I believe that we should stick with the decision we made at the November not
to change the code. We have said (and it has been said to us) a number of
times that stability of the code list is very important.
I've described in another message the mechanics of how OCLC makes changes to
language codes. If the existing 'scr' code were to be changed, that would
mean changing (as of today) 60,347 records, which could, in this case, be
accomplished by a machine conversion. What I didn't describe is "politics"
and prioritization that accompany being able to make these changes. We were
willing to do the recent conversions made necessary by the harmonization of
the USMARC/MARC 21 list with ISO 639-2/B since we had worked with the
Library of Congress during the process of developing the ISO standard. But,
at this point, we too are looking for future stability.
--Glenn
Glenn Patton
Manager, Cataloging Products Department
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
6565 Frantz Rd.
Dublin OH 43017-3395
Phone: +1.800.848.5878, ext. 6371 or +1.614.764.6371
Fax: +1.614.718.7187
Email: mailto:[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Rebecca S. Guenther [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2000 4:13 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Croatian
ISO 639 Joint Advisory Committee members:
At the Library of Congress we have been getting numerous requests to
change the language code for Croatian in the MARC language code list. In
some cases the requestor has confused the code and the language name.
Previously we used the term "Serbo-Croatian (Roman)" for the code "scr".
We have changed it in our new edition of the MARC language codes to
"Croatian". Sometimes when we have responded that the language name has
indeed changed, the requestor has been satisfied, but at other times, they
insist on changing the code because it is based on "Serbo-Croatian,
Roman". However we do try to point out that the code is not intended to
be an abbreviation for the language and that we try not to change codes
because of the impact on our systems.
At our meeting in February we considered the principles for the
maintenance of ISO 639, and we all agreed that we would generally not
change language codes. The standard says the following:
"To ensure continuity and stability, codes shall only be changed for
compelling reasons."
As we continue to discuss this issue here, I would like to ask the members
of this committee their opinion as to whether the request to change "scr"
to "hrv" is a compelling change that we should consider. The requests
generally speak about the Croatian language as having a long history; they
consider a Serbo-Croatian a language forced on them. We do want the MARC
and ISO lists to be consistent, and ultimately this issue will probably be
formally submitted (again) to the ISO JAC. Note that it was considered at
our recent meeting and rejected.
Please comment on what you consider the best course of action in view
of these requests. I will note that we have not had similar requests for a
change to the code for Serbian. Also, I would expect that if we did
change the code we may not be able to change the many records that use it,
and would likely have a split file (although that decision would need to
be made).
Rebecca
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