MUSIC GENRE/FORM PROJECT

Conference Report

Philadelphia – February 10, 2011

MLA-BCC GENRE/FORM TASK FORCE MEETING, Feb. 10, 2:30-4

Members Present: Beth Iseminger (Chair), Ralph Hartsock, Caitlin Hunter, Marty Jenkins, Nancy Lorimer, Casey Mullin, Thomas Pease, Karen Peters, Sheila Torres-Blank, Hermine Vermeij. Members Not Present: Brooke Lippy, Mark McKnight. Guests Present: 11

Syndetic Structure and New Terms

In the course of the project, we have not yet answered the question of whether we will allow polyhierarchy (terms having more than one broader term). This will probably exist in our hierarchy, so we need to figure out how to make it happen in the structure and in the software tool.

The group felt that using Word or Excel as our system may be too cumbersome. We will either need to work with small subsets of records (which makes creation of a true thesaurus structure difficult), or we need to push for other software to be used. The software will need to allow multiple users in multiple locations and ideally will be low cost. We hope that LC may be able to provide some kind of software or system for this purpose. We also hope that LC has a way to automatically generate a list of terms with broader and narrower terms pulled directly from the authority file.

How likely is it that we can get our new terms into the thesaurus? There will be gaps in the structure with the existing terms, which the new terms can help fill. We’ll also be using literary warrant to identify terms corresponding to existing bib records. The problem may be timeliness. It seems as if there is at least a 6-month approval process for new terms, so we would have to streamline that workflow somehow. How long would the process take through the SACO-Music Funnel? It would accommodate those of us who aren’t institutional members of SACO, and there could be a tree structure for reviewing like the NACO-Music Project has. Another option might be creating a list of recommended new terms and submitting the list to LC, similar to the Working Group for Terminology in 20^th Century Music. The list of those terms was very much smaller than ours, so the SACO-Music Funnel would probably be a better method for our project.

In searching for literary warrant for the new terms, we should start with the terms from the Types of Composition list, since those tend to be the most commonly used terms. We could then identify specific areas needing the most development. For example, we could search the world music terms that came from New Grove. Dance forms would be another smaller area to focus on.

Medium and the Subject Access Subcommittee

The task force agreed that assigning responsibility for the medium part of the project to the Subject Access Subcommittee (SAS) is a good idea.

Subdivisions “Manuscripts Facsimiles”

The group discussed the idea, which arose out of the ALA-SAC Genre/Form Implementation Subcommittee, of how to represent that an item is indeed a manuscript, or a facsimile of a manuscript. The Music task force recommends using the term “Manuscripts (Facsimiles)” or “Facsimile manuscripts.” Is this really more of a format issue? Will there be an element in RDA for manuscripts? It appears there are very few guidelines regarding manuscripts in RDA.

Notation

In the RDA environment, all terms for notation will go in MARC21 546 $b. (This field actually existed for AACR2 but hasn’t been commonly used.) Are terms for musical notation in scope of the genre/form project, or is this really a descriptive element? Notation is similar to scores, or to the idea of carriers.

MARC Codes and Linked Data

Could the existing MARC composition codes be linked more broadly? This is something to consider when our project is at the point of revising or creating authority records. If 047 codes were added to genre/form authority records, they could be used in a wider environment, similar to 046, classification, and geographical data codes. This will be something to include in discussions of implementation.

JOINT MEETING: MLA-BCC GENRE/FORM TASK FORCE and LC MUSIC GENRE PROJECT GROUP, Feb. 10, 7:30-9

MLA Members Present: Beth Iseminger (Chair), Ralph Hartsock, Caitlin Hunter, Marty Jenkins, Nancy Lorimer, Casey Mullin, Thomas Pease, Karen Peters, Sheila Torres-Blank, Hermine Vermeij. MLA Members Not Present: Brooke Lippy, Mark McKnight

LC Members Present: Geraldine Ostrove, (Chair), Caitlin Hunter, Margaret Kruesi, Maarja Vigorito, Stephen Yusko. LC Members Not Present: Bruce Johnson, Lisa Shiota

Guests Present: 6

SKOS and Thesaurus Tools

One method for building the hierarchy would be to deconstruct the red books, which are arranged alphabetically, and the hierarchy would be present. This method would be quite manually intensive. Another alternative would be to deploy vocabularies into respective spreadsheets with specific columns (broader terms, narrower terms, source of terms.) This would show where the broader terms, etc., are lacking.

Could SKOS be a source for extracting terms and their relationships into our thesaurus/hierarchy tool? The cross-references, LCCNs, broader, narrower, and related terms all appear there. Could someone at LC possibly manipulate SKOS and XML to make this useful?

Whatever hierarchy building tool we choose should allow us to visualize the terms, preferably in a tree structure. It should also allow multiple users. The spreadsheet or tool should help determine gaps in hierarchy and highlight any orphan terms. We need a tool that will show the relationships at all levels. Currently, we have a one-dimensional authority system where we can only go up.

New Terms

There were differing views on whether the SACO-Music Funnel would be the best way to add new terms to the LCGFT. The internal workings of the SACO program could make it hard to get terms through in a timely fashion. Perhaps using the funnel could help.

After the task force reviews them, the new terms will all have literary warrant. These terms won’t represent the entire world of music terminology. Rather, they will help catch up the terminology and fill in gaps. Filling in the gaps will allow the vocabulary to be more of a thesaurus. While new terms usually are established through everyday workflow, this is a special project including vocabulary found in reference sources. Even so, all the terms will apply to actual works cataloged.

Terms from the Garland Encyclopedia are so problematic that the task force will save them indefinitely. Many of the terms in Garland are actually technical terms for the music, rather than genre/form terms.

How will new terms be added? They could be submitted as part of weekly lists, for example by submitting a certain number of terms per month (that would mean a lot of terms per week!) There will of course need to be guidelines for where to draw the line at too much detail. This needs to be more developed. LC could make a schedule, talk to Co-op, decide on the SACO rotation with the music catalogers, and set up to manage the project. If terms are viewed as needed, then there’s no argument about including them. LC can help get needed terms into the vocabulary.

Medium of Performance

The MARC 382 field seems to be the preferred field for coding medium of performance. It will thus serve two purposes: one, as a descriptive RDA field, and the other as the place to encode medium of performance as an access point. The Subject Access Subcommittee will take on the work of the medium project and will start working on a proposal to redefine the 382 field so it fits with what the medium project needs, including adding the number of performers, and adding $2 for controlled vocabulary for use as an access point.

Medium terminology will probably live in LCSH. The medium authority records are already in LCSH as is the structure & the terms. While this is helpful, it also means the terms are supporting both medium and subject use. This could result in very complex scope notes. Another alternative would be to include a field in authority records indicating how the term should be used as a medium access point, similar to the MARC Authorities 781 for geographic terms. This would obviate the need to delete medium terms that would be solely topical, like “Violin music”.

The LC project group has drafted a document entitled Functional Requirements for Medium of Performance Statements in Bibliographic Records. It is at the philosophical end of the continuum, while the document drafted by task force member Nancy Lorimer is at the practical end. The LC document is trying to figure out the principles of what the system should do for users. Taking this to systems people could be very helpful. LC will continue working on it, and the task force and Subject Access Subcommittee support these efforts.

Implementation

Who will be using the new music genre/form terms? We’re assuming that everyone will use them, especially if institutions are splitting genre/form into its own index. Also, we’re changing the vocabulary enough that everyone will need to use it and implement it together. Public service librarians have been asking for this for a long time, and genre/form terms have already been implemented for other areas (cartography, moving images, radio programs.) Putting genre/form terms in their own index in ILSs is another issue, though if the project develops well, we could force the issue on this point. OCLC will probably need to be involved at the point of implementation and help with conversion of headings. ILSs will also have to be able to accept the terms and their coding.

It is important to start thinking about vocabulary building principles across the entire LCGFT. The ANSI/NISO standard suggests that the different subject areas should not be developed individually. Different areas of the LCGFT currently have different principles, for example, moving image terms still have carrier terms embedded with genre/form terms. While we have ideas for what we want as a music community, we don’t know yet how that will mesh with the broader community.

Submitted by Beth Iseminger