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DATE: May 23, 2012
REVISED:
NAME: Authority Records for Medium of Performance Vocabulary for Music in the MARC 21 Authority Format
SOURCE: Music Library Association, Library of Congress
SUMMARY: This paper explores options in the MARC 21 Authority Format for authority records for a new controlled vocabulary that is under development consisting of medium of performance terms for music.
KEYWORDS: Field 1XX (AD); Field 382 (AD, BD); Medium of performance (AD, BD)
RELATED: 2012-01
STATUS/COMMENTS:
05/23/12 - Made available to the MARC community for discussion.
06/23/12 – Results of MARC Advisory Committee discussion: The discussion centered on the questions and especially the tag to use. Question 1: music catalogers preferred the 142, but consideration should be given to the 16X block, which could correspond to index terms. Question 2: there was support for the use of "term" although some felt it did not really make any difference. "Heading" has been used in the names to distinguish the 1XX from the 4XX and the 5XX. "Index term" is used in the bibliographic format for some 6XX entries. Question 3: Each authority record for a medium of performance term (single word or phrase) will have one 1XX with one term in it. The terms, when applied in a record for a work or expression, can be several in one field (in separate subfields) as long as they are from the same thesaurus, or they can be in separate field occurrences. If they are from different thesauri then a new field will be needed. This is specified in the 382 (Medium of Performance) field description. May come back as a proposal.
In March 2012, the Library of Congress announced its intention to develop in collaboration with the Music Library Association a new medium of performance vocabulary for music, Library of Congress Medium of Performance Thesaurus for Music (LCMPT). The need for the new vocabulary grew out of the work underway in an existing collaboration between the Library of Congress and the Music Library Association to develop the music component of the thesaurus, Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials (LCGFT). Many LCSH headings with eligible vocabulary for LCGFT also contain medium of performance terms. However, medium of performance is out of scope for LCGFT. In fact, medium of performance is now recognized as its own bibliographic facet that should have its own vocabulary, separate from both LCSH and LCGFT. LCMPT is intended to be used, at least initially, for two purposes: 1) as the successor vocabulary to LCSH for searching for music by medium of performance, once LCSH is no longer used for that purpose, and 2) to serve as the controlled vocabulary of medium of performance terms for the new descriptive cataloging standard, RDA: Resource Description and Access.
Field 382 has been defined in both the Bibliographic and Authority Formats as Medium of Performance, and MARBI Proposal 2012-01 added indicators and subfields to enable detailed recording and indexing of medium of performance information. Now, as work continues on LCMPT, the Library of Congress and the Music Library Association would like to move forward in exploring options for new medium of performance authority records.
The authors of this Discussion Paper believe that a new set of fields needs to be defined for medium of performance authority records. These fields would likely be:
1XX – Heading – Medium of Performance Term (NR)
4XX – See From Tracing – Medium of Performance Term (R)
5XX – See Also From Tracing – Medium of Performance Term (R)
7XX – Established Heading Linking Entry – Medium of Performance Term (R)
First Indicator
1XX/4XX/5XX – Undefined
# - Undefined
Second Indicator
1XX/4XX/5XX – Undefined
# - Undefined
7XX – Thesaurus
0 - Library of Congress Subject Headings
1 - LC subject headings for children's literature
2 - Medical Subject Headings
3 - National Agricultural Library subject authority file
4 - Source not specified
5 - Canadian Subject Headings
6 - Répertoire de vedettes-matière
7 - Source specified in subfield
Subfield Codes
$a - Medium of performance term (NR)
$e- Relationship term (R) [4XX/5XX]
$i - Relationship information (R) [4XX/5XX]
$w - Control subfield (NR) [4XX/5XX/7XX]
$0 - Record control number (R) [5XX/7XX]
$2 - Source of heading or term (NR) [7XX]
$4 - Relationship code (R) [4XX/5XX]
$5 - Institution to which field applies (R) [4XX/5XX/7XX]
$6 - Linkage (NR)
$8 - Field link and sequence number (R)
Examples of potential medium of performance authority records
010 ## $a mp2012000001
040 ## $a DLC $b eng $c DLC $f lcmpt
1XX ## $a violin
4XX ## $a fiddle (violin)
5XX ## $w g $a bowed string instrument
670 ## New Grove dict. of mus. www site, Apr. 27, 2012 $b (Soprano member of the family of string instruments that includes the viola and cello)
670 ## $i New Harvard dict. of mus.: $b (fiddle (2). The violin, especially in colloquial usage)
010 ## $a mp2012000002
040 ## $a DLC $b eng $c DLC $f lcmpt
1XX ## $a jug band
5XX ## $w g $a band
670 ## $a New Grove dict. of jazz: $b (instrumental ensemble that uses one or more jugs as bass wind instruments and that arose among African Americans in the early years of the 20th century as popular entertainment for medicine shows and picnics. It takes its name from the use of a jug as a bass instrument.)
670 ## $a New Harvard dict. of mus.: $b (1. A small folk ensemble of the U.S. that includes various homemade instruments (e.g., washtub, washboard, and jug), along with a few conventional pitched instruments, particularly guitar and harmonica. 2. An ensemble of a type formed among black musicians in the southern U.S. in the 1920s and 30s, including a jug (played by blowing across its opening) and associated with the blues and some currents of jazz.)
Traditionally, headings tags in the Authority format have matched the corresponding bibliographic fields in which those headings are used. For example, authority records for genre/form terms are tagged 155, and genre/form terms taken from the 155 are recorded in bibliographic records as 655s. Field 382 has already been authorized as the field in which medium of performance terms will be recorded in bibliographic records for music manifestations and in authority records for musical works and expressions. However, the corresponding 182 in the Authority format is not available. It is already defined as Heading – Chronological Subdivision.
Aside from the lack of mnemonic assistance matching field tags provide, we are not sure if there are consequences for having non-matching tags. We suggest the 152 as a possibility, as it is currently unused, it is in close proximity to the 155, and it ends with the same digit (2) as the 382. However, it is used for hierarchical place names in the Bibliographic format 7XX fields (752). If authority records were created for hierarchical place names in the future, it would be desirable to use the 152 for them. Another "semi-mnemonic" tag would be 142, which is open.
All current fields in the 1XX range of the Authority format have the name “Heading--XXX YYY” (where YYY is either "name", "title", "term", or "subdivision"). The "Heading" part of the field name is intended to distinguish the 1XX from the 4XX and 5XX "tracing" fields, and today we might use instead the term "authority" or "preferred". The terms from LCMPT, when they are used in the 382 field, will not be headings in a traditional sense, but rather index terms, like those in field 148 (Heading-Chronological Term)or field 155 (Heading-Genre/Form Term), thus it may be preferable to call the field Authority--Medium of Performance Term.
2.3. Use of authority records for medium of performance terms
The 382 field, as it’s been defined, does not work in the same way as many other controlled fields such as the Bibliographic format fields 100, 110, 650, 700, etc. Depending on the resource, or part of a resource, being referred to, multiple terms can be valid in each 382, in repeatable subfields $a, $b, and $d, and as accompanied by numerals in subfields $n and $s. Questions remain about how well the matching of terms in 382 fields with the authority record for each term will work, or whether matching even needs to occur, especially in view of the fact that most LCSH 650 headings containing medium of performance terms do not have authority records now because they are not required. Two examples of the coding of medium of performance in field 382 are:
382 01$atrumpet$n2$atrombone$n2$s4
[A work for two trumpets and two trombones.]382 01$asoprano$n2$amezzo-soprano$n1$atenor saxophone$n1$dbass clarinet$n1$atrumpet$n1$apiano$n1$aviolin$n1$dviola$n1$adouble bass$n1$s8
[A work for 2 sopranos, one mezzo-soprano, tenor saxophone (doubling bass clarinet), C trumpet, piano, violin (doubling viola), and double bass--8 total performers).]
We believe the structure of an authority record in the MARC Authority Format would be a good fit for these new medium of performance terms, and see advantages to such authority records being available alongside our other authority files for the variant forms, relationships to other terms, and reference information they will contain. We also recognize that making these terms available as a registered list of medium of performance terms through id.loc.gov would be a complementary method that would make the vocabulary available to systems in the future. But MARC-based systems may prefer to have MARC authority records, especially in terms of automated verification/validation of terms and system functionality. So we would appreciate MARBI’s feedback regarding the appropriateness of using the MARC Authority Format for LCMPT vocabulary.
3.1. 382 (BF, AF) has already been authorized as the field in which medium of performance terms will be recorded. The corresponding 182 (AF) tag is not available, but the 152 and the 142 tags are available. Would the "mismatch" cause problems? Also authority field 152 was in the past defined in the Canadian MARC Communication Format: Authorities as Established Heading - Reversed Geographic Name. Is there as great a concern about re-using authority tags as there is for bibliographic tags?
3.2. All current fields in the 1XX range of the Authority format have the title “Heading.” LCMPT terms will be better described as index terms. Should the LCMPT authority file have a different name for the 1XX -- that does not begin with "Heading"?
3.3. The 382 field, as it’s been defined, does not work in the same way as many other controlled fields. Multiple terms will be valid in each 382, in repeatable subfields $a, $b, and $d, and combined with numerals in subfields $n and $s to create a meaningful medium of performance statement. Will having multiple, separate terms in a single field pose special problems for citing authority records?
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