The Library of Congress
>> Program for Cooperative Cataloging
Pinyin Conversion Guidelines for CONSER Participants
[Note: Corresponding guidelines in Appendix O of the CONSER Editing Guide have been updated in CEG Update 13, which will be distributed in spring 2001.]
Beginning Sunday, October 1, all newly input/authenticated Chinese records with systematically romanized fields should use pinyin romanization and include the Pinyin Conversion Marker field 987 (see OCLC Technical Bulletin 240). Field 987 should include subfields $a PINYIN, $b [Your institution's NUC/MARC Code], and $d c in all new records.
The complete definition of the 987 field is available on the Pinyin Conversion Project Homepage.
If you need to make a change to a previously authenticated Wade-Giles record (e.g., adding a link to a title change), CONSER participants have the option of: (1) deferring any change to a Wade-Giles record (including adding a 780/785 link) until OCLC has converted the record to pinyin, or (2) manually converting the entire Wade-Giles record to pinyin and adding the 987 Pinyin Conversion Marker. In no circumstances should your editing result in a mixed pinyin-Wade-Giles record.
OCLC does not yet have a definite date for the conversion of CONSER records, but they will be converted ahead of any other OCLC bibliographic records.
Also beginning October 1, all new authority records should use pinyin romanization and include the Pinyin Conversion Marker field 008/07 (Rom: ) value 'c.' Hold all changes to existing authority records until LC has announced that all authority records in the name and subject authority files have been converted.
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December 15, 2006