[DCRM-L] nonroman signatures: revised instructions

[Barry E. Hinman]

Aren't there cases where the number of letters will be ambiguous?  
Modern Russian alphabet, signed in Cyrillic, and Old Church Slavonic 
alphabet, signed in Cyrillic, for example?  In such a case, wouldn't it 
be necessary to add to the statement
    signed in Cyrillic using an alphabet of xx letters
or
    signed in Cyrillic using Old Church Slavonic alphabet

Richard Noble wrote:

> An elegant solution, clearly and succinctly expressed--those are my 
> first and second impressions.
>
> Minor "however": In my own work I'm not sure that I'd use the word 
> "script" in the note. I suppose it's clear, but outside Library Land, 
> whose denizens are familiar with AACR usage, it's a slightly fuzzy 
> word.* I might prefer something like "signed in Greek alphabet"--not 
> as fluent, but unambiguous. I presume the rule is not prescriptive 
> with respect to that wording, as long as the facts are clearly explained.
>
> *E.g. the OED definitions of "script" (noun 1), especially "2. a. 
> Handwriting, the characters used in hand-writing (as distinguished 
> from print). Also attrib., as in script hand, letter", "b. Typogr. (In 
> full script type.) A kind of type devised to imitate the appearance of 
> handwriting", and "d. A style of handwriting resembling typography, 
> both in the shape of the characters and in their not being joined 
> together. In full script-writing; cf. print-script s.v. PRINT n. 16a. 
> (Freq. used in the teaching of young children.)" vs. what we actually 
> mean, "3. A kind of writing, a system of alphabetical or other written 
> characters".
>
>
> At 3/31/2005    12:42 PM, Manon Theroux wrote:
>
>> The DCRM(B) editors have revised (and significantly simplified) the 
>> instructions for nonroman signatures contained in the delta draft. 
>> Here is what we are proposing for the epsilon draft:
>>
>> http://www.library.yale.edu/~mtheroux/DCRM/NonromanSignatures.doc 
>> <http://www.library.yale.edu/%7Emtheroux/DCRM/NonromanSignatures.doc>
>>
>> I've also copied the new instructions in the text of this message, 
>> below, though I'm not sure if the formatting will be preserved.
>>
>> We welcome your comments! Please send them to the list. 
>

-- 
Barry E. Hinman	
Special Collections Librarian for Cataloging
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Green Library (Bing Wing 408)
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, California  94305-6004
bhinman at stanford.edu