Other than MARC 21 correctness, does the presence of the final period in
the heading cause problems with machine validation?

As a practical matter, I would beg NACO members not to revise a heading
solely to remove a final period. It was at one time correct, but is now
an obsolete practice.

For one thing, this adds a considerable burden to the processing and
re-distribution of the authority files. The revised record is
contributed through a utility to LC, processed, and re-distributed
through the utility to members. There is a heavy enough flow as it is
without adding this.

Secondly, there is my eyesight. Such revisions would be included in the
regular OCLC report I receive of revisions to existing headings. I have
just spent the afternoon blearily cutting and pasting the latest such
report into sub-reports by language or specialisation for manual
searching and possible BFM within LC by other catalogers. This is
already a considerable occupation without adding revisions that do not
affect bibliographic records.

Anthony

Anthony R.D. Franks
Acting Team Leader, Cooperative Cataloging Team
Library of Congress
202-707-2822 (voice)
202-252-2082 (fax)

>>> [log in to unmask] 8/18/2004 2:54:47 PM >>>
The Descriptive Cataloging Manual Z1 pages say "When modifying an
authority record for another reason, delete any final mark of
punctuation
in the 1XX ..."

In fact, I've ONLY ever done this when I was modifying the record for
another reason, never just to delete the period.

What is your opinion of modifying a record for that reason ONLY, in
other
words, deleting the period at the end of the 1XX when no other changes
are
necessary?

Dolores Barber

- Dolores Jungheim Barber ----------------
- Catalog Department, University Library -
- The University of Illinois at Chicago  -