Hi all. Occasionally I have tried briefly to explain to non-cataloging library colleagues about some of the changes they might be seeing in the catalog. I mention the no abbreviations rule[s] and go on to say, except for "cm" which is not an abbreviation, but a symbol and does not have a period after it.
When I'm explaining this to people, I have to say that I'm inwardly cringing and feeling embarrassment for my profession as a cataloger, which I've never felt before. Do any of you know what I mean? How does one explain the "cm" rule with a straight face? Michele Estep Cataloging and Metadata Librarian Savannah College of Art and Design® Jen Library 201 E. Broughton St. Savannah, GA 31401 T: 912.525.4659 - Fax: 912.525.4715 mes...@scad.edu - www.scad.edu SCAD - The University for Creative Careers® NOTICE: This e-mail message and all attachments transmitted with it may contain legally privileged and confidential information intended solely for the use of the addressee. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reading, dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or by electronic mail and then delete this message and all copies and backups thereof. Thank you. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ian Fairclough" <ifairclough43...@yahoo.com> To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Sent: Friday, March 1, 2013 11:34:15 AM Subject: [RDA-L] Use of ISBD punctuation with RDA. And a workshop. Dear RDA-L readers, On January 11th I asked a question (subject: question about dates in 264 fields) about the use of brackets and periods, and received several responses, most memorably from Deborah Fritz (who provided pertinent technical documentation) and Mac Elrod (who among all the respondents most closely answered the questions, which were phrased as "What would you do ..."). Also, in response to a more recent question (subject: cross training) I posted a list of MARC fields that I add to each RDA record in progress. In that list, I included field 300, and ended it with cm. That's right, cm. In so doing, I had in mind the likelihood of a response, which I indeed received. I had actually read up in ISBD prior to posting that message. John Hostage and I corresponded for a while about ISBD punctuation, and I found his response helpful and encouraging. Few people will care about this seemingly trivial issue, use of the period following the symbol for centimeters. But some people are likely to be perplexed. For example, some catalogers, used to the red pen of the revisor, and inded in some cases, points deducted for such transgressions as omission or inclusion of a punctuation mark, might wonder what is going on. In writing this message, however, I'm thinking of a different set of people. I am in the process of preparing a workshop "RDA and the Local Library" (with the support of George Mason University libraries, whose Professional Development Committee kindly awarded me research leave for this project). It is to be presented in the first instance at Norweld, a regional library support office, in Bowling Green, Ohio, a fortnight from today. No I am not expecting an influx of RDA-L readers to sign up! Though you would be welcome. Rather, this workshop is oriented to situations where people will encounter RDA records without actually writing the records themselves, particularly small public libraries. Will they need to know about periods at the end of fields, and ISBD punctuation? I doubt it. You can help me here. Imagine yourself as an ordinary public library user. Will RDA implementation affect him? My plan is to reassure the attendees. "Don't worry, it's going to be all right." All comments gratefully received. Sincerely - Ian Ian Fairclough - George Mason University - ifairclough43...@yahoo.com
