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OCLC didn’t flip Postage stamps $z France $z Colonies $v Catalogs $v Periodicals because the program assumed that Colonies was a place name (because it’s in subfield $z) that it didn’t have in the authority file.  The same for $z Territories and possessions.

 

In general, OCLC will always fail to correctly control headings with $x Colonies because it is applying the rule that geographic subdivision comes after the last subdivision in the string that allows geographic subdivision.  However, $x Colonies is a special case in that it is used after names of countries and is further subdivided only by 4 continent-level places.

 

I would guess that OCLC didn’t control $x Specimens because there is an authority for it only as $v.

 

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John Hostage

Senior Continuing Resources Cataloger

Harvard Library--Information and Technical Services

Langdell Hall 194

Harvard Law School Library

Cambridge, MA 02138

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From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Yang Wang
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2021 10:50
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PCCLIST] Controlling subjects including ǂx Colonies in OCLC

 

It didn’t work for me either. Is there another setting that Adam uses but we are unaware of?

 

Allow me to add a few observations.

 

1) There are a little over 150 bibs in OCLC containing the incorrect syntax “Postage stamps $x Colonies $z [name of country] …”—all having been controlled by OCLC.

 

2) I also see some correctly controlled headings “Postage stamps $z [name of country] $x Colonies …,” most of which relate to the specific “Postage stamps ‡z Great Britain ‡x Colonies.” This is not surprising, since the heading is in LCSH [sh 85105457].

 

3) But the following is a surprise. Evidently the “$x Colonies” issue is widespread! Besides, OCLC would leave “$x Specimens” unchanged?

 

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4) I see some headings that are partially controlled, such as this:

 

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I wonder why OCLC didn’t flap it, changing it to “$x Colonies $z France.”

 

5) Some of us do not catalog directly in OCLC. When our bibs, with correctly constructed subject headings, enter OCLC database, does OCLC make such changes? BTW, in LC’s catalog, I see only 3 instances of “Postage stamps $x Colonies $z [name of country]”[They were recent overlays from OCLC.] But some their bibs in OCLC have been affected, unfortunately.

 

Yang

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Program for Cooperative Cataloging <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Kathie Coblentz
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2021 10:27 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PCCLIST] Controlling subjects including ǂx Colonies in OCLC

 

On Thu, 21 Jan 2021 16:05:49 -0500, Diane Pearson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

 

>Wow, Adam, thanks for teaching me something new!  I had no idea this

>was possible.  (Admittedly, portions of these pages I always ignored,

>because I didn't realize their use).

> 

>I wonder, would this technique allow catalogers to form constructions

>that are just plain wrong?  If so, that's an argument for not sharing

>it too widely.

> 

>Thanks, everyone, for your comments.  I was happy I wasn't the only one

>who had run into this.

> 

Sadly, Adam's brilliant workaround didn't work for me. I could get as far as Postmarks ǂz Germany, but when I then clicked on "Append to heading" for "Colonies," it insisted on inserting "Colonies" BETWEEN "Postmarks" and "Germany," instead of AFTER "Germany." Every time.

 

Did I do something wrong?

 

__

Kathie Coblentz

Rare Materials Cataloger

Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints, and Photographs The New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

476 Fifth Avenue, Rm. 313, New York, NY 10018 nypl.org

 

My opinions, not NYPL's