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Authority and MARC A Match Made in Heaven

Authority and MARC A Match Made in Heaven. Donna Schroeder OHIONET October 21, 2004. Today’s Agenda. Why have Authority Control? What does it mean to you MARC Why is it important?. Why Have Authority Control?. Ensures consistency One heading / one person Ensures uniqueness

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Authority and MARC A Match Made in Heaven

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  1. Authority and MARCA Match Made in Heaven Donna Schroeder OHIONET October 21, 2004

  2. Today’s Agenda • Why have Authority Control? • What does it mean to you • MARC • Why is it important?

  3. Why Have Authority Control? • Ensures consistency • One heading / one person • Ensures uniqueness • Julie Andrews is different from Julie Andrews, bassoonist • Serves a record-keeping function • Keep catalogers from redoing work

  4. Why Have Authority Control? • Items can go missing. Lost to the user • Even Amazon tries a form of authority control to get customer to the item

  5. Why Do Authority Work • Administrators may • Consider it expensive • Cost exceeds benefits • Slows down the cataloging of wanted materials

  6. Unseen Cost • Burden is placed upon the user to know or guess all possible forms • Frustration limits success • Library may acquire additional copies of works already owned by the library or covered by the library’s collection

  7. For Example • Gabriel Garcia Marquez • File under Marquez or Garcia • If filed two ways….

  8. Robinson Crusoe • Original title Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York • Other versions have other titles • Imagine trying to find all versions • One uniform title brings all together

  9. Time Consuming • Yes. It takes time at first • If set up carefully can be easy to maintain • Authority service • Individual

  10. Time Consuming • Time spent in the beginning saves your users time • More likely they will get what they need • User satisfaction

  11. Authority File • Most heavily used is the Library of Congress Authority File by libraries and by outside sources. • Comprised of two divisions • Subjects • Names

  12. Library of Congress • Depends on AACR2 for formation of names • Subject headings are based on the Subject Cataloging Manual

  13. Access to Authority File • Free online access http://authorities.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First • Through a service such as RLIN or Connexion

  14. Makes Life Easier • Using an already developed Authority File makes life easier • Not in Authority File? • AACR2 guidelines • What language, which country, which is the entry element, etc….

  15. Local Authority Records • Create your own • Caveat. • It is very time consuming and requires a lot of reference work • Example:

  16. Made up authority record

  17. See Also ReferencesName • Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr • By linking all identities customers can find all items by one search

  18. This is an authority record

  19. Bibliographic IdentitiesName • Lewis Carroll wrote his fantasy books under Carroll • Charles Dodgson wrote his mathematics books under Dodgson • Same person

  20. Wrote works under two names Clearly split

  21. In conclusion • Authority work is a benefit to the user • Who is your user • Students • Teachers • Staff • Public (for shared catalogs)

  22. Half the Cataloging Battle • Authority is half the battle • The other half is MARC

  23. MARC • Machine Readable Coding • Why MARC?

  24. Computers • Imagine trying to get the information from a card into a computer. • How could you tell a computer to display this line as a title and this as a date?

  25. Coding • The computer can’t read punctuation but it can read code attached to the punctuation and that is what MARC is.

  26. Local System • SIRSI can take the coding and translate it into something a student can read • Library staff decide what information should be included

  27. Library System Programmer • Programmer takes the request and writes the program for the library’s OPAC • That is why OPACs can vary from library to library

  28. Coding • Brief numbers, letters, and symbols within the cataloging record mark different types of information

  29. How • Punctuation is determined in the record by the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) (included in AACR2)

  30. : and / in Title • : is followed by ‡b • / is followed by ‡c • Placement of : and / determines coding, NOT the other way around

  31. Codes • 245 = Title/Statement of responsibility • ‡b = other title information • ‡c = statement of responsibility • 14 = Main entry and number of letters to ignore at the beginning

  32. Title - 2nd Indicator • Tells search system to ignore initial articles • A (2) • An (3) • The (4) • Le (3) • La (3) • L’ (2)

  33. Example • 245 14$aThe DNA story : $b a documentary history of gene cloning / $c James D. Watson, John Tooze.

  34. Text display

  35. Same record MARC display

  36. Web2

  37. In Conclusion • MARC is simply coding • Easy to use • Allows for an online catalog

  38. Today We Looked At • Authority Control • It is important to help our users find items in our collections • MARC • Is coding used to compose a record and make it available via a computer

  39. Questions

  40. Thank you • For more information or training please contact OHIONET at 1-800-686-8975 • Donna Schroeder donnas@ohionet.org

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