[DCRM-L] Noun for identifying a physical unit independently from the bibliographic items(s) or portions of an item it contains

[Erin Blake]

Can someone help me find an appropriate noun for talking about a machine-generated unique identifier that would name a physical unit, independent of the bibliographic item(s) or portions of an item it contains?

I don't want to use "Item ID" because I don't want it to be confused with an Item_ID in our OPAC (see Folgerpedia under "Why we can't use Voyager's 'Bound With' function for vault books<https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/Sammelbands#Why_we_can.27t_use_Voyager.27s_.22Bound_With.22_function_for_vault_books>" for why a three-title sammelband [sic] has three item IDs, not one).

I don't want to use "Object Identifier<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_identifier>" or "Persistent Object Identifier<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistent_Object_Identifier>" because I will be talking with database designers, and I don't want it to be confused with the key column in a relational database.

I don't want to use "Call number" or "Shelfmark" because those carry meaning, and because our call numbers for boxed manuscripts refer to a single manuscript: a box with 24 indentures would be signed out on 24 call slips if a researcher wanted to see everything in the box.

In other words, I need a name for the unique identifier such that if the box of 24 indentures, a sammelband with three titles, and a four-volume scrapbook were all on a shelf, you could point to them and say "those things each have a [Identifier TBA], for a total of six [Identifier TBA]s.

If there isn't a suitable generic name for [Identifier TBA], I will need to make one up. Possibilities that come to mind:

  1.  FPO_ID for "Folger Physical Object Identifier" (but we already use "PO" for the purchase order number associated with vault material
  2.  FOID for "Folger Object Identifier"
  3.  FVIN for "Folger Vault Inventory Number"
  4.  FU for "Folger Unit" (well, okay, I'd be tempted to call them eff-yoos, but wouldn't actually do it)

Thanks for helping me think this through,

Erin.

________

Erin C. Blake, Ph.D.  |  Head of Collection Information Services  |  Folger Shakespeare Library  |  201 E. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC, 20003  |  eblake at folger.edu<mailto:eblake at folger.edu>  |  office tel. +1 202-675-0323


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserver.lib.byu.edu/pipermail/dcrm-l/attachments/20171117/3760c7ea/attachment.html>