May I take the occasion to point out another confusing definition in the RDA glossary?
"Portfolio: A unit of extent of text that is a container for holding loose materials (e.g., paintings, drawings, papers, unbound sections of a book, and similar materials) usually consisting of two covers joined together at the back." There is something I'm not getting about how the RDA mind works. If something is "a unit of extent of text," how can it be a container for, e.g., paintings? I was driven back to the definition of "text" to see if maybe somehow it includes non-verbal images, but no, it's "Content expressed through a form of notation for language intended to be perceived visually." Though I suppose one picture IS worth a thousand words, so maybe that's how they figure it. I'm also not too pleased with that "usually consisting of two covers joined together at the back" (which was taken over from the AACR 2 glossary). I've seen a lot of portfolios in my time, and relatively few look like that. Actually, come to think of it, I'm not even sure what it means. Two covers? The RDA definition of "cover" is "The outer protective material attached to a volume, consisting of both sides of the front and back panels and the spine to which they are joined." -------------------------------------------------------- Kathie Coblentz, Rare Materials Cataloger Collections Strategy/Special Formats Processing The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 313 New York, NY 10018 kathiecoble...@nypl.org My opinions, not NYPL's
