided".
Headings would be recorded in field 150 in authority records.
Using the same example above, the authority records would appear as
follows:
Record for LCSH heading:
008/11 LCSH
008/18 a
150 ## $aRomans a clef
450 ## $aLivres a clef
[LCSH reference from unused form]
750 #7 $aLivres a clef$2gsafd
[Linking entry to form used in GSAFD]
Record for GSAFD heading:
008/11 z [other]
008/18 a
040 $aDLC$cDLC$fgsafd
150 ## $aLivres a clef
450 ## $aRomans a clef
[GSAFD reference from unused form]
750 #0 $aRomans a clef
[Second indicator shows LCSH]
Following is an example of a GSAFD record for a heading that does
not exist in LCSH:
008/11 z [other]
008/18 a
040 $aDLC$cDLC$fgsafd
150 ## $aMedical novels
450 ## $aHospital novels
450 ## $aDoctor novels
680 ## $iUsed for $aDoctor novels
The advantage to this option is that only one or two new data
elements would be created, rather than several new fields. All
headings would be coded as 150, so the decision would not have to
be made as to whether to code as 150 or 155. For thesauri that
allow for a heading to be used in either 650 or 655, it would not
be necessary to create separate records for the two uses, which
might be considered desirable if Option 1 were selected. This
option is analogous to the use of field 008/14-16, which allows for
the establishment of a heading once and the identification of where
the heading can be used: 008/14 for use as 1XX or 7XX; 008/15 for
use as 6XX; 008/16 for use as 490 or 8XX.
Question for Option 2:
Is there a need to indicate that the term in field 150 is only
a genre/form, or that it may be used either as topical or
genre/form?
See Attachment B for a description of 008/18 if this option is
requested.
------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTACHMENT A
155 Heading--Genre/Form (NR)
Indicators
First Undefined
Second Undefined
Subfield Codes
$a Genre/form (NR)
$x General subdivision (R)
$y Chronological subdivision (R)
$z Geographic subdivision (R)
$6 Linkage (NR)
$v Form subdivision (IF 95-2 IS APPROVED)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
455 See From Tracing--Genre/Form (R)
555 See Also From Tracing--Genre/Form (R)
Indicators
First Undefined
Second Undefined
Subfield Codes
$a Genre/form (NR)
$i Reference instruction phrase (NR)
$w Control subfield (NR)
$x General subdivision (R)
$y Chronological subdivision (R)
$z Geographic subdivision (R)
$5 Institution to which field applies (NR)
$6 Linkage (NR)
$v Form subdivision (IF 95-2 IS APPROVED)
------------------------------------------------------------------
755 Established Heading Linking Entry--Genre/Form (R)
Indicators
First Undefined
Second Subject heading system/thesaurus
0 Library of Congress Subject Headings/LC authority files
1 LC subject headings for children's literature
2 Medical Subject Headings/NLM authority files
3 National Agricultural Library subject authority file
4 Source not specified
5 Canadian Subject Headings/NLC authority file
6 Repertoire des vedettes-materi�re/NLC authority file
7 Source specified in subfield $2
Subfield Codes
$a Genre/form (NR)
$v Record control number (R)
$w Control subfield (NR)
/0 - Link display
a - Link not displayed
b - Link not displayed, field 788 used
c - Link not displayed, non-7XX field used
$x General subdivision (R)
$y Chronological subdivision (R)
$z Geographic subdivision (R)
$2 Source of heading or term (NR)
$5 Institution to which field applies (NR)
$6 Linkage (NR)
$8 Linking number (NR)
Note that $v is already being used for record control number in 7XX
fields; $v is proposed in Proposal No. 95-2 as Form subdivision.
------------------------------------------------------------------
ATTACHMENT B
008/18 Heading use--genre/form index term
Codes
# No information provided
a Heading is appropriate for use as genre/form index term
b Heading is not appropriate for use as genre/form index term
CHARACTER POSITION DEFINITION AND SCOPE
A one-character alphabetic code indicates whether the 150
heading is appropriate for use as a genre/form index term in field
655 (Index Term -- Genre/Form) in bibliographic records.
GUIDELINES FOR APPLYING CONTENT DESIGNATORS
CODES
# - No information provided
Code # indicates that no information is provided as to whether
the 1XX heading is appropriate for use as a genre/form index
term in bibliographic field 655.
a - Heading is appropriate for use as genre/form index term
Code a indicates that the 150 field contains an established
heading that conforms to certain subject heading
system/thesaurus rules (008/11, codes a, r, and z (when subfield
$f of field 040 contains a USMARC code that is authorized by
USMARC Code List for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions
for use in subfield #2 of bibliographic field 655)) which is
considered to be appropriate for use as a genre/form index term
in bibliographic records.
008/18 a
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 a [code indicating LCSH]
150 ##$aFairy tales
008/18 a
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 r [code indicating AAT]
150 ##$amanuscripts
008/18 a
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 z [code indicating Other]
040 ##$aMt$cDLC$dWyU$fgsafd
150 ##$aScience fiction comic books, strips, etc.
[Code "gsafd" in subfield $f of field 040 is authorized
by USMARC Code List for Relators, Sources, Description
Conventions for use in subfield $2 of bibliographic field
655. The 150 field contains a heading that is
appropriate for use as a genre/form index term in
bibliographic records.]
008/18 a
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 z [code indicating Other]
040 ##$aDLC$cDLC$fgmgpc
150 ##$aCartoons
[Code "gmgpc" in subfield $f of field 040 is authorized
by USMARC Code List for Relators, Sources, Description
Conventions for use in subfield $2 of bibliographic field
655. The 150 field contains a heading that is
appropriate for use as a genre/form index term in
bibliographic records.]
b - Heading is not appropriate for use as genre/form index term
Code b indicates that the 1XX field contains 1) an unestablished
heading; 2) a 100-130, 151 established heading; 3) a 150
established heading not from a thesaurus or subject heading
system authorized by USMARC Code List for Relators, Sources,
Description Conventions for use in subfield $2 in bibliographic
field 655; or 4) a 150 established heading from a thesaurus or
subject heading system authorized by USMARC Code List for
Relators, Sources, Description Conventions for use in subfield
$2 in bibliographic field 655 but the heading is not considered
appropriate for use as a genre/form index term in bibliographic
records.
008/18 b
008/09 d [subdivision record]
180 xBibliography
008/18 b
008/09 e [node label record]
150 ##$acommercial catalogs by function
008/18 b
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 a [code indicating LCSH]
151 ##$aFrance
008/18 b
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 c [code indicating MeSH]
150 ##$aelectroplating
008/18 b
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 a [code indicating LCSH]
150 ##$aBeds in literature
008/18 b
008/09 a [established heading record]
008/11 a [code indicating LCSH]
150 ##$aTechnology$xBibliography
RELATED USMARC FIELD OR DOCUMENT
008/11 Subject heading system/thesaurus
040 Cataloging Source
USMARC Code list for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions
CONTENT DESIGNATOR HISTORY
# No information provided
Heading use--genre/form index term information was not specified
prior to the definition of this character position in 1993.
Records created prior to that time may contain a blank (#) meaning
undefined in this position.
Library of Congress