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PCCLIST readers,

Thanks again to those who've contributed to this discussion.  The most recent post is Robert Maxwell's.  His book, Maxwell's Handbook for RDA, contains the phrase "format agnostic" (page viii), about which I asked a while ago (post to RDA-L, June 2, 2014).  The phrase is germane to the discussion, which I'd like to refocus back onto the use of MARC encoding, and in more general terms rather than specifically as to whether "Works. Selections" represents a work or expression, with or without various qualifiers.  My concern applies also to cases like "Poems. Selections" and "Preferred title. Language into which it is translated".  Setting such concerns aside for the moment (if possible!) and generalizing, I wonder whether:

100  AAP for author, |e author.
240  Preferred title for work, qualified by data specific to the expression
245  Title proper (as transcribed from preferred source).
is a practice that should be replaced by:

100  AAP for author, |e author.
245  Title transcribed from preferred source.
700 1_ AAP for author. |t Preferred title for work.
700 12  AAP for author. |t Preferred title for work, qualified by data specific to the expression.

Responding to Ted Gemberling's earlier question "Why would that be better than using the 240?":

If you concatenate the data in 100/240 as presented above, you get
AAP, author.  Preferred title for work
The relationship designator is obviously out of place in a field that represents the work or expression.  And the data is performing double duty, in these respects:
1. Field 100 is an access point qualified by the relationship term in subfield e, as well as a linking term for the preferred title;
2. Field 240 is a preferred title for work, however, it is also serving as preferred title for an expression of that work.  Particularly if a language into which the work has been translated is given.

Although use of MARC 700 duplicates the AAP for author data, it avoids having the 100 and 240 fields do double duty.  Despite the duplication, perhaps our records would be better if each field has just one function.

If I'm mistaken I'd appreciate correction.  In practical terms: is there any reason why not to prepare MARC records according to the second way?  (In OCLC Connexion, it has the added advantage that 700 fields with subfield t can be controlled, whereas field 240 cannot.)

Sincerely - Ian

P.S. Recording for reference purposes: Applicable guidelines are
100: RDA 9.19 & I.1, plus LC-PCC PS link to the document PCC Guidelines for the Application of Relationship Designators in Bibliographic Records
240: RDA 5.5
245: RDA 2.3.2

Ian Fairclough
Cataloging and Metadata Services Librarian
George Mason University
703-993-2938
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