I am trying to make a local decision on the 502 for our catalog in preparation
for RDA training. I remember some discussions on this topic a month and 2 ago
& am hoping to hear that someone has come up with a good solution since.
We would like to start coding the 502 subfields, but as best we can tell, our
catalog, Ex Libris, is not able to generate punctuation that is not in the
catalog record. Our public services librarians would very much like to retain
as close to our current standard thesis note as possible.
I understand (or assume at least there is) the assumption that systems will
eventually be able to add the desired punctuation to this note. But what I do
not understand about the RDA admonition to remove punctuation from the 502 in
particular, is how local systems are handling this currently.
Under AACR2, a sample free text 502 reads:
‡a Thesis (M. of Military Art and Science (General Studies))--U.S. Army Command
and General Staff College, 2012.
Which of course generates this display:
Thesis (M. of Military Art and Science (General Studies))--U.S. Army Command
and General Staff College, 2012.
The closest we can get to this, with RDA coding is:
‡b M. of Military Art and Science ‡g General Studies ‡c U.S. Army Command and
General Staff College ‡d 2012.
With a helpful system-generated label, we get:
Dissertation Note: Master of Military Art and Science General Studies U.S. Army
Command and General Staff College 2012.
Are other libraries just accepting this? Continuing with the |a free text
field & full punctuation? Adding punctuation to the subfields? Is there some
other option I've not though of?
It seems a shame not to start coding this field for our local theses especially
as we start working with RDA, but I'm not liking the options I feel I have here
to bring to my colleagues.
I'd be interested in what other libraries that catalog a lot of dissertations
are doing with their 502s.
Thanks.
//SIGNED//
Patricia Fogler
Chief, Cataloging Section (AUL/LTSC)
Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center
DSN 493-2135 Comm (334) 953-2135
