[DCRB-L] Comments on "When to create a new record"

[J.J. Hall]

The Rare Books Department, Cambridge University Library, would like to
make the following comments on 

"CONFERENCE DRAFT 20030324
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING OF RARE BOOKS
When to create a new record"

Page 1, last paragraph but 2
Existing text:
"there is an explicit indication of changes of content (including
corrections) - e.g. a statement of responsibility or an edition
statement has been added, deleted or changed; there is a significant
difference in the statement of extent and/or in the bibliographic
format"

Comment: "e.g." seems rather odd here: the circumstances mentioned
following "e.g." (added statement of responsibility, etc.) are evidence
that there is a new publication unit, but none of them, in themselves,
need indicate a change of content.

Suggested revised wording: delete "- e.g. a statement -- format"
following "corrections)", and insert "a statement -- format", or as much
of it as seems useful, in the next paragraph, following "new publication
unit (e.g."

Page 1, penultimate paragraph, and top of page 2
Existing text: "more recent data than that provided on the original
title-page" (as a condition requiring a new record) and on p. 2, "a
difference in printing or copyright date when there is also a
publication date" (as a condition not requiring a new record)

Comment: Is the implication that a change of publication date always
requires a new record? This does not seem to us self-evident, when a
modern reprint is being treated as rare material. We do not wish to
propose a wording or to lay down a rule, but we think that it should be
stated explicitly whether or not it is thought that a change of
publication date always requires a new record. 

Page 2, top, list of conditions not requiring a new record
Existing text: "a difference in a statement or printing", etc.

Comment: Except for the 5th condition (inserted publisher's
advertisements), and possibly the 4th (difference in binding - but can
one talk about publisher's bindings before the 19th century?) these are
only likely to apply to 19th century and later books (at least as
conditions not requiring a new record: a change of printer, at the time
when printers and publishers were not clearly distinguished, surely
would require a new record). But there are differences in pre-19th
century books that need not require a new record, such as minor changes
to tne text, or a difference in the paper.

Suggested revised wording: amend the list beginning "a difference in a
statement of printing" to read:

- a difference in the typesetting affecting only a small part of the
item, or the alteration, addition, or deletion of a small amount of
material, unaccompanied by cancellation of, or substantial stop-press
change to, the title-page

- a difference in the size or quality of the paper

- a difference in binding or wrapper that does not provide evidence of a
discrete publishing unit (e.g. a change of colour in publisher's cloth)

- a difference relating to inserted publisher's advertisements and
catalogs (unless they are integral to the publication)

The following apply only ro 19th century and later books:

- a difference in a statement of printing (e.g. 5th printing)

- a difference in the printer or other manufacturer

- a difference in printing or copyright date when there is also a
publication date

- the addition, deletion or change of an ISBN

	J.J. Hall
Rare Books Department,
Cambridge University Library,
West Road,
Cambridge CB3 9DR,
England