Cataloging Container

Sources of Information (RDA 2.2)

RDA 2.2.2.2 specifies the preferred sources of information for textual resources (see RDA 2.2 for other types of resources). You should first look to the title page, then to the cover, caption, colophon, and any part of the resource itself for information. If the necessary information cannot be found on the resource itself, you may turn to an outside source. RDA 2.2.4 states that when the information is supplied from a source outside the resource itself, you should indicate this by means of a note or through the use of brackets. If using brackets, bracket each subfield separately. Resources that do not normally contain identifying information (e.g., photographs, collections) are excepted from this rule.

BU Best Practice:

If the cataloger is supplying the title, do not put the title in brackets, but do make a note. If the title is taken from an unusual place on the resource (i.e., not the title page), also make a note. For other supplied information, use brackets and/or notes according to the cataloger’s judgment.

 

245 Title $a (RDA 2.3)

RDA 2.3.1.4 says to transcribe a title as it appears on the source of information. General guidelines on transcription are given in 1.7.

Capitalization:

Instructions for capitalization are given in Appendix A. Appendix A basically says to follow AACR2 capitalization. Rule 1.7.1 has an alternative that lets the agency creating the data establish in-house guidelines for capitalization. LC/PCC PS says: “catalogers are encouraged (but not required) to follow Appendix A; it is permitted to ‘take what you see’ on the resource.”

Punctuation:

RDA 1.7.3 says to transcribe punctuation as it appears on the resource, although you may adjust punctuation for clarity (e.g., add commas).

BU Best Practice:

Follow Appendix A capitalization (i.e., the same as AACR2) when creating records. When copy-cataloging, please edit titles to follow AACR2 capitalization in order to avoid confusion with Reserves records.

 

245 Statement of Responsibility $c (RDA 2.4)

RDA 2.4.1.4 says to transcribe the statement of responsibility as it appears on the source of information. This means to include everyone listed (no more “rule of three”) and to also include any affiliations, etc. that are included with the name.

2.4.1.4 includes an option to abridge a statement of responsibility. The LC/PCC PS for 2.4.1.4 states “Generally do not abridge a statement of responsibility” and “Generally do not omit names in a statement of responsibility.”

BU Best Practice:

Transcribe all creators’ names if possible. However, be practical when transcribing affiliations (see the following examples).

Examples:

On resource: by Dr. Mary Roberts M.D. Princeton University

Then:

245 / $c by Dr. Mary Roberts, M.D., Princeton University.
 

But

On resource: Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa MD Gastrointestinal Service Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Weill-Medical College Cornell University New York, New York Celina Ang, MD Fellow, Gastrointestinal Oncology Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York, New York

Then: 

245 / $c Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, Celina Ang

.

245 GMD $h

The GMD does not exist in RDA. See 336-338 for info on how RDA expresses material type.

BU Best Practice:

Do not add the GMD.

 

246 Variant Title (RDA 2.3.6.3)

RDA 2.3.6.3 says to record variant titles that are considered to be important for identification or access.

Inaccuracies:

Rule 1.7.9: If an inaccuracy appears in a title, record a corrected form of the title as a variant title.

Example:

245 04 $a The wolrd of television
246 1_ $i Title should read: $a World of television

 

BU Best Practice:

Record variant titles as usual in 246. When correcting a mistake in the title, use “$i Title should read” as in the example.

 

264 Production, Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, and/or Copyright Statement (RDA 2.7-2.11)

264 replaces field 260. 264 is more complicated, but allows for more specific information to be input. The second indicator is used to differentiate the different types of 264 information.

 

264 _1 is for Publication, which is used for most printed resources such as books that have been issued by a publisher. RDA 2.8 says that $a, $b, and $c are all required for published resources.

 

264 $a Place of Publication (RDA 2.8.2)
If more than one place of publication appears on the source of information, only the first listed is required. There is no longer a requirement to record a place in the “home country.” If multiple places of publication are listed, you can either record the first or record them all.
Include both the local place name (city, town, etc.) and the larger jurisdiction (state, province, etc.) if present on the source of information. RDA gives the option of supplying the larger jurisdiction if considered important for identification.
Only use abbreviations if the abbreviation is used in the source of information.
[S.l.] is no longer used if the place is unknown. Use instead [Place of publication not identified], but if at all possible supply a place to the best of your ability, even if it is only a country.

264 $b Publisher’s Name (RDA 2.8.4)

If more than one publisher’s name appears on the source of information, only the first listed is required. If multiple publishers are listed, you can either record the first or record them all.
Record words or phrases indicating function.
Transcribe the publisher’s name as it is written on the resource. Do not shorten or omit words.
[s.n.] is no longer used when a publisher is not identified. Use instead [publisher not identified].

264 $c Date of Publication (RDA 2.8.6)

If the resource lacks a publication date, but has a copyright date, the copyright date (if reasonable) can be used to imply a publication date per LC-PCC PS for 2.8.6.6.
If the date of publication is not identified, supply the date or an approximate date of publication per 2.8.6.6 and using the instructions in 1.9.2. If it is impossible to determine an approximate date, use [date of publication not identified].

Examples:

On resource: No publication date, copyright date of 2011
264 _1 $a Washington, D.C. : $b Brookings Institution, $c [2011]

On resource: No publication date, bibliography includes references to materials dated not later than 2009, resource received in 2014
264 _1 $a Istanbul : $b Ataturk, $c [between 2009 and 2014]

On resource: No publication date, a Google search indicates it was most likely but not certainly published in 1995
264 _1 $a Houston : $b Davidson Publishing, $c [1995?]

 

BU Best Practice:

Try to determine appropriate information for all subfields, even if it is approximate. Something is better than nothing. 264 is repeatable, so you can use more than one 264 field depending on what information is provided on the resource.

 

264 _0 is for Production, which is used for unpublished resources such as manuscripts and theses. RDA says in 2.7 that you must include a date in $c, but $a and $b for place and name are optional.

 

BU Best Practice:

For theses, record only the date using $c.

 

264 _2 is for Distribution, which is used when the distributor but not the publisher of a resource is named.

 

264 _3 is for Manufacture, which is used when the manufacturer (e.g., the printer) of a resource is named instead of a publisher. This can also be used for reprints.

 

264 _4 is for Copyright date. Only $c is used, and you need to include the © symbol with the date. This field is also used for ℗ date when cataloging audiovisual materials.

 

BU Best Practice:

Make a 264 _4 copyright statement if the copyright date is different from the publication date, but accept copyright statements even if the dates are the same. Anytime you have a 264_4 then you also need to have DtSt: t in the 008 field (see the following example).

Example:

On resource: No publication date, copyright date of 2013
008 DtSt: t
Date 1: 2013 Date 2: 2013
264 _1 $a Paris [Texas] : $b Ranching, Inc., $c [2013]
264 _4 $c ©2013

 

300 $a Extent of item (RDA 3.4)

For non-print resources, give the number of unit and the type of unit, using the list of carrier terms at 3.3.1.3.
The following guidelines are for textual resources:

 

Pages, leaves, plates and numbered pages (RDA 3.4.5.2): If an item is paginated, record the total number of pages or leaves as seen on the item. If an item consists of more than one volume, record the extent by giving the number of volumes and add the term volumes.

 

Unnumbered pages or leaves (RDA 3.4.5.3): If an item consists of unnumbered pages or leaves, record the exact number of pages or leaves if readily found. If not readily found, add the word “approximately” followed by the guessed number of pages. If an approximation is not easily determined, record “1 volume (unpaged)”.

 

Irregular paging (RDA 3.4.5.8): If an item has irregular paging, record the total number of pages as “in various pagings”, “in various foliations”, or “in various numberings” as appropriate or record the total number of pages or leaves along with the unnumbered pages in a sequence as they appear.

 

300 $b Recording Illustrative Content (RDA 7.15.1)

If a resource contains illustrative content, record illustration or illustrations, as appropriate. Do not record tables containing only words and/or numbers as illustrative content. Disregard illustrated title pages, etc., and minor illustrations. If the item contains illustrations that are considered important for the identification of a resource, specify the type of illustrations (in addition to the use of term “illustrations”) using the list at RDA 7.15.1.3. Further, record the number of illustrations if the number can be ascertained readily.

 

Example:

300 $b 54 illustrations, 3 maps

 

300 $c Dimensions (RDA 3.5)

RDA 3.5.1.4 gives instructions for recording the dimensions of various carrier types. RDA says to use centimeters to record height, but continue to follow LC practice to use inches for discs and all audio carriers.

 

Volumes (RDA 3.5.1.4.14): Record the height of the volume in centimeters rounded up to the next whole number. If the width is either less than half the height or greater than the height, record the height x width

 

Use of period after “cm”: As “cm” is considered a symbol, not an abbreviation, follow it with a period only if it is the last element in the 300 field and there is a 490 or 440 field also present in the record. If there is no 490 or 440, do not add a period after “cm”.

 

300 $e Resources Consisting of More Than One Carrier Type (Accompanying materials) (RDA 3.1.4)

RDA offers a choice to describe accompanying material. Select the option that is most appropriate for the item that is being cataloged.

 

Provide information either in:

A separate additional MARC 300 field along with the 300 field for the main item.

 

Example:

300 $a 145 pages ; $c 23 cm
300 $a 1 CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.)

 

Or in subfield $e added to MARC field 300 .

 

Example:

300 $a 145 pages ; $c 23 cm + $e 1 CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.)

 

BU Best Practice: In most cases, continue to use $e to describe accompanying material. If additional information is necessary, use a 500 note.

 

336, 337, and 338: Three new MARC fields

The AACR2 GMD (245 $h) has been replaced by three elements in RDA. These are Content Type (MARC field 336, RDA 6.9); Media Type (MARC field 337, RDA 3.2); Carrier Type (MARC field 338, RDA 3.3). All three fields are repeatable and may be used to describe accompanying materials as well as the item that is being cataloged. Always add these fields.

 

336 Content Type (RDA 6.9)

 

336 $a Content Type Term: For recording the type of content, use one or more terms listed in Table 6.1 of RDA. The term most commonly used to describe a monograph is “text”.

 

336 $b Content Type code: This subfield represents a code showing the content type of the work being described. For codes identifying RDA content types see Term and Code List for RDA Content Types

 

336 $2 Source of code : A MARC code that identifies the source of the term or code used to record the content type information.

 

Example : for a monograph, code 336 as follows:
336 $a text $b txt $2 rdacontent

 

337 Media Type (RDA 3.2)

337 $a Media Type Term: Describes the type of device required to view, run, play, or otherwise access the item. For recording the media type, use one or more of the terms listed in Table 3.1 of RDA. The term most commonly used to describe a monograph is “unmediated”.

 

337 $b Media Type code : This subfield represents a code showing the media type of the work being described. For codes identifying RDA media types see Term and Code List for RDA Media Types

 

337 $2 Source of code: A MARC code that identifies the source of the term or code used to record the content type information.

 

Example : for a monograph, code 337 as follows:
337 $a unmediated $b n $2 rdamedia

 

338 Carrier Type (RDA 3.3)

338 $a Carrier Type Term: Describes the format of the storage medium and housing of a carrier in combination with the type of device or media type that is required to play or view the content of a resource. For recording the carrier type, use one or more of the terms listed in 3.3.1.3 in RDA. The carrier type for most books will be "volume."

 

338 $b Carrier Type code : This subfield represents a code showing the carrier type of the work being described. For codes identifying RDA carrier types see Term and Code List for RDA Carrier Types

 

338 $2 Source of code : A MARC code that identifies the source of the term or code used to record the content type information.

 

Example : for a monograph, code 338 as follows:
338 $a volume $b nc $2 rdacarrier

 

Access Points

 

1XX/7XX Main entry/added entries (6.27.1.3, 17.8, 19.2.1.3, 18.5.1.3)
Even though RDA no longer supports the concept of main entry, as long as we are implementing RDA in MARC, we need to code the main entry. That is often done with the 1XX/245 combination. Because we are no longer restricted to the “Rule of three,” more names are listed in the statement of responsibility. The first creator listed becomes the main entry; subsequent creators listed are usually assigned added entries. An access point is required only for the first-named creator.

 

BU Best Practice:

Even though access points are not required for additional creators, all names listed in the 245 $c (statement of responsibility) should be assigned access points.

 

1XX/7XX $e Relationship Designators (RDA 18.5)
Record one or more terms from the list in Appendix I of RDA to indicate what the person’s responsibility is in relation to the resource. If none of the terms listed in the RDA Appendix are appropriate, use another concise term to indicate the nature of the relationship. More than one term may be added to a name.

BU Best Practice:

Record relationship designators for all creators whose roles are identifiable. Although RDA gives permission to add terms not found in a standardized list, it is recommended that only standardized lists be used; if Appendix I is not specific enough, see http://www.rda-jsc.org/archivedsite/docs/6JSC-CILIP-rep-3-Appendix-1.pdf for more options.

 

Compilations without a collective title (6.27.1.4)

If more than one work is combined into one resource without a collective title, construct separate access points for each of the works. Alternatively, the cataloger can create a collective title and either give access points for each title within the compilation in a contents note, orcreate individual access points.

 

Examples:
100 1 $a Chase, Tony, $e author.
245 10 $a Itsy bitsy spider / $c by Tony Chase. Three little kittens / by Joe Kramer. Mary had a little lamb / by Mary Anderson.
700 12 $a Kramer, Joe. $t Three little kittens.
700 12 $a Anderson, Mary. $t Mary had a little lamb.

 

Or:
245 10 $a Nursery rhymes.
500 $a Title supplied by cataloger.
505 0 0 $t Itsy bitsy spider / $r Tony Chase – $t Three little kittens / $r Joe Kramer – $t Mary had a little lamb / $r Mary Anderson.

 

 Or:
245 10 $a Nursery rhymes.
500 $a Title supplied by cataloger.
700 12 $a Chase, Tony. $t Itsy Bitsy spider.
700 12 $a Kramer, Joe. $t Three little kittens.
700 12 $a Anderson, Mary. $t Mary had a little lamb.

 

Related works (RDA 25.1, 24.5)

A relationship designator can be used instead of a note to describe a work’s relation to another work.

 

Example:
700 1 $i Adaptation of: $a Library, Tony. $t Nursery rhymes

 

Instead of:
500 $a Adaptation of Nursery rhymes by Tony Library.
700 1 $a Library, Tony. $t Nursery rhymes.

 

BU Best Practice:

Use 700 $i if the appropriate relationship can be found in RDA Appendix J.

 

Two or more individually numbered works (RDA 6.27.2.3)

AACR2 uses “Selections” in the 240 field. RDA leaves out the uniform title and creates individual access points for each book. The LC follows the Alternative option that allows for both uniform title and individual access points.

 

Example that follows LC-PCC PS for RDA 6.27.2.3:
100 1 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957, $e author.
240 10 $a Little house on the prairie $k Selections
245 10 $a Little house on the prairie. $n Volumes 1, 5, 10 / $c by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
700 12 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957. $t Little house on the prairie. $n volume 1.
700 12 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957. $t Little house on the prairie. $n volume 5.
700 12 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957. $t Little house on the prairie. $n volume 10.

 

BU Best Practice:

Accept records following the LC/PCC PS (including uniform title), but when creating records include only individual access points.

 

Example :
100 1 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957, $e author.
245 10 $a Little house on the prairie. $n Volumes 1, 5, 10 / $c by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
700 12 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957. $t Little house on the prairie. $n volume 1.
700 12 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957. $t Little house on the prairie. $n volume 5.
700 12 $a Wilder, Laura Ingalls, $d 1867-1957. $t Little house on the prairie. $n volume 10.

Further RDA Training

Adapted from Technical Services Committee Best Practices for RDA in MARC21 , which was created by the Illinois I-Share Technical Services Committee, March 2014. Revised for Binghamton University Libraries by Laura Evans, August 2015.