The Library of Congress >> Especially
for Librarians and Archivists >> StandardsThe Library of Congress >> Especially
for Librarians and Archivists >> Standards
HOME >> MARC Development >> Discussion Paper List
DATE: December 9, 2015
REVISED:
NAME: Designation of the Type of Entity in the MARC 21 Authority Format
SOURCE: German National Library
SUMMARY: This paper proposes a way of coding which type of entity is described in a given MARC Authority record.
KEYWORDS: Type of Entity (AD); Field 075 (AD)
RELATED:
STATUS/COMMENTS:
12/09/15 – Made available to the MARC community for discussion.
01/09/16 – Results of MARC Advisory Committee discussion: The Committee recognized the value and usefulness of this paper. The approach of a flexible field was preferred, instead of a fixed position solution. The existing field 072 (Subject Category Code) was suggested as an option, with some extensions needed. A new field, as proposed in the paper, was preferred however. The paper will return as a proposal.
When four large authority files used in German speaking countries were merged into one "Integrated Authority File" ("Gemeinsame Normdatei" or "GND") in 2012, MARC 21 was chosen as the format for cataloging, with some additions and modifications, based on cataloging traditions in German speaking countries. On the level of the exchange format, librarians have encountered the use of several local fields and subfields. After three years of consolidation, these elements have been evaluated to determine their potential appeal as part of the MARC 21 communication standard. Based on the evaluation results, the German National Library presents a series of discussion papers.
In MARC Authority records of the GND there is information about what type of entity is described by the record. In each record the broader type of entity is given, out of a list of 7 options: person, name of a person, corporate body, conference / meeting, work, topical term or geographical place name.
In addition a list of narrower types or sub-types of entities is used, comprising about 50 entries: A geographical place name can be a city, a country, or a planet; a corporate body in the broader sense can be a real corporate body or a fictitious one; a person in the broader sense can be a natural person, a god or deity, a spirit or a pseudonym; a topical term can be a language, a product or an ethnographic topical term; a conference / meeting can be a single one or a sequence of conferences / meetings; a work in the broader sense can be a musical work, a collection or a unique resource, e.g. a manuscript.
The list of narrower types of entities defined in the GND is available online at:
http://www.dnb.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/DNB/standardisierung/inhaltserschliessung/entitaetenCodes.pdf (PDF, 3 pages, 33 KB, in German language only)
Up to now the designation of the broader type of entity described in a MARC Authority record can be derived from the presence of the field in the 1XX range. But there are criteria that have to be taken into account when a broader or a narrower type is to be distinguished: A person has a field 100, but a 100 with one or more of the additional subfields from the title portion group (according to http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/adx00.html) designates that the record describes a work. The same is true for the fields 110 (Corporate Name) and 111 (Meeting Name). In field 100 the first indicator "Type of personal name entry element" set to value "3" indicates a "Family name", so the entity described in the record is a family. Distinguishing some of the narrower types of entities is possible by the presence of specific format elements, and by the textual content of specific subfields. However, for most of the narrower types of entities no exact designation is possible in MARC.
The MARC Leader and field 008 of the MARC Authority format were analyzed to determine whether there is a position which already holds the information intended, or which could be extended. The Leader does carry the general information at position 06 "Type of record" with a code "z" for "Authority data", but no more specific types.
In 008, there are the following positions with certain type information:
12 - Type of series
13 - Numbered or unnumbered series
17 - Type of subject subdivision
28 - Type of government agency
32 - Undifferentiated personal name
Position 32 codes cover the distinction between:
a - Differentiated personal name
b - Undifferentiated personal name
n - Not applicable
| - No attempt to code
It is thus able to distinguish between the GND types "person" and "name of a person", but no other types are involved.
Position 17, in particular, has a list of possible values that seem to resemble the broader types from the GND:
17 - Type of subject subdivision
a - Topical
b - Form
c - Chronological
d - Geographic
e - Language
n - Not applicable
| - No attempt to code
The definition however makes it clear that position 17 is restricted to subdivision types: "Type of authorized subject subdivision contained in the 1XX heading field in a subdivision record, an established heading and subdivision record, or a reference and subdivision record. Code n is used in all other kinds of records."
With the need for both a broader and a narrower type of entity in the GND, to be used in combination, a flexible format solution is to be developed. A new field designed as follows should be able to cover these both sorts of types, and potentially every way of subdividing an authority file along types of entities:
Field number: 075 - Type of Entity (R)
Definition: Type of entity that is described by the authority record as a whole. The field can be repeated if different systems, models or styles of subdividing are used to describe an entity. The source from which the type of entity is taken is given as a MARC code in subfield $2.
First Indicator: # - Undefined
Second Indicator: # - Undefined
Subfield Codes
$a - Type of entity term (R)
A term which describes the type of entity that is described in the authority record.$b – Type of entity code (R)
A code which is taken from a controlled list of entity types.$0 - Authority record control number or standard number (R)
Authority record control number or standard number of the type of entity.$2 - Source (NR)
MARC code that identifies the source of the term or code used to record the type of entity.
The new solution may be used by other systems, models or styles of subdividing an authority file into different types. Conceptual models, sets of rules, and carrier standards and formats may find it useful to flexibly designate their specific types in the proposed way.
LDR 00845nz a2200265n 4500
001 118639560
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/118639560$2uri
075 ## $aPerson$bp$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "person"]
075 ## $aGott$bpxg$2[code for GND narrower type]
[Translation: "god" or "deity"]
079 ## $ag$bp$c1$qs$qg$uw$uo$vpxg
100 0# $aHermes
LDR 00423nz a2200157o 4500
001 1077218117
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/1077218117$2uri
075 ## $aName$bn$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "name of a person"]
079 ## $ag$bn$c3$qf
100 1# $aJepsen, Julie Bakken
400 1# $aBakken Jepsen, Julie
LDR 01080nz a2200301o 4500
001 1077117965
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/1077117965$2uri
075 ## $aWerk$bu$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "work"]
075 ## $aWerk der Musik$bwim$2[code for GND narrower type]
[Translation: "musical work"]
079 ## $ag$bu$c3$qm$qf$vwim
100 1# $aCreston, Paul$d1906-1985$tRhapsodien$mSax$mOrg$nop. 108a
380 ## $0(DE-101)041779819$0(DE-588)4177981-2$aRhapsodie$2gnd
382 ## $0(DE-101)041792505$0(DE-588)4179250-6$aSaxophon$2gnd
382 ## $0(DE-101)040438449$0(DE-588)4043844-2$aOrgel$2gnd
400 1# $aCreston, Paul$d1906-1985$tRapsodie
LDR 00509nz a2200181n 4500
001 1072468999
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/1072468999$2uri
075 ## $aKörperschaft$bb$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "corporate body"]
075 ## $aProjekt$bkip$2[code for GND narrower type]
[Translation: "project"]
079 ## $ag$bb$c1$qf$vkip
110 2# $aSnow and Ice Hydrology Project
670 ## $aLCAuth
LDR 00601nz a2200181n 4500
001 963332740
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/416078-2$2uri
075 ## $aKongress$bf$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "conference" or "meeting"]
075 ## $aKongressfolge$bvif$2[code for GND narrower type]
[Translation: "sequence of conferences" or "sequence of meetings"]
079 ## $ag$bf$c1$qf$vvif
111 2# $aInternational Conference on Digital Libraries
LDR 00965nz a2200289n 4500
001 040451046
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/4045104-5$2uri
075 ## $aSachbegriff$bs$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "topical term"]
075 ## $aSprache$bsis$2[code for GND narrower type]
[Translation: "language"]
079 ## $ag$bs$c1$qs$uw$uz$vsis
150 ## $aPennsylvaniadeutsch
450 ## $aPennsylvania Dutch$9v:Wikipedia
LDR 00912nz a2200265n 4500
001 040938832
024 7# $ahttp://d-nb.info/gnd/4093883-9$2uri
075 ## $aGeografikum$bg$2[code for GND broader type]
[Translation: "geographical place name"]
075 ## $aGebäude$bgib$2[code for GND narrower type]
[Translation: "building"]
079 ## $ag$bg$c1$qs$uw$uz$vgib
151 ## $aAlhambra$gGranada
451 ## $aStadtburg Alhambra$gGranada
Impact would be on MADSRDF. An additional subproperty of Real World Object might be added.
5.1. Is the need of designating a type of entity / types of entities clearly given?
5.2. Can the issue be solved by a format element already available in the MARC Authority format?
5.3. Can a format solution like the new field "075" solve the issue?
5.4. Or is there another option for the information such as a coded field in the Leader and / or the 0XX range?
5.4.1. Should the broader type (person, name of a person, corporate body, conference / meeting, work, topical term, geographical place name) be located in a newly to be defined position of the Leader (e.g. 07 - "Type of entity")?
5.4.2. If yes to 4.1.: Should then only the narrower type from the longer list populate the newly proposed field "075"?
5.5. Are there any potential problems that should be taken into account?
HOME >> MARC Development >> Discussion Paper List
| The Library of Congress >> Especially
for Librarians and Archivists >> Standards ( 03/03/2016 ) |
Legal | External Link Disclaimer | Contact Us |