1. Form/Genre Headings --DRAFT--
LCSH for Video
Form/Genre Headings
--DRAFT--
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2. Subject Cataloging Resources
Use the following Subject Cataloging Manual Instruction Sheets:
H 1913 Moving Image/Genre Form Headings
H 2230 Visual Materials and Non-Music Sound Recordings
Keep in mind that H 1913 dates from 2008, so many bibliographic records in Orbis and OCLC reflect earlier practices
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3. Topical vs. Form/genre Topical: “aboutness”
Example: Science fiction films
A book about science fiction films
A film documentary about science fiction films
MARC authority record tag: 150
MARC bibliographic tag: 650
In LC cataloging practice, a form/genre heading used topically must be subdivided: Science fiction films—History and criticism.
Orbis label generated by 650 tag: Subjects (Library of Congress)
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4. Authority Record (150)
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5. Topical vs. Form/Genre Form/Genre: “is-ness”
Example: Science fiction films
A video of The war of the worlds
MARC authority tag: 155
MARC bibliographic record tag: 655
In LC cataloging practice, a heading used to identify the resource as belonging to a particular form/genre is never subdivided, even geographically
Orbis label generated by the 655 tag: Type of material
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6. Authority Record (155)
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7. OPAC View
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8. Prior to 2008
LC did not create form/genre authority records (MARC 155)
Both topical and form/genre headings were represented by authority records coded as “topical” (MARC 150)
By default, a heading represented by a 150 subject authority record was only used topically,
unless the authority record scope note (680) stated explicitly that the heading should be used only or alternatively for form/genre access, or
the LC Subject Cataloging manual instructed the cataloger to use the heading for form/genre access
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9. Earlier Practice
Prior to 2008, the form/genre aspect of fiction films (such as Science fiction films), was brought out in 3 ways:
Topical heading with subdivision --Drama
Form headings [tagged as 650] that expressed either genre (Science fiction films) or technique (Silent films)
The form heading [tagged as 650] Feature films or Short films
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10. MARC Example: Pre-2008
Here is an abbreviated MARC example showing the subjects assigned to a feature film using the LC guidelines of the time:
245 4
‡a The War of the worlds ‡h [videorecording] / ‡c Paramount pictures; directed by Byron Haskin; produced by George Pal; screenplay by Barre Lyndon.
260
‡a Hollywood, Calif. : ‡b Paramount Home Video, ‡c 1999.
300
‡a 1 videodisc (85 min.) : ‡b sd., col. ; ‡c 4 3/4 in.
650
‡a Martians ‡v Drama.
‡a Science fiction films.
‡a Feature films.
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11. OPAC Screenshot
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12. Problem with Form/Genre Headings (pre-2008)
When the same term & tag represent both the topic and the form/genre, the computer cannot distinguish between a heading for a book about science fiction films and a heading for a video of a science fiction film
A heading search on Science fiction films (tagged as 650) will retrieve both videos and books about the form/genre
It should be noted that assigning the same term to represent both about-ness and is-ness is not practiced across the board; in music LCSH, the singular term is used for the concept & the plural term is used for scores and sound recordings
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13. Using Subdivisions with Form/Genre Headings
The LC workaround prior to 2008:
The form/genre heading was used without a subdivision for cataloging of fiction films
The form/genre heading was used with a subdivision for books about the form, e.g. –History and criticism, --Dictionaries, --Religious aspects, etc.
The workaround was not made explicit in the subject cataloging documentation or the scope notes but may be inferred from the guidelines for drama
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14. Current Practice
Form/genre heading as topic (150) is established separately from form/genre as exemplum (155)
In addition, the scope note in the authority record for the topical heading (150) states explicitly that the form/genre heading as topic must be subdivided
There is no corresponding scope note in the authority record for the form/genre heading as exemplum (155)
The other practices (headings with subdivision –Drama and assigning Feature films or Short films) continue, but--
Feature films & Short films are now tagged 655 for cataloging of videos and films
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15. MARC Example Using Current Rules
MARC example showing the subjects assigned to a feature film using the current LC guidelines:
245 4
‡a The War of the worlds ‡h [videorecording] / ‡c Paramount pictures; directed by Byron Haskin; produced by George Pal; screenplay by Barre Lyndon.
260
‡a Hollywood, Calif. : ‡b Paramount Home Video, ‡c 1999.
300
‡a 1 videodisc (85 min.) : ‡b sd., col. ; ‡c 4 3/4 in.
650
‡a Martians ‡v Drama.
655
‡a Science fiction films.
‡a Feature films.
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16. OPAC Screenshot
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17. Maintenance Issues (1)
Videos cataloged prior to 2008 use 650 for form/genre headings
Member records added after 2008 may follow the obsolete practice
Currently no updating of 650s to 655 is done in copy cataloging
Records for videos with unsubdivided 650s cannot be retagged automatically to 655 since unsubdivided 650 will still be valid for non-fiction films
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18. Maintenance Issues (2)
Retagging 650s without subdivisions on records for videos if there is also a 650 Feature films or Short films might be a possible strategy, with the following caveats:
Only LC is likely to have followed the instruction to assign 650 Feature films/Short films to fiction films consistently, and LC’s primary cataloging focus has been archival motion pictures, not video
Member library cataloging of fiction film videos often ignores LC guidelines and subdivides form/genre headings geographically
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19. Impact on Users Current Orbis OPAC using Simple Search
Using either Keyword or Subject searches “science fiction films” will retrieve only or primarily videos
the search may miss a handful of records where member libraries added a geographic subdivision
Using Subject search “science fiction films history” will retrieve only books about the form/genre
Using the Keyword search “science fiction films history” will retrieve a mix of videos of feature films and books about the form/genre
Using the Keyword search “science fiction films criticism” will retrieve only books about the form/genre
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20. Impact on Users (2) Current Orbis OPAC using Advanced Search
Advanced Search allows the user to combine the phrase “science fiction films” & limit to form/genre headings
The results will not reflect the library’s holdings, since most of the form/genre headings in records for videos are tagged as 650 rather than 655
Impact on next-generation retrieval (YuFind)
On an All Fields search “science fiction films,” facets can be used to discover video or book holdings
Topical facets: Feature films (YuFind: 351)
Format facets: DVD (318), VHS (118), Book (309)
Compare DVD/VHS total with Feature Films total
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21. If No Maintenance?
Current OPAC searches for form/genre headings are not significantly affected unless there is a high number of Advanced form/genre searches
Past & current LC practice results in a large video retrieval from either Subject or Keyword Simple Searches that may frustrate the average user’s access to books on the history & criticism of the form/genre
In the current Simple Search configuration, neither subject nor keyword searching would be improved by updating the tagging from 650 to 655
Past & current LC practice means the user must perform relatively sophisticated searching to retrieve “books about”
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22. If No Maintenance?
YuFind demonstrates that the Next Generation OPAC, through facetting, could use other elements of the bibliographic record to discover & distinguish between “books about” & video exempla, without requiring an update of the tagging
Even if YuFind is not adopted, maintenance could be postponed until we have a better idea of how the next catalog will work
9/22/2018