More thoughts about bf:seriesStatement:  the need for transcription, not just using it with a blank node to pull parts of a series statement together.

It is traditional, and usually required by cataloging codes, to transcribe series information, which is part of the BIBFRAME Instance.  The property bf:seriesStatement is for this purpose:  “Statement of the series the resource is in; usually transcribed; includes the ISSN if applicable”.  To my mind, the result would look much like the MARC 490 field, which has the same purpose.  But things are not turning out this way in the LC converter.

Take OCLC #60408197 as an example.  The MARC record has:

490 1 International archives of photogrammetry and remote sensing, |x 0256-1840 ; |v v. 30, pt. 3 = |a Internationales Archiv der Photogrammetrie und Fernerkundung ; Bd. 30, Teil 3 = |a Archives internationales de photogrammétrie et de télédétection ; v. 30, t. 3

490 1 SPIE proceedings series, |x 0277-786X ; |v v. 2357

When this is converted to BIBFRAME 2.0, we find the following properties in the Instance.  Note that each part of the first 490 is presented as a separate seriesStatement.

bf:seriesEnumeration "v. 2357",

        "v. 30, pt. 3 =" ;

    bf:seriesStatement "Archives internationales de photogrammétrie et de télédétection ; v. 30, t. 3",

        "International archives of photogrammetry and remote sensing",

        "Internationales Archiv der Photogrammetrie und Fernerkundung ; Bd. 30, Teil 3 =",

        "SPIE proceedings series" ;

bf:hasSeries [ a bf:Instance ;

            bf:identifiedBy [ a bf:Issn ;

                    rdf:value "0277-786X" ] ],

        [ a bf:Instance ;

            bf:identifiedBy [ a bf:Issn ;

                    rdf:value "0256-1840" ] ] ;

The chief problem is that these assertions are effectively impossible to reassemble into a reasonable display of transcribed information.  Important correlations between series and the corresponding enumeration and identifiers have been lost.  From the point of view of transcription, it would be simpler and more useful to repeat the text of the 490 in bf:seriesStatement as shown below.  ISSNs would be included per the definition of bf:seriesStatement.  Enumeration could be repeated separately if so desired. 

   bf:seriesStatement “International archives of photogrammetry and remote sensing, 0256-1840 ; v. 30, pt. 3 = Internationales Archiv der Photogrammetrie und Fernerkundung ; Bd. 30, Teil 3 = Archives internationales de photogrammétrie et de télédétection ; v. 30, t. 3”,

“SPIE proceedings series, 0277-786X ; v. 2357” ;

Another question is handling of the ISSNs.  As an identifier for a series, an ISSN would be more useful as part of a series Work.  Creating blank nodes typed as Instance (rather than Work), with ISSNs but no other data, invites a good deal of reconciliation to arrive at someone useful.  ISSNs seem to be the only case where bf:hasSeries is used in an Instance by the LC converter.