Context and General Principles of Map Department Cataloging
Yale’s online public access catalog, Orbis, is the catalog in which currently produced and already reconned Map Department cataloging records reside. New records must be intelligible and accessible in this context. Orbis includes a wide variety of records of various levels of accuracy, consistency, and encoding level.
The card-form records in the SML Public and Official Catalogs and in the Map Department catalogs were created over many decades and represent several generations of descriptive cataloging rules and subject headings practice. The recon records based on these card-form records likewise represent diverse cataloging practices as do the recon records for other libraries in OCLC. Access points in Orbis are far from consistent despite on-going authority control processing of name and subject headings by OCLC.
Encoding levels (fixed field Encoding Level) for Orbis records reflect the variety of types and fullness of bibliographical records in Orbis; generally the higher the number the lower the level. Kinds of records and their corresponding encoding levels include: provisional records created on the fly for circulation purposes (Encoding Level 9), permanent, less-than-full bibliographic records, including minimal level (Encoding Level 7), acquisitions records (Encoding Level 5), retrospective conversion records (Encoding Level 1), and full-level records for fully cataloged items (Encoding Level blank).
Current Yale cataloging and retrospective conversion policy favors a single-record approach for multiple copies of the same bibliographical entity, but multiple records for the same entity abound in Orbis because of former policies for cataloging in RLIN, in which different libraries had separate RLIN library identitifiers. Sometimes separate records are deliberately created when record amalgamation would result in records that are too complex and confusing to users. No systematic effort is made to eliminate multiple records unless they are duplicate records for the same copy, in which case one of the records should be deleted after insuring that the remaining record is accurate and complete.
Original cataloging for the Map Department is according to the latest national standards, i.e. AACR2 rev. (including Library of Congress Rule Interpretations), Cartographic Materials, or DCRM(B), with appropriate LC subject headings and additional notes and tracings according to Map Department practice. Where there are optional provisions in AACR2, the LC option is generally followed. Original cataloging should show a high level of consistency. Most original cataloging for the Map Department is full-level with all required access points and MARC fields. Minimal level records with fewer or no subject headings or added entries, but otherwise complete description, are made in some instances. Collection level records are made for certain collections if agreed to by the appropriate curator.
Copy cataloging for the Map Department is not always according to the standards followed in original cataloging. Sometimes good pre-AACR2 copy is used. Access points, however, should be consistent with LC name, subject, and series authorities. Descriptions must be accurate according to the rules followed and correspond to the Map Department copy. Copy may be upgraded to AACR2, but need not be upgraded if it accurately describes the Map Department copy with sufficient fullness. Cataloger’s judgment is called for in determining what if anything in copy needs to be changed. Trivial changes should be avoided. Current full-level or core-level Library of Congress cataloging copy can generally be accepted as is, and pre-AACR2 Library of Congress copy can be accepted as long as it accurately describes the edition in hand and access points are in accordance with latest standards. Additional notes and access points are added when called for by Map Department and/or Cataloging and Metadata Services cataloging policies (e.g. provenance is noted and traced). Any changes to non-locally tagged fields in copy or the addition of any fields other than the 590 necessitate the addition of ‡d CtY in 040.
OCLC member copy needs closer scrutiny than LC copy. Some member copy is of uniformly high quality (most notably American Antiquarian Society copy).
Added copies of the same bibliographic entity are added to existing full bibliographical records in Orbis whenever this is practicable. Only in exceptional cases where adding a Map Department copy to an existing record would create confusion should a separate record be created. When adding new copies to RLA recon records, make sure that the existing record is cleaned up according to the latest cleanup policy. When the size or some other peculiarity of the new copy differs from the description of the existing copy, note the difference in a local note. If the differences indicate a different edition or issue, a separate record would be called for. Added copies need not be compared with the cataloged copy unless problems are apparent that could be resolved by comparison.