I completely agree. Now, if we only knew someone who could influence
the JSC to move RDA (and LC/NACO practice) in that direction. :)
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John Hostage Authorities Librarian
Langdell Hall [log in to unmask]
Harvard Law School Library +(1)(617) 495-3974 (voice)
Cambridge, MA 02138 +(1)(617) 496-4409 (fax)
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/
> -----Original Message-----
> I agree. In the context of the web, what differentiates any entity is
> its unique resource identifier. We should stop creating
> undifferentiated name records and start establishing separate records
> for each person or identity. We can then clearly record all the
> factual
> information about each person in a clear and unambiguous way. We
don't
> even have to worry about whether the text string that we use as an
> access point is unique; the identifier will keep the identities
> straight
> -- and if we need something textual to differentiate in a display, we
> have all the data elements associated with the person to choose from
> (and by "we" I don't necessarily mean that a cataloger needs to make
> that decision; intelligent machines are good at this sort of thing).
>
> I've been arguing for this change of approach ever since I understood
> that the FRBR entity PERSON is not defined solely by the name of the
> person and that our authority records should be less about controlling
> the form of name and more about recording information about the person
> (name usage being only one such piece of information).
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