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<DIV><SPAN class=734153416-11072005><FONT face=Arial size=2>Below is my proposed
response to the JSC proposal on 21.27, based on the discussion of Thursday and
Friday. I need to send this in by some time this afternoon, so if you have any
comments, please do not hesitate! I apologize for the tight turnaround
time.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=734153416-11072005><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=734153416-11072005><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Bob</FONT></SPAN></DIV><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->
<P><FONT size=2>Robert L. Maxwell<BR>Special Collections and Ancient Languages
Catalog Librarian<BR>Genre/Form Authorities Librarian<BR>6728 Harold B. Lee
Library<BR>Brigham Young University<BR>Provo, UT 84602<BR>(801)422-5568
</FONT></P>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in">To:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Mary L.
Larsgaard, chair<BR><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:stockticker>ALA</st1:stockticker>/ALCTS/<st1:stockticker>CCS</st1:stockticker>
Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in">From:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Robert L. Maxwell, chair,
ALCTS/ACRL Task Force on Cataloging Rules for Early Printed Monographs</P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in">RE:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Response to
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">5JSC/Chair/5</I>, Special rules in
Chapter 21</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">The proposal to simplify or
eliminate AACR2 21.27, the rule controlling entry of academic disputations, is
of concern to the rare materials community as represented by the ALCTS/ACRL Task
Force on Cataloging Rules for Early Printed Monographs and the membership of the
DCRM-L list, a discussion group whose main focus is the forthcoming revision of
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books</I>.
</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">AACR2 21.27 concerns entry of
acadmic disputations, a not uncommon genre previous to the nineteenth century.
Academic disputations were a sort of precursor to the modern thesis examination,
in which a student is examined by faculty previous to being granted a degree.
However, although the acadmic disputation involved questioning on a (usually
book-length) written work, this work was not equivalent to the modern thesis
because it was not usually written by the student. Rather it was normally
written by someone else, often the examiner himself, and the student (or
students) were expected to defend or contend with its positions during the
examination.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">The title pages of these works
are often confusing. One order-bringing factor does exist with them, however: in
nearly all cases each person named is given a functional designation. The person
being examined may be called the respondent or the defendant, or sometimes even
“auctor”, a Latin word usually translated as author, but in this case perhaps
more accurately rendered “spokesman” or “agent.” Title pages of academic
disputations also name the person who is presiding over the examination, the
“praeses.” This person may or may not be the author of the text being used as
the basis of the examination.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">The cataloger needs help in
interpreting these title pages. If—at least for purposes of work
citations—<st1:stockticker>RDA</st1:stockticker> continues to maintain the
authorship principle, a bedrock of AACR2, consistent guidance is needed to
determine who will be considered the author in these cases. Since title pages of
academic disputations do not explicitly say who the author is, AACR2 simply made
a decision, based on experience with these books and the research reflected in
the studies cited in footnote 6, that the praeses is to be designated the author
in the absence of strong evidence to the contrary. The rare materials cataloging
community as polled at this time is comfortable with maintaining this
presumption.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">We do not see how the rule could
be simplified much further than it already is without making a confusing
situation more confusing. A minimum of explanation (as found in the
paranthetical phrases in the body of the rule) of what these works are is needed
to help the cataloger understand what is going on. The rule clearly states who
is given the primary access poing and who is given other access points. And the
rule gives guidance for what to do in the unusual case where no one is named
praeses. It might be a good idea to bring the first sentence of the footnote up
into the rule itself, since this is an obvious pitfall.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">We note that although this rule
would pertain almost exclusively to early printed materials cataloging,
<st1:stockticker>RDA</st1:stockticker> cannot depend on the main specialist
manual to give guidance on this matter since DCRM(B), the successor to DCRB,
deliberately does not include rules on choice of access points or formation of
headings. Rare materials catalogers understand and accept the need to integrate
their records into catalogs (and authority files) containing records prepared
under the general cataloging rules, and therefore do not wish to introduce
specialist rules for access points.</P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 12pt 0in 0pt">The task force and others did
suggest that the works cited in the footnote are very valuable and, as they are
in the public domain now, it might be useful and feasible to create PDF files of
these articles/chapters and link them to
<st1:stockticker>RDA</st1:stockticker>.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>