I think most of us were ignorant about metric symbols before RDA came along. I certainly was. As was AACR2 itself!
Kevin M. Randall Principal Serials Cataloger Northwestern University Library k...@northwestern.edu<mailto:k...@northwestern.edu> (847) 491-2939 Proudly wearing the sensible shoes since 1978! From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Michele Estep Sent: Friday, March 01, 2013 2:37 PM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Use of ISBD punctuation with RDA. And a workshop. I will have to confess my ignorance about metric "symbols." Until I began studying RDA, I thought cm and other "symbols" were abbreviations. (Am I the only one so ignorant? If so, I'm embarrassed.) So I understand what you mean. cm without a period has nothing to do with RDA. But what about AACR2 300 fields such as: xxv, 980 p. : ǂb ill. (some col.) ; ǂc 24 cm. + ǂe 1 CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.) This is an LC record from 2010. Notice the period at the end of cm. I'm curious as to when "cm" and other metric symbols changed from being an abbreviation to being a symbol. Has it been months, decades or has it always been that way? I suppose I could look it up myself. Why have AACR2 records continued to use an abbreviation instead of a symbol? I'm curious about the story behind this. Such a small little thing, a period. Thanks. Michele
