Well, they come in several flavors, so you might have to do more than one. (Does RDA support flavors?)
Benjamin Abrahamse Cataloging Coordinator Acquisitions, Metadata and Enterprise Systems MIT Libraries 617-253-7137 From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca] On Behalf Of A. P. Laubheimer Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2011 9:00 PM To: RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Tactile three-dimensional form I can think of an item offhand that would be a "tactile three-dimensional form", though I certainly agree that the phrasing is problematic at best. A recent musical recording by the band The Flaming Lips was issued as .mp3 files stored on a USB drive embedded in a seven-pound edible gummy skull. Yes, it's a fringe item, but total flexibility in regards to the representation of resources and their various manifestations seems to be a large part of the goal of RDA, at least in spirit. It seems wise to future-proof a metadata standard by being as format-agnostic as possible, in my mind anyway. On the other hand, how many gummy skulls is anyone likely to catalog? -- A. P. Laubheimer On Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 8:03 PM, J. McRee Elrod wrote: Sunday afternoon I was at a delightful concert of 18th century French music. During one legato movement, I admit my mind wondered (as it sometimes does) to what the RDA media content term "tactile three-dimensional form" might apply. A baton? The only answer which has been suggested to me (offlist) is a dildo. (The more provocative messages I receive are offlist.) There has never been one of those for SLC to catalogue, but if there were, wouldn't "model" be a more intuitive term? Single intelligible words work better for me than difficult to comprehend, too long for display, phrases. For display purposes, SLC plans to reduce long phrases to one word, e.g., "cartographic". and "form". But "map", "globe", "model", and "object" seem better choices to me. The same applies to relationship terms, e.g., using "director" for the various phrases containing that word. It is obvious from other data in the record what has been directed. Among RDA terms, second only to those phrases in being objectionable, is calling electronic media "computer". The calm mood induced by the music did not last long! Stewingly yours, Mac __ __ J. McRee (Mac) Elrod (m...@slc.bc.ca<mailto:m...@slc.bc.ca>) {__ | / Special Libraries Cataloguing HTTP://www.slc.bc.ca/ ___} |__ \__________________________________________________________