Explanation from a cataloger with more than thirty years of experience:

Pre-AACR2 rules encouraged $e. With AACR2 the $e was considered obsolete. At Duke University, we deleted it from pre-AACR2 copy for many years. When we contracted our authority control to LTI, one option was to have the $e deleted automatically. Recently, LTI advised their customers that if they should reconsider their use of this option, as the $e had come back.

This is one of many challenges of dealing with "legacy records" as the rules change.

Amy

Amy Turner

Duke University Libraries

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From: Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative Forum [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Tennant,Roy [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 3:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [BIBFRAME] Input screens

Others on this list are much more qualified to speculate than I. I am merely reporting the facts “on the ground”. Having said that, please keep in mind that WorldCat is increasingly a world-wide aggregation of library metadata, and as such it reflects a diversity of cataloging practices, not just those dictated by AACR2.
Roy

On 1/18/13 1/18/13 • 11:26 AM, "Godsey-Bell, Connie F. (LNG-DAY)" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Thanks Roy. Those are really small percentages. Why so small? Is the information not available? Do the editors who input the data not have time to add it? I’m brand new to the MARC world, so am not familiar with its culture and challenges.

Connie

From: Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tennant,Roy
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 2:13 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [BIBFRAME] Input screens

Let me do this again (from scratch, even). The following are the number of records that have the listed elements, out of 289,294,984 records processed, as of 1 January 2013 in WorldCat:

700 $4: 14,229,291 or 4.92% of the total
700 $e: 9,904,536 or 3.42% of the total

Roy

On 1/18/13 1/18/13 • 10:33 AM, "Ross Singer" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
On Jan 18, 2013, at 1:11 PM, "Godsey-Bell, Connie F. (LNG-DAY)" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi,
What percent of the total do the total occurrences represent?

And what number of unique records have a 700 with a $4 or an $e?

-Ross.

Thanks,
Connie Godsey-Bell,
Editor
LexisNexis

From: Bibliographic Framework Transition Initiative Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask] <http://LISTSERV.LOC.GOV> ] On Behalf Of Tennant,Roy
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 12:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [BIBFRAME] Input screens

On 1/18/13 1/18/13 • 9:24 AM, "Ross Singer" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
How often, on aggregate, is the 100 or 700 $4 or $e used? Since I've parsed a lot of MARC records, I can tell you. Not much (and the inconsistency of the $e makes this even less useful).

I can tell you exactly, as of December 1, 2012 in WorldCat:

Total number of records: 287,229,344
Total occurrences of a 700 field: 80,731,356
Total occurrences of 700 $4: 24,908,408
Total occurrences of a 700 $e: 14,117,538

Roy