[DCRB-L] WG1: General principles and objectives

[Richard Noble]

Not bad at all, folks. The one suggestion I have, at first glance, would be 
to incorporate note 2, at least in part, into the text from which it is 
referenced.

Something like: "... The sets of rules included under the rubric of 
Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (DCRM) seek to address situations 
that catalogers face in their effort to create records that adequately meet 
the specialized requirements of the users of rare materials--here 
understood to encompass whatever library materials institutions or 
individuals have chosen to distinguish from general library collections by 
the way they house, preserve, or collect them."

The note then might read: "[Note 2] In the context of this document we use 
the term "rare materials" in this generic sense.  Rarity in a literal sense 
may or may not be a feature of these materials. Either the immediate 
purpose of their inclusion or the eventual result of their retention in a 
particular collection distinguishes the interest of the collecting agency 
or individual from that which may have motivated a general library 
collection to acquire the same materials."

Remember: Preambles are more frequently cited than footnotes.

It may be that the suggested emendation compromises the desirable brevity 
of the opening statement, but the principle really is vital. The term 
"rare" is both useful, in indicating that certain materials represent an 
investment that must be properly leveraged, and an albatross around our 
necks, in that it seems to privilege only a small class of artifacts (back 
to the Treasure Room), where we are actually seeking to define an approach 
to a much larger artifactual context.

I am especially happy to see the emphasis placed on the management function 
of records. One could even somewhat sharpen the point that this descriptive 
approach reinforces the management function that is acknowledged in the 
provision of fields specifically directed towards it. Even administrators 
who advocate the dumbing down of metadata, supposedly to suit the simple 
needs of their users, might be at least a bit open to this line of reasoning.


RICHARD NOBLE : RARE BOOKS CATALOGER : JOHN HAY LIBRARY : BROWN UNIVERSITY
PROVIDENCE, RI 02912 : 401-863-1187/FAX 863-2093 : RICHARD_NOBLE at BROWN.EDU