ACQUISITIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHIC ACCESS DIRECTORATE
POLICY AND STANDARDS DIVISION

SUMMARY OF DECISIONS, EDITORIAL MEETING NUMBER 34

August 26, 2009

PSD policy specialist responsible for this weekly list: L. Dechman

CLASSIFICATION

DS363

Ordinarily, notes are not provided for reference to topics that do not exist as subject headings. Since the First Afghan War is not represented by a subject heading, the proposal was not approved.

E35.3

In this section of the schedules, guidebooks ordinarily have been classed with "Description and travel" in E41, therefore, Guidebooks will be added to the caption of E41. The proposal was not approved.

PN1995.9.I42

This classification number would represent the depiction of imagination in motion pictures, however, the work being cataloged is about the role that imagination plays in the writing of motion picture scripts. The first subject heading assigned to the work should be Motion picture authorship, which could be post-coordinated with Imagination as a secondary heading, should the cataloger choose. This work would be more appropriately classified in PN1996. The proposal was not approved.

SUBJECT HEADINGS

Graveyard of St. Margaret Fyebriggate in Combusto Site (Norwich, England)

The meeting feels that cemeteries that are archaeological sites should be established as cemeteries, and as such, should be established in the name authority file, according to the Subject Headings Manual, H 405. (See further discussion below.) The proposal was not approved.

Sanitation inspections of cruise ships

The subdivisions --Inspection and --Sanitation are free-floating and valid for use under Cruise ships, and both headings could be assigned to the work being cataloged. The proposal is not necessary.

Other announcements:

Cemeteries that are archaeological sites are Group 1 name headings

SHM H 405 delineates the types of entities that should be established as name headings according to descriptive cataloging conventions (Group 1), and those that should be proposed as subject headings (Group 2). Cemeteries are in Group 1 and archaeological sites are in Group 2. Often cemeteries are excavated as archaeological sites. This situation could cause confusion about whether to establish these cemeteries as Group 1 or Group 2 headings.

To resolve this question and alleviate any confusion it may have caused, PSD had decided that cemeteries that are archaeological sites should be established under the name of the cemetery, without the addition of the term "site", as Group 1 name headings.

Existing subject authority records for cemetery sites will be cancelled, and the cemeteries will be established in the name authority file as time permits.