Hi Jenifer,

The resources that I think don't qualify for Form of work = Series include (1) periodicals/annuals/biennials with some analyzable titles--these would be numbered (or they would have chronological designations); and (2) multipart monographs with some or all analyzable parts--which could be numbered or not.  A made-up example of the latter might be:

The songbirds of North America (in 3 vols.):
A-M
N-Z
Sightings and migration patterns of songbirds in North America, 1970-2010

The 3 volumes aren't numbered; a library might want to analyze the third volume, and make an SAR.  I wouldn't say its form of work is series--it's better described as a multipart monograph, a monograph, a set of books, or a book in 3 parts.

Similarly, I think Newsweek isn't a series, though some of its issues might be eligible for MARC series treatment.  It's better described as a periodical or magazine.

As to classing, that seems like a local decision which wouldn't affect what the form of a work is.(?)

Does this clarify things, as you hoped?

It sounds like you have something in mind--let me know what you're thinking!

mjc

________________________________________
From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Jenifer K Marquardt <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 8:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Interim report of the PCC Series Policy Task Force: LC-PCC PS 6.3.1.3

Good morning!

I'd just like to make sure I understand fully, Mary Jane, though I know we have talked about this before. :-)

When you say:

"Can a resource be a series for one institution, and not for another?"  and mention Newsweek magazine

I assume, by implication, that you are talking about ANY NUMBERED work that  might be treated as a classed together serial or moonset or which might be classed separately.

Is that correct?

Thanks for clarifying this for me,

Jenifer



Jenifer K. Marquardt
Asst. Head of Cataloging & Authorities Librarian
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641

________________________________________
From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Cuneo, Mary Jane [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2014 9:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PCCLIST] Interim report of the PCC Series Policy Task Force: LC-PCC PS 6.3.1.3

Hello List colleagues,

I’ve written about the following issue before, and don’t wish to flog it; but because the PCC Series Policy Task Force is recommending (and SCS seems inclined to approve) something I think will be problematic, I bring it to you again during the comment period for the proposals on series policy.

On p. 53 of the Interim report, the Task Force recommends:

LC-PCC PS 6.3.1.3. PCC practice: Record form of work in all work-level series authority records using the 380 field.  At a minimum in all series authority records, include

380  $a Series (Publications) $2 lcsh

[the recommendation continues, but that is the gist of it.]  On pages 6-7 there is discussion of this.  An SCS comment says “Agree with the conclusion that multipart monographs and monographic series can both be considered series.”

Aside from the question of whether we should be required to hand-code information that could easily be supplied via automation (I believe routines will be written when the need grows more pressing; that work has already begun)—here are my concerns:

First:  380, Form of work, applies to Monographic series, but not to Multipart monographs and Other analyzable serials.  For them, the underlined parts of the definition for Series do not reliably apply:

     Series: A group of separate resources related to one another by the fact that each resource bears, in addition to its own title proper, a collective title applying to the group as a whole.

Often a multipart monograph or a periodical will have some analyzable parts alongside others that do not bear the dual titles that identify a form of work as Series.  The non-analyzable parts do not present themselves as separate resources.

Second, while analysis of monographic series is essentially universal, analysis of multiparts and periodicals is a local decision.  Can a resource be a series for one institution, and not for another?  What do we mean by Form of the work—is it something intrinsic to the work, or can it apply/not apply according to local practices?  I’d say the former.  As one of my colleagues remarked today, before we require that Form of the work be assigned to an entire category of authority records, we should first clarify what we understand it to be.

Third, there is a fundamental difference between monographic series and the other kinds of resources that get MARC series treatment (490/8XX and an SAR).  With monographic series, the focus of bibliographic description is the individual part, while providing access to the comprehensive work (the series) is optional.  The opposite is true for multipart monographs and analyzable periodicals.  For them, the focus of bibliographic description is the comprehensive work, while providing access to the part(s) is optional.  We have become accustomed to calling them “series” because the 490/8XX + SAR treatment has been a practical method under MARC for managing the part/whole relationships at play.  This doesn’t mean their form of work is series.

Fourth, attributes like 380 are used to identify a work by distinguishing it from other works with the same or similar titles.  If applied to a multipart monograph or an analyzed periodical, it will introduce confusion by suggesting that this work differs from another one might recognize, when in reality it is the same as that other work.  For example, suppose an issue of Newsweek has a special title that I wished to analyze, so I make an SAR.  If it must have 380 Series (Publications) $2 lcsh, many will take that as a signal that my SAR is for another publication called Newsweek, not the familiar magazine.

Fifth, as we move into a more diverse bibliographic environment, the usual library-level of granularity in metadata creation is breaking down.  Now our descriptions of books co-exist with tables of contents, records for journal articles, photographs, online resources that contain within themselves other online resources, and so on.  If we code everything we analyze as being a Series, then the term quickly becomes useless.  It will be much more helpful, in the new environment, to talk about part/whole relationships.

Thanks much to those who responded when I raised these issues a while back.  For everyone else who wants to weigh in, now is the time, either here on the lists or in communication directly with SCS, as policy is a-making.

Mary Jane Cuneo
Serials cataloging and NACO
Information and Technical Services
Harvard Library