>Thank you, Deborah, and I should have known of course that RDA would not lose this basic descriptive function, just make it more... what is the word? Explicit, I suppose.
As a cataloger of many works from the hand-press period, where spelling lacks uniformity, and typographical errors, arcane contractions, and obfuscation are all too common, I might suggest a word: Maddening! I give you that [s.l.] and [s.n.] are pretty obscure, but [sic] and [i.e.] are commonly used outside of the library world. You faith in the authors of RDA is touching, but it seems to me that assume users live in a vacuum and are incapable of acquiring a modicum of cultural literacy. Will WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Will Evans Chief Rare Materials Catalog Librarian Library of the Boston Athenaeum 10 1/2 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02108 Tel: 617-227-0270 ext. 224 Fax: 617-227-5266 www.bostonathenaeum.org WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW -----Original Message----- From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Benjamin A Abrahamse Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 5:57 PM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: Re: [RDA-L] latin, the dead language Thank you, Deborah, and I should have known of course that RDA would not lose this basic descriptive function, just make it more... what is the word? Explicit, I suppose. Regarding [s.l.].... what a fascinating list we are saddling users with by forcing them to find out what s.l. means! I believe my crosswording skills may have just gone up a notch. Learning what [s.l.] and [s.n.] meant, and how to use them, was one of my first "initiations" into cataloging. Not just the words--but the concept they represented: there's a way of expressing a missing piece of information that is so clear and compact. So essentially bibliographic. I understand the arguments why they should be exiled to obscurity, and replaced with a blander, more accessible signpost--for the greater provision of useful data to our users and all--but to be perfectly candid I'll be sad not to have them around. --Ben Benjamin Abrahamse Cataloging Coordinator Acquisitions, Metadata and Enterprise Systems MIT Libraries ________________________________________ From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca] On Behalf Of Brenndorfer, Thomas [tbrenndor...@library.guelph.on.ca] Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 5:32 PM To: RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca Subject: Re: [RDA-L] latin, the dead language I think the point is not on "we" but on our users. Sending them to a glossary or to Wikipedia to understand the content of an element (which may be found in a completely different context than an ISBD display) is simply not user-friendly. I fully support the conclusions from the original research on abbreviations done by the steering committee for RDA-- we should strive to serve all users, in all contexts, not just some. Why might "s.l." be confusing? This is Wikipedia's disambiguation page for "s.l.": .... from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.l. SL may refer to: In geography: Saint Lucia, a Caribbean island Sri Lanka, in South Asia Sierra Leone, in West Africa In computing: SL (complexity), a class of computational complexity .sl, the country code top-level domain for Sierra Leone Second Life, a multi-user 3D virtual world Scientific Linux, a Linux distribution Mac OS X v10.6, named Snow Leopard Subjective logic, a type of probabilistic logic Languages: Sign Language Slovene language, in ISO 639-1 code In transport: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, an automobile Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais, IATA code SL, a Brazilian airline Salt Lake City Southern Railroad's reporting mark Steam locomotive Stor-Oslo Lokaltrafikk, public transport operator in Akershus, Norway Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, public transport operator in Stockholm, Sweden Organizations: Sendero Luminoso, the "Shining Path" Maoist guerrilla movement SL Corporation, a Korean auto parts company Stronnictwo Ludowe, a defunct Polish party Other uses: Sensei's Library, an internet website and wiki dedicated to the ancient game of Go Sensu lato, used in taxonomy to mean "in the wider sense" of a definition Serjeant-at-law, an obsolete legal position in the United Kingdom Sine loco, in bibliographies, indicates that the place of publication of a document is unknown Sonoluminescence, the emission of short bursts of light from imploding bubbles in a liquid when excited by sound Sophrolaelia, in horticulture, an orchid genus Special linear group, in mathematics, denoted SLn Still Life (disambiguation) Thomas Brenndorfer Guelph Public Library > -----Original Message----- > From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access > [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Guy Vernon Frost > Sent: April 29, 2011 5:20 PM > To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA > Subject: Re: [RDA-L] latin, the dead language > > s.l, s.n. both are in Wikipedia.. that was enough for me to decide we would > continue to use them and not apply the RDA recommendation. > > Guy Frost, B.M.E., M.M.E., M.L.S., Ed.S > Catalog Librarian/Facilitator of Technical Processing > Associate Professor of Library Science > Odum Library, Valdosta State University > Valdosta, GA 31698-0150 Depository 0125 > 229-259-5060 ; FAX 229-333-5862 > gfr...@valdosta.edu > > -----Original Message----- > From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access > [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Mike Tribby > Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 4:12 PM > To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA > Subject: [RDA-L] latin, the dead language > > In the conversations that many members of this list tend to find as boring > and pointless as can be, it has been suggested that abbreviations based on > Latin terms are arcane and that most library patrons likely don't understand > them. I have mixed feelings about this, ranging from strong agreement that > few know what "S.l." or "S.n." mean to dismay that we are supposedly > cataloging for library users unfamiliar with "etc.", etc. > > Today I'm cataloging a book about muscle development for bodybuilders, > mostly weightlifters. It has a two-page glossary of Latin terms. Apparently > these bodybuilders are better equipped to search our information silos than > library users at large are. > > > > > Mike Tribby > Senior Cataloger > Quality Books Inc. > The Best of America's Independent Presses > > mailto:mike.tri...@quality-books.com
