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Proposal Checklists

Parks, Reserves, National Monuments, etc. Proposal Checklist

Created: 31 October 2024
Latest update: 31 October 2024

This checklist was created to account for the common issues in establishing headings in the subject authority file for Parks, Reserves, National Monuments, etc. (collectively referred to as "parks" in this checklist), using the MARC field 151. It does not account for all considerations, but focuses on the main attirbutes of headings of this type. It does not cover establishing names of dwellings with extensive grounds (see SHM H1572). Proposals should be made using the Geographic Heading form in ClassWeb Plus.

Before proceeding, consider the following questions:

  1. For parks that have the same name as an agency administering the park: Does the piece in hand describe the features and history of the park as a geographic feature or does it describe the work and history of the administrative agency?
    • Describes the park: Establish a geographic heading for the park in the subject authority file. Example:
      151 ## $a Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
    • Describes the agency: Establish a corporate name heading for the agency in the name authority file. Make sure that "Agency" is included at the beginning of the qualifier. Example:
      110 2# $a Yosemite National Park (Agency : U.S.)
    • Describes both: Establish headings in both the subject and name file. Note that name headings for park agencies can be used as subject headings for works about the agency, but subject headings for parks as geographic features are never valid as name headings.
  2. For parks that have the same name as and are coextensive with a geographic landform, such as an island: Does the piece in hand specifically discuss aspects of the park, such as the history of its establishment, operation, and available facilities, or does it discuss aspects applicable to the geographic location in general such as the geological features, flora and fauna?
    • Discusses the park: Establish a geographic heading for the park in the subject authority file. Example:
      151 ## $a Isle Royale National Park (Mich.)
    • Discusses the geographic landform in general: Establish a geographic heading for the landform in the subject authority file. Example:
      151 ## $a Isle Royale (Mich.)
    • Discusses both: Establish geographic headings for both the park and the landform in the subject authority file.
  3. For structures, monuments, and geographic features within parks: These are named entities in their own right, established separately from the surrounding park. Please refer to SHM H405 to determine how to establish a heading for the entity.

If you are proposing at least 20 headings on a similar theme, or if your proposal changes a base heading that will result in changes to more than 10 headings, you have a project. Contact PTCP for assistance by emailing [email protected].

Please examine your proposal against this checklist before submitting your proposal for review. If you have questions, please consult the SHM first; if you still have questions, please send them to [email protected].

Note: Be careful when copying and pasting into ClassWeb Plus. Always change curly quotation marks (or smart quotes) to straight quotes. Use the dollar sign ($) as a subfield delimiter instead of the double dagger (‡).

 

MARC field  Include/Check for  SHM sheet 
 151  Choose the form of name and include appropriate qualifiers (if needed):
  • Is the proposed heading in the appropriate form and arrangement? See, in particular, SHM H690 sections 3-7.
  • Have you established the name in the vernacular of the country in which it is located? Note: This should be the vernacular of the country as a whole and not of the location within the country where the park, etc. is located. Exception: Parks may be established under a conventional English form in cases where this is found to be in predominant usage or is the most commonly used form in English-language reference sources.
  • Have you searched against the authority file and geographic databases (GNS, GNIS, etc.) and disambiguated the heading from places with the same name in the same jurisdiction?*
  • Are the places used in the qualifier established in the name or subject authority file? If not, these must also be established before using them in the qualifier.
  • Is the proposed heading (including any qualifier) justified in the 670s?
  H405
 H690
 H810
 H1925
 451 (UF)  
  • Have you added UFs for appropriate variants found in authoritative geographic databases, the work cataloged, and other cited sources, including earlier names of parks that have experienced a linear name change? Exception: You are not obliged to add non-Roman script variants; LC does not.
  • For park names beginning with a generic feature type, have you provided inverted forms of the heading? Example:
    151 ## Parque Nacional El Avila (Venezuela)
    451 ## Avila, Parque Nacional El (Venezuela)
    451 ## El Avila, Parque Nacional (Venezuela)
  • Have you searched all of the UFs against the authority file and geographic databases (GNS, GNIS, etc.) and disambiguated the heading from places with the same name in the same jurisdiction?* Qualifiers may differ between the 151 and 451s, and between 451s, if there is conflict for some variants but not others.
  • Are the places used in the qualifier established in the name or subject authority file? If not, these must also be established to use them in the qualifier.
  • Are all non-inverted UFs justified in the 670s?
  • Are UFs alphabetized?
  H373
 H690
 H1925
 5XX (BT)  
  • Have you added a BT for the most specific generic heading for the type of park established, subdivided by the location?
  • Are the BTs and geographic subdivisions established headings? Note that multiple BTs may be needed to complete the hierarchy (add up to three, or use an appropriate broader geographic name as a subdivision).
  • For nationally owned and administered parks:
    • Have you verified that the entity is nationally owned and administered?
    • Add an additional BT of National parks and reserves subdivided by the first-order jurisdiction in which the park is located. Do not use this BT for parks owned and administered by a corporate body or by another level of government (state, city, etc.).
    • Do not include Parks as a BT if assigning National parks and reserves as a BT.
  • Are all BTs and geographic subdivisions justified in the 670s?
  • Are BTs alphabetized?
  H370
 H375
 H690
 H1925
 551 (RT)  
  • If the park is exactly coterminous with a geographic landform, have you proposed reciprocal RTs between the two entities?
  • In some cases, such as parks that have undergone a split or merger, the addition of RTs may be appropriate; however, do not establish headings for parks solely for the purpose of adding these related terms. Example:

    151 ## $a Bridger-Teton National Forest (Wyo.)
    551 ## $a Bridger National Forest (Wyo.)
    551 ## $a Teton National Forest (Wyo.)

    151 ## $a Teton National Forest (Wyo.)
    551 ## $a Bridger-Teton National Forest (Wyo.)

    151 ## $a Bridger National Forest (Wyo.)
    551 ## $a Bridger-Teton National Forest (Wyo.)

  • Are the RTs justified in the 670s?
  • Are the RTs alphabetized?
  • Note: The practice of using reciprocal RTs to link parks and the structures, monuments, and geographic features within them has been discontinued.
  H370
 H690
 H1925
 667  If the heading may not be used as a geographic subdivision, such as headings for entities within a city, add 667 This heading is not valid for use as a geographic subdivision.  H810
 H836
 First 670  It is important to cite sources relevant to your proposal as specified in instruction sheets. The first source cited should always be the work being cataloged:
  • Start with $a Work cat.:
  • $b has information in English that justifies the proposed heading. For parks, this should include information about the name and location of the park.
  • Optionally, include $w with the OCLC record number of the resource cited. Do not include any space between the closing parenthesis and the number, e.g., $w (OCoLC)1234...
  H200
 H202
 H203
 H690
 Other 670s  
  • Use good judgment in providing citations.
  • The location of the park must be explicitly identified and supported by the 670s.
  • Your 670s should not be an exhaustive bibliography of all source considered. Rather, supply enough to justify/define/show usage of the 151, UFs, and BTs.
  • Have you searched the appropriate authoritative database (GNIS for places in the United States, GNS for most foreign names, etc.) and cited the information found?
  • Have you provided enough information about the location of the park (e.g., coordinates, encompassing jurisdiction, adjoining or related geographic features, etc.) so that reviewers can easily distinguish the park named in your proposed heading from similarly named geographic features?
  H200
 H202
 H203
 H690
 675  If you were unable to find the proposed heading in the appropriate authoritative geographic database (GNIS, GNS, etc.) record that fact here. The $a may be repeated and should be separated by a semicolon, e.g., $a GNS, [dated viewed]; $a Columbia Gaz.  H203
 H690
 781  If the heading may be used as a geographic subdivision, add a 781 using appropriate formatting.   H810
 H836
 952 (Bib. records to be changed)  Note the number of bibliographic records in LC's catalog that will need to be updated as a result of the new proposal. SACO members are encouraged to supply this number, but it is not required.  H200
 952 (Cataloger's comments)  Use this space to alert PTCP to any comments or complexities you would like to share about the proposal. For example, if you are aware of errors in an authoritative database, or omissions of conflicts in authoritative databases, use this space to provide additional details. This is not required.  H200
 Email  Include your email address to receive notifications when the proposal has been scheduled and reviewed. This is not required, but it is the only way to receive notifications.  

*According to LC-PCC-PS 16.2.2.13, "Conflict in place names is not restricted to those already represented in the file against which the searching and cataloging is being done...Search gazetteers, etc., to determine if two or more places within the same jurisdiction have the same name or if two or more places with the same name would bear the same qualifier for the larger place."