My thoughts exactly when I saw the summary; you need both.
Edith Sutterlin
Technical Services Dept. Manager
Northland Public Library
300 Cumberland Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412-366-8100, x 125
-----Original Message-----
From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Kevin M. Randall
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 1:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PCCLIST] Summary of Decisions, Editorial Meeting 10/13
> -----Original Message-----
> Same-sex parents
> The heading Gay parents already exists in LCSH,
so
the
> proposed UF Gay parents is in direct conflict with that heading. The
meeting
> decided to change the existing heading Gay parents to Same-sex
parents.
The
> proposal was not approved.
It seems that there are actually two different topics that the phrases
"Same-sex parents" and "Gay parents" would be dealing with. And there
is
not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between those topics and the
phrases.
First would be same-sex couples as parents. "Same-sex parents" would
apply
specifically to this topic. "Gay parents" might also seem to apply.
Then there would be single lesbians or gay men as parents, or lesbians
and
gay men as parents who are married to persons of the opposite sex.
"Same-sex" parents would not apply at all to this topic. "Lesbian
mothers"
and "Gay fathers" would apply, and "Gay parents" might also apply to
refer
to the lesbians and gay men collectively.
"Gay parents" can be ambiguous, because it might refer to either or both
of
the two topics. "Same-sex parents" makes sense only in the first topic;
it's totally nonsensical in the second topic. ("Same sex" as what?)
Will there be scope notes to clarify use of "Same-sex parents", and
perhaps
to use only the separate headings "Lesbian mothers" and "Gay fathers"
when
the work deals with gay parents who are not part of a same-sex couple?
Thinking more about it, "Same-sex parents" could also be taken to mean
"Parents of the same sex as the child". Would "Gay couples as parents"
perhaps be more accurate and clear? (That's what the work cited in the
proposed authority record is about, being titled "Phenomenological study
of
same-sex parented families".)
Kevin M. Randall
Principal Serials Cataloger
Bibliographic Services Dept.
Northwestern University Library
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208-2300
email: [log in to unmask]
phone: (847) 491-2939
fax: (847) 491-4345
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