June 20, 2008
TO: SAC OLAC CAPC
FROM: Janis Young
Cataloging Policy & Support Office, Library of Congress
Subject: Genre/form developments since ALA Midwinter, 2008
Report to LC management: In March CPSO submitted a report on the moving image genre/form project to LC managers in which we examined the concept and utility of genre/form headings; set out principles that guide us as we work on the projects; and, enumerated recommendations for the management of future projects.
The LC managers will be meeting to discuss the report on July 9, and we expect to share the approved actions following that meeting. We also plan to post the entire report, including the recommendations and planned actions, on CPSO’s public website.
Radio program genre/form project: In April, CPSO asked for comments on the draft instruction sheet for radio genre/form headings, H 1969.5 (http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/genre2.html). We received several good comments on it. The official version will appear in the Subject Heading Manual this fall.
The first 60 or so radio program genre/form headings were approved in May, and there are still about two dozen headings to go. They will appear in forthcoming weeks.
Moving image genre/form project: CPSO is also continuing to make progress with the moving image project. We are now individually examining problematic headings and groups of headings and publishing them on Tentative Weekly Lists as the issues are ironed out.
One of the problem groups is that of performances (e.g., plays, concerts). There is some debate over whether to treat them as fiction or nonfiction. A film of a play performed onstage, for example, could be considered fictional if the play itself is, but it could also be nonfiction if thought of as a record of the performance.
General issues:
- We are continuing to discuss the issue of "top terms" in the genre/form thesaurus (e.g., Motion pictures, Television programs).
- As we move forward we will be globally updating MIGFG, MIM, and RADFG headings in bibliographic records, replacing them with the new LC genre/form headings.
- There has not been a date set yet for LC implementation of the genre/form headings.
- We are not yet accepting genre/form proposals from SACO libraries. Libraries may continue to submit proposals for topical headings (MARC21 field 150), and CPSO will make the related genre/form proposal if appropriate.
Any questions or comments on the genre/form projects can continue to be sent to Janis Young at jayo@loc.gov.
Last updated: June 23, 2008
http://www.olacinc.org/capc/genreform.html
Teressa Keenan