[DCRM-L] DCRB rev. topic: Principles & objectives statement

[Juliet McLaren]

Jain, and all :  as for the Rare Serials component, Jane Gillis and I have 
considered the "objectives and principle" in our own formulation, and I for 
one think this idea should fly quite easily.  We haven't done formal 
"testing" but should be able to check on that pretty easily.  Thanks for 
the note.  Juliet

At 04:17 PM 1/10/2005,  Jain Fletcher wrote:
>This is a belated response to a question that was discussed at ALA Annual 
>'04, about the "objectives & principles" statement.  The issue was: should 
>it be distinctly monographic-oriented (as it now is) or to be broadened to 
>cover all materials?  It seems to me (in my reading of the Minutes) that 
>the issue was not necessarily resolved with that discussion, and I would 
>like to weigh in--especially since I was one of the early advocates of 
>having this statement in the first place.
>
>My feeling is that the principles statement should use broad enough 
>language to make it all-inclusive. With respect to the inherent issues, 
>these principles apply to the cataloging goals for all forms of rare 
>publications, in my estimation.  There is nothing particularly 
>book-oriented in the principles (which is what the term "monograph" 
>conveys, whether intentionally or unintentionally).  In fact, there is 
>nothing particularly monographic about the statement either--I believe it 
>applies to continuing resources, as well.  My stance is that these 
>principles really *are* shared by all the formats, so there should be no 
>need to set them apart.  In that belief, I scanned through the statement 
>very carefully, weighing the phrases and the consequences of broadening; I 
>can see no reason why it cannot be done--and done fairly easily.  The 
>primary edit needed is to change every instance of the word "monograph(s)" 
>to the word  "material(s)" with no loss of meaning or difference in the 
>outcome for monographs themselves.  I "tested" my idea for the changed 
>wording against the "fit" with both monographs and music materials, while 
>also considering serials and maps (with much less comprehension of all the 
>issues related to some of the other formats, especially serials).  Of 
>course, the Rare Serials Team should be the final arbiter about this 
>aspect of my proposition, "testing" serials against this slight change, to 
>see if they also agree that it holds true.
>
>In considering the aspect of sharing this document among the formats: we 
>have discussed the fact that this whole process of ours is kind of 
>parallel to AACR's, where there have been overall editors, with each 
>Chapter having input from appropriate constituents.  In that scenario, I 
>believe we should be keeping in mind the parallels of our prospective 
>publication with AACR. With the addition of the other formats in this 
>revision, it is now as if we have Chapters 2, (3--possibly), 4, 5 and 12 
>of AACR2.  In that scenario, even if we publish each part of DCRM as 
>stand-alone manuals, past discussion has said that we should consider all 
>of it to be part of the same "umbrella" publication.  As much as possible, 
>then, we should be working in tandem, with the same principles and as 
>similar guidance about most of the surrounding issues as possible. 
>Therefore, *some* of the surrounding text could be common to all formats, 
>and could be included verbatim in each of the manuals.  (The electronic 
>version of DCRM [in Cataloger's DeskTop, I assume?] would have only one 
>statement with all the manuals linking to it.).  If others agree that this 
>is the scenario, I sincerely hope that the Editorial Team will not mind 
>that some of its *excellent* endeavors and productions would have further 
>beneficial effect than just for DCRM(B).
>
>I approached Deborah about this issue a few days ago, to see if she 
>thought it was worth sending this to the DCRM-L for comment (I guess one 
>of the things I was worried about was that the decision to use the word 
>"monograph" in the DCRM(B) statement might already have been declared a 
>"done deal").  She told me that I should indeed send it to the DCRB-List 
>and also suggested that it would be worthwhile if I edited the 
>"Principles" document with the changes I was suggesting; that way it would 
>be easier for people to consider. So I have done that.   As I have said, 
>for this topic, the main difference is that the word "material(s)" has 
>substituted every instance of "monograph(s)".  In addition, I deleted 
>every reference to the rare books manual by taking out "Books" or 
>"(B)".  The edited document is below.
>
>************************************************************************
>                 OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES
>
>The instructions contained in Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials are 
>formulated according to the objectives and principles set forth below. 
>These objectives and principles seek to articulate the purpose and nature 
>of specialized cataloging rules for rare materials. They are informed by 
>long-accepted concepts of traditional bibliographic scholarship as well as 
>by more recent theoretical work that has proven fundamental to the 
>construction and revision of cataloging codes, namely the International 
>Federation of Library Associations and Institutions' Functional 
>Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) and Elaine Svenonius's The 
>Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization. They assume an equal 
>familiarity with FRBR terms used to categorize entities that are the 
>products of intellectual or artistic endeavor (work, expression, 
>manifestation, and item) and bibliographic terms used to differentiate 
>among textual variants (e.g., edition, issue, impression, and state). It 
>is hoped that these objectives and principles will provide catalogers, and 
>administrators of cataloging operations, with a better understanding of 
>the underlying rationale for DCRM instructions, especially when these 
>deviate from the instructions contained in the Anglo-American Cataloguing 
>Rules (AACR2).
>
>Objectives of DCRM
>
>The primary objectives that apply to the cataloging of rare materials are 
>no different than the primary objectives of general cataloging. FRBR 
>identifies those objectives as meeting user requirements to find, 
>identify, select, and obtain materials. However, users of rare materials 
>will often bring specialized needs to these tasks that cannot be met by 
>general cataloging rules. In addition, rare materials may not conform to 
>the assumptions of standard production practices that lie behind general 
>cataloging rules. The following DCRM objectives are intended to account 
>for these important differences.
>
>1) Users shall be able to distinguish clearly among different 
>manifestations of an expression or work.
>         The ability to distinguish among different manifestations of an 
> expression or work is critical to the user tasks of identifying and 
> selecting bibliographic resources. General cataloging practice assumes 
> that reliance on abbreviated and normalized transcription methods is 
> sufficient to distinguish among manifestations. However, users of rare 
> material tend to require fuller and more faithful transcriptions, 
> especially in the publication, distribution, etc., area, in order to 
> distinguish among manifestations. Additionally, the provision of greater 
> detail in the physical description area and the careful description of 
> various anomalies in the note area may be critical to the task of 
> identifying separate manifestations. These practices will also contribute 
> to the ability of users to distinguish among exemplars at the item level, 
> allowing the identification and comparison of variant printings, states, 
> and copies as needed.
>
>2) Users shall be able to perform most identification and selection tasks 
>independently of direct access to the materials.
>         Users of rare materials frequently perform identification and 
> selection tasks under circumstances that require the bibliographic 
> description to stand as a detailed surrogate for the item (e.g., 
> consultation from a distance, limited access due to the fragile condition 
> of item, inability to physically browse collections housed in restricted 
> areas). Accuracy of bibliographic representation increases subsequent 
> efficiency for both users and collection managers. The same accuracy 
> contributes to the long-term preservation of the materials themselves, 
> e.g., by reducing unnecessary circulation of materials that do not 
> specifically meet the user's requirements.
>
>3) Users shall be able to investigate physical processes and 
>post-production history and context exemplified in materials described.
>         Users of rare materials routinely investigate a variety of 
> artifactual and post-production intellectual aspects of materials. For 
> example, they will attempt to locate materials that are related by 
> printing methods, illustrative processes, binding styles and structures, 
> provenance, form and genre, etc. The ability of users to identify the 
> materials that fit these criteria depends upon full and accurate 
> descriptions and the provision of corresponding access points.
>
>4) Users shall be able to access materials whose production or 
>presentation characteristics deviate from modern conventions.
>         General cataloging codes routinely distinguish among 
> manifestations through reliance on explicit bibliographic evidence 
> presented in conventional form (e.g., a formal edition statement on the 
> title page or its verso). In rare materials, such explicit evidence will 
> often be lacking or insufficient to distinguish among different 
> manifestations. That which is bibliographically significant may thus be 
> ignored by descriptions constructed according to general cataloging codes.
>
>Principles for Construction of DCRM
>
>To meet the objectives listed above, DCRM relies upon the following six 
>principles. These principles were influenced by the general principles of 
>bibliographic description offered by Svenonius: the principle of user 
>convenience (with the sub-principle of common usage), the principle of 
>representation (with the sub-principle of accuracy), the principle of 
>sufficiency and necessity (with the sub-principle of significance), the 
>principle of standardization, and the principle of integration.
>
>1) Rules shall provide guidance for descriptions that allow users to 
>distinguish clearly among different manifestations of an expression or work.
>This relates to user objective 1 stated above. It derives particularly 
>from the general principle of user convenience and has implications for 
>all areas of the bibliographic description. The principle enables 
>distinguishing among items as well as manifestations.
>
>2) Rules shall provide for accurate representations of the entity as it 
>describes itself, notably through instructions regarding transcription, 
>transposition, and omission.
>         This relates to user objectives 2 and 4 stated above. It derives 
> particularly from the general principles of representation (with its 
> related sub-principle of accuracy) and of standardization. Precise 
> representation is of particular relevance in those areas of the 
> description that require transcription (the title and statement of 
> responsibility area, the edition area, the publication, distribution, 
> etc., area, and the series area), but should not be ignored in the 
> physical description and note areas. The general principles of 
> representation and standardization stand in greater tension with each 
> other when cataloging rare materials. Faithfulness to both principles may 
> require descriptive and annotative treatment necessarily exceeding the 
> norms (and at times the vocabulary) established as sufficient for the 
> description of current materials.
>
>3) Rules shall provide guidance for the inclusion of 
>manifestation-specific and item-specific information that permits users to 
>investigate physical processes and post-production history and context 
>exemplified in the item described.
>         This relates to user objective 3 stated above. It derives 
> particularly from the general principles of sufficiency and necessity and 
> the related sub-principle of significance. Application of the principle 
> requires that rules for rare materials cataloging provide additional 
> guidance on access points, particularly in cases where such information 
> is not integral to the manifestation, expression, or work described. 
> Rules for item-specific information appearing in the note area may 
> prescribe standard forms for presentation of information (addressing 
> general principles of user convenience and common usage). Application of 
> such rules presumes both a user's need for such information and a 
> cataloger's ability to properly describe such aspects.
>
>4) Rules shall provide for the inclusion of all elements of 
>bibliographical significance.
>         This principle is related to all of the user objectives stated 
> above. General cataloging rules routinely strive for both brevity and 
> clarity, principles affiliated with the general principle of sufficiency. 
> In describing rare materials however, too great an emphasis on brevity 
> may become the occasion for insufficiency and lack of clarity. In 
> cataloging rare materials, brevity of description may be measured best 
> against the functional requirements of the particular bibliographic 
> description rather than against the average physical length of other 
> bibliographic descriptions in the catalog. The tension between rules for 
> rare materials that promote accurate representation of an item and yet do 
> not exceed the requirements of sufficiency is great. Reference to the 
> principle of user convenience may offer correct resolution of such tensions.
>
>5) Rules shall conform to the structure and language of the latest 
>revision of AACR2 to the extent possible; ISBD(A) shall serve as a 
>secondary reference point.
>         This principle relates to general principles of standardization 
> and user convenience (with the latter's sub-principle of common usage). 
> DCRM assumes that users of cataloging descriptions constructed in 
> accordance to its provisions also operate in contexts where AACR2 is a 
> norm for general cataloging. In addition, the cataloging community within 
> which DCRM has been developed has a strong association with AACR2 as 
> interpreted and applied by the Library of Congress. DCRM uses existing 
> AACR2 vocabulary in a manner consistent with AACR2; use of any additional 
> or specialized vocabulary necessary for description and access of rare 
> materials will occur in a clear and consistent manner in DCRM rules, 
> appendices, and glossaries. DCRM does not introduce rules that are not 
> required by differences expected between rare and current materials. 
> Numbering of areas within DCRM conforms to the structure of ISBD as 
> implemented in AACR2. When an existing AACR2 rule satisfies the 
> requirements of cataloging rare materials, DCRM text is modeled on AACR2 
> text (revising examples as useful for illustration). In cases where the 
> language of AACR2 is not precise enough to cover necessary distinctions 
> or may introduce confusion when dealing with rare materials, DCRM uses 
> carefully-considered alternate wording. Wording of relevant ISBD(A) 
> standards will also be considered when deviating from AACR2. However, 
> ISBD(A) is a standard rather than a cataloging code; AACR2, as a 
> cataloging code, will inevitably provide closer models for rule formulation.
>
>6) Rules shall be compatible with DCRB except in cases where changes are 
>necessary to align more closely to current revisions of AACR2 or to 
>conform to the above principles.
>         This principle also relates to general principles of both 
> standardization and user convenience (with the latter's sub-principle of 
> common usage). Changes to prior DCRB cataloging practices should be made 
> only after careful consideration of the value or necessity of such changes.
>****************************************************************************
>
>   I have another issue with a particular wording choice in this statement 
> (the construction "general cataloging", set in opposition with 
> "cataloging of rare materials").  I am in the midst of writing up that 
> issue now and hope to send another edit of this document to DCRM-L by 
> tomorrow, but thought I'd start with this.                        Thanks, Jain
>
>Jain Fletcher
>Head, Collections & Technical Services Division
>Department of Special Collections
>Young Research Library - UCLA
>Box 951575
>Los Angeles, CA   90095-1575
>
>v: (310) 794-4096
>f: (310) 206-1864
>e: jfletchr at library.ucla.edu