Record Types

Authority record – A machine-readable record for which the initial element is the authorized access point for a person, corporate body, work, trademark, printer/publisher device, topical subject, place access or form, genre, or physical characteristics, as established by the cataloguing agency responsible. In addition to the authorized access point, the record contains, as applicable: information notes; a record of all variant and related access points from which references have been made; authorized access points in other language or script; classification and entry history information; notes recording sources consulted, etc.; an identification of the cataloguing agency responsible for the entry.

General explanatory record – A machine-readable record for which the initial element normally consists of a truncated or otherwise stylized or exemplary form, from which the user is directed to a general class or defined category of access points. It serves to inform the user of the list, catalogue, bibliography etc., of a convention that applies either generally or to a defined category of access points, and to provide guidance in locating such access points.

Reference record – A machine-readable record for which the initial element is the variant access point. It is designed to direct the user of the list, catalogue, bibliography etc., from the variant access point to the appropriate authorized access point (i. e. a see reference). Reference records are defined only for variant access points, because the references from authorized access points to related authorized access points (i.e. a see also reference) can always be generated from authority records.

Access Point Types

Access point

Base access point – The base access point is that part of the access point that identifies the name of the entity, excluding any qualifying data. For example, in the access point "aNicolini da Sabbio bDomenico f15-- to 160-? cimprimeur-libraire", the base access point is "aNicolini da Sabbio bDomenico" in Italian. The language of cataloguing being French, the qualifiers are expressed in French, i. e. "cimprimeur-libraire".

Controlled access point – An access point recorded in an authority record. Controlled access points include authorized forms of names as well as those designated as variant forms.

Access points categorized by function within a record:

Authorized access point – The access point for an authority record.

Reference access point – The access point for a reference record.

General explanatory access point – The access point for a general explanatory entry.

Access points categorized by relationship to other access points:

Authorized access point – An access point constructed using the preferred name as the basis of the form to be followed without variation.

Authorized access point in other language or script – An alternative form of the authorized access point based on another language or script form of the name, title or subject.

Related access point – One of two or more authorized access points for name of the same or related entities, each of which is bibliographically related to the other(s).

Variant access point – An access point in a form other than that established as the authorized access uniform access point. Generally such an access point is either based on a variant name sometimes used by the person, corporate body or family itself, or sometimes used by others to identify the person, corporate body, trademark, family, printer/publisher device or work; or constructed on a pattern different from that used to establish the authorized access point. In the case of a subject access point this is usually the variant form, which is not the same as the entry element of the authorized subject access point.

Alternative script access point – An authorized access point represented in another script.

Record Components

Tracing – The identification within the authority record of the variant or related access point from which a reference is to be made directing the user of the list, catalogue, bibliography etc., to the appropriate authorized access point. The tracing is designed to provide for the generation of references and assist the cataloguer in readily determining what references have been made.

Information note – A note of the type that is generally given in catalogues, bibliographies, etc., under an authorized access point, a reference access point, or a general explanatory access point for the purpose of explaining the relationship between that access point and other access points that are referenced from it.

Primary entity – The entity, named in the 2XX block, for which the record was created. Data in the 1XX block generally pertain to characteristics of the primary entity.

Mandatory Fields

In addition to the System Field 000, which is entered automatically, a record must contain the following fields:

Field and Subfield Repetition

If the designation "r" (repeatable) is associated with a field, i.e. subfield, then that field, i.e. subfield, may occur more than once in a record. The designation "nr" indicates that field, i.e. subfield may not be repeated.

Punctuation

The punctuation prescribed by GARR is not entered strictly because it is generated automatically. GARR prescribed punctuation consists of "=" (used with parallel access points), "<", ">", "<<", and ">>" symbols (used with tracings), ";" and "," (used in the source area – 8XX block). All other punctuation between subfields (in access points, notes, etc.), are generated automatically within the COBISS systems.

Fill character

Generally, all required data needs to be entered in the records, but this is not always possible if the data is not available. In such cases, the fill character "|" is used when the value of the indicator or the coded data cannot be determined.

Format Use

Authority Records

This format is designed to support primarily the communication of authority records for authorized access points. These records may also carry tracings of variant or related authorized access points (as outlined in GARR, 0.3.1), i.e. variant or related access points from which reference records are generated for display. A 4XX field is used for a "see from" reference tracing containing a variant form of the authorized access point. A 5XX field is used for a "see also from" reference tracing containing a related authorized access point. See examples 1, 6 and 9.

In exceptional cases, references can be added to authority records in note form: field 305 – Textual see also reference note. Reference notes are used when a reference is too complex to be adequately generated from one or more related access points. The 2XX access point is also generally traced as a see reference tracing in a 5XX field of each of the records for access points mentioned in the 305 note. Such tracings would usually have the Reference Supression Code in the subfield 5 set to suppress automatic generation of a simple reference, since the reference record provides the reference. See example 2.

Reference Records

Reference records for variant access points are only made when see references are too complex to be adequately generated from 4XX fields in authority records. The reference record contains the variant access point in the 2XX field and a 310 – Textual see reference note. The 2XX access point is also generally traced as a see reference tracing in a 4XX field of the authority record for each of the authorized access points referred to in the 310 note. These tracings would generally have the Reference Supression Code in the subfield 5 set to suppress automatic generation of a simple reference, since the reference record provides the reference. See examples 3, 10 and 11.

General Explanatory Records

General explanatory records are made when see references from explanatory access points are needed. The general explanatory record contains an explanatory access point in the 2XX field and a 320 General Explanatory Reference Note. The 2XX explanatory access point is not traced on any authority record. See example 4.

Relationships Between Access Points

Parallel Data

Option 1

A general principle for creating a record using this format is that one form of one access point is entered and that access point is appropriate for a catalogue in the language designated by the 100 field. The reference tracings constitute the reference structure for that access point in that catalogue.

If a cataloguing agency needs to construct a parallel catalogue based on another language, the agency may want to transmit equivalent or parallel language forms of the fields 2XX access point and the notes and tracings appropriate to the parallel access points. It is not recommended that the notes and tracings for the parallel access points based on language differences be co-resident in a single authority record. In using this format, these parallel access points should have separate authority records in which they have a role of authorized access point and where their reference structure will be recorded in the 4XX and 5XX reference tracing and 3XX note fields.

Note that when these parallel access points are in a different script, not only in a different language, they are still encoded following the rules for parallel data. If the access points are in a different but the same language as their corresponding fields then the rules for alternative scripts should be followed.

The records for the different formulations of the access point designed for different language catalogues may be linked through the 7XX fields for authorized access points in other language or script. In each authority record, each parallel access point and its associated authority record identifier (subfield 3) may be recorded in 7XX field. See example 7.

Option 2

Alternatively, an agency may treat parallel forms of the 2XX authorized access point as simple variants or references: 4XX or 5XX reference tracings with or without specifying language. The reference structures of the parallel forms are not needed and are not included in the record. The choice of technique depends on the practices of the establishing agency.

It should be noted that a distinction is made for a given record between:

Alternative Script Data

The script of cataloguing (access point, notes, tracings, etc.) is identified in the 100 field of the record. Some agencies need to record access points, notes and tracings in more than one script form because of transliteration and alternative script orthographies used for a language (e. g. Cyrillic and Latin script). Alternative script representations of the access points, notes, and the tracings may be co-resident in an authority record or may reside in separate linked records. Note, however, that if the alternative script representations differ in language from their corresponding access points, then the rules for parallel data apply.

When the alternative scripts representations are co-resident, then the alternative script forms of the 2XX record access point are recorded in repeatable 2XX access point fields, with a subfield 7 – Script of the base access point that indicates the difference from the script defined in the 100 field. The alternative script forms of notes or tracings are carried as repeated tags in their respective blocks. See example 8.

If the alternative script representations reside in separate records, then the records are linked through 7XX authorized access point fields which contain the alternative script form of the 2XX field. The 7XX field contains a subfield 7 – Script of the base access point. The record control number of the authority record for the alternative script form of the access point may be recorded in the 7XX field.

Data generated according to different rules

Access points in an authority record are generated according to the principle that their form is controlled with one set of either descriptive cataloguing rules or rules for subject indexing found in the field 152 – Rules. However, for various reasons, the catalogue can include access points or complete authority records that were specified by different systems of rules. When these access points or authority records apply to the same entity, their relationship must be determined.

Some institutions record the access points constructed according to different rules in the same authority record or they record them in separate records that are connected with one another and supported by the entire structure of authority records (e.g. preferred access points, variant access points, notes, information on data resources). If the data generated according to different rules is in one single authority record, the forms specified according to different rules than the access point from the 2XX field are entered as variant access points into the repeatable 4XX and the relationship is indicated with the "n" code in the subfield 5 – Relationship control. If the data according to different rules is in separate authority records, other forms of access point from the 2XX field are entered as related access points into 5XX fields with the subfield 5 – Relationship control to indicate the relationship. See examples 5 and 12.