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Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access
CC:DA/Harcourt/1
December 29, 2000
To: American Library Association
ALCTS/CCS Committee on Cataloging:
Description and Access
From: Kate Harcourt
Subject: Proposal to Change 21.30J1
Background
AACR2 rule 21.30J1 says to make an added entry under title proper of every
item entered under personal, corporate or uniform title heading with four
exceptions cited in CURRENT RULE AND RULE INTERPRETATIONS below. It seems
clear that this rule is a carry over from card catalog days where different
types of entries were interfiled and there was a tendency to be more
conservative in generating access points. Properly applying and maintaining
these exceptions in an online environment is becoming increasingly
cumbersome. Likewise, their usefulness is increasingly diminishing as fewer
and fewer libraries file cards. The vast majority of online systems index
all titles regardless of the indicator value coded in 245 and many automated
processes can not easily maintain the integrity of indicator values.
Current Rule and Rule Interpretations
AACR2
21.30J1. Make an added entry under the title proper of every item
entered under a personal heading, a corporate heading, or a uniform title
unless:
a) the title proper is essentially the same as the main entry heading or
a reference to that heading
or b) the title proper has been composed by the cataloguer
or c) in a catalogue in which name-title and subject entries are
interfiled, the title proper is identical to a subject heading assigned
to the work or a direct reference to that subject heading
or d) a conventionalized uniform title has been used as the uniform title
for a musical work (see 25.25-25.35).
If considered necessary for access, make an added entry for any
version of the title (e.g., cover title, caption title, running title) that,
according to 21.2A, does not constitute a change in the title proper.
Exception d for musical works also appears in Music Cataloging Decisions.
Music Cataloging Decisions
21.30J. Titles. Follow the instructions in LCRI 21.30J in making title added entries for music publications and music sound recordings, disregarding the restriction in rule 21.30J1 (d). Exception: For works entered under the heading for a composer, do not make an added entry under a title that is not sufficiently distinctive by itself to be a useful access point (e.g., Piano music; Symphony no. 3 in F major).
The LCRI for 20.30J tries to address the issue that coding the exception categories may be irrelevant in an online environment. The LCRI, however, while clarifying the issue, does not seem to offer sufficient justification to continue the practice. The LCRI does little more than state that the access provided by a particular system may differ from the access called for by AACR2.
LCRI
21.30J. Introduction
Within the machine-readable environment, the MARC format content designation conventions support the formal guidelines mentioned above. What is different about the machine-readable environment, however, is that “access” becomes a function of the particular system used in support of the machine-readable catalog, and that in turn reflects the decisions of the system designers. There is, then, embedded within a machine-readable bibliographic record, not only the access called for by AACR2, as reflected in the content designation, but also the access designed into the system. For example, AACR2 may suggest no title added entry is needed in a specific situation. The mechanism used in this case is indicator position 1 of the 245 field containing the value “0” (No title added entry). However, a particular system may have been designed to index all 245 fields in all cases. Thus title access is provided in spite of the setting of the indicator value otherwise. Nevertheless, the guidelines in this LCRI on title added entries reflect and amplify those called for in AACR2 only; they do not take into account the kinds of access that any one system may (or may not) provide.
Since this was written in 1996, it may be appropriate at this
time to consider the costs and difficulties in accurately applying
21.30J1 in the current environment.
There seem to be several compelling reasons to cease making the
trace/not trace distinction for 1XX/245 combinations.
The distinction between 245 0_ and 245 1_ is meaningless in most
online catalogs as most (RLIN, OCLC, NOTIS, Voyager, etc.) index all 245
entries.
Many libraries are contracting with vendors to process
bibliographic records as part of retrospective and ongoing authority control
and must make decisions on bibliographic clean-up options including title
indicators. A typical example is found in LTI’s profile where
the customer is required to state a preference for handling 245 1st
indicators:
Example of Vendor Processing for 245 (LTI)
Music librarians, in particular, have voiced concern that applying a vendor’s
recommended clean-up option will incorrectly change thousands of records.
Not applying the option, on-the-other-hand, would leave many non-music titles
incorrectly coded.
BIBCO libraries (and any library that follows AACR2) who use recommended
vendor processing options for titles would need to put complex and
difficult to enforce routines into their work flow to change back “corrected”
indicators. Automated work arounds are also possible, but these are
complex, expensive and probably can not cover every situation. Having
records erroneously corrected is a
particular problem for BIBCO libraries who tape load records to the
utilities from a local system. These libraries would have
to either track and recode exception records or not code the records as PCC.
Amend and simplify 21.30J1 to read:
AACR2
Rationale for Proposed Revisions
Set 1st indicator in 245 field
Recommendation and Impact upon Libraries
21.30J1. Make an added entry under the title proper of every item entered under a personal, corporate or uniform title heading.
If considered necessary for access, make an added entry for any version of the title (e.g., cover title, caption title, running title) that, according to 21.2A, does not constitute a change in the title proper.
The benefits of this change include more accurate and simpler application of
automated processes such as authority control, rule simplification for
catalogers, and simpler (and less error-prone) application of macros and
templates for bibliographic record creation.
It is recognized that more investigation may be needed to assess the impact
this rule change would have on card producing libraries. An interim
solution, might be to revise 21.30J1 as above but
maintain the four exception categories as an optional
provision of the rule. This would have the advantage of making all
records compliant under AACR2 rules. Or, the exceptions could be
preserved as filing guidelines only. Libraries could choose not to file
cards produced in any of the exception categories.
AACR2
Alternative Proposal Incorporating Optional Provision
21.30J1. Make an added entry under the title proper of every item entered under a personal heading, a corporate heading, or a uniform title heading.
Optionally, do not make an added entry for the title proper if:a) the title proper is essentially the same as the main entry heading or a reference to that heading or b) the title proper has been composed by the cataloguer or c) in a catalogue in which name-title and subject entries are interfiled, the title proper is identical to a subject heading assigned to the work or a direct reference to that subject heading or d) a conventionalized uniform title has been used as the uniform title for a musical work (see 25.25-25.35).If considered necessary for access, make an added entry for any version of the title (e.g., cover title, caption title, running title) that, according to 21.2A, does not constitute a change in the title proper.