From Ken Dinin:
>I am aware of the rules governing these situations, but what a waste of time over a standard abbreviation which is universally understood. Why not let the conventional abbreviation stand?
A good question. I am in complete agreement with Ken Dinin on this, but when (I am beginning to tire of pretending that it's an "if") RDA is adopted, we'll be typing out abbreviations whether standard or not. Ridiculous. Libraries downsize or dispense with cataloging staffs in large part because comprehensive cataloging takes a lot of time and therefore costs a lot of money. So we're rushing to create new rules where we'll be spelling out "Department," "illustrations," "pages," and so on. (I'm already practicing ways to get around "etc." since I doubt that "et cetera" will be allowed since it's a dastardly Latin phrase and therefore forbidden).
Mike Tribby
Senior Cataloger
Quality Books Inc.
The Best of America's Independent Presses
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