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Which of these are required fields, replacing the General Material Designator (GMD) used under AACR2?

Library and Information Science Quiz Questions Answers




QUESTION

Which of these are required fields, replacing the General Material Designator (GMD) used under AACR2?


OPTIONS

(a) 336: Content Type

(b) 337: Media Type

(c) 338: Carrier Type

(d) All of the above


ANSWER

(d) All of the above






336: Content Type, 337: Media Type, and 338: Carrier Type are required fields, replacing the General Material Designator (GMD) used under AACR2






General Material Designator (GMD) used under AACR2 is replaced by fields 336: Content Type, 337: Media Type, and 338: Carrier Type in the new cataloging standard RDA: Resource Description and Access and MARC 21.



The information below is provided from the Library of Congress website² which will help in describing carriers in Resource Description and Access (RDA).

Describing Carriers

Now we will look at the instructions related to recording carriers of manifestations.  The purpose of providing these elements is to help the user select the resource he or she wants.


Replacement for General Material Designator

The General Material Designator, recorded in 245 $h of AACR2 records, is not in RDA.  GMDs were an inconsistent set of terms, which sometimes referred to content and sometimes to carrier.

Three elements have been developed by the Joint Steering Committee, in conjunction with the publishing community (ONIX), to “replace” the GMD. Three new MARC fields are used:
  • Content type -- RDA 6.9 (MARC 336 field) (really an expression attribute)
  • Media type -- RDA 3.2 (MARC 337 field)
  • Carrier type -- RDA 3.3 (MARC 338 field)

In each of the three fields for these elements:
·         the term is recorded in subfield $a
·         a code for the type can be given in subfield $b in addition to $a; the codes for subfield $b are in the MARC format documentation.  Always use $a for original cataloging, although you can ‘pass-through’ $b when doing copy cataloging.
·         in subfield $2 will be one of the following terms, naming the vocabulary used
  rdacontent
  rdamedia
  rdacarrier
·         subfield $3 may optionally be used as needed to identify parts of the resource

We will see examples of these fields a little later.

Closed Vocabularies

The vocabularies for these terms are “closed” lists in RDA 6.9.1.3 (Content type), 3.2.1.3 (Media type), 3.3.1.3 (Carrier type).
  • If the information is unknown, record “unspecified.”
  • If no term from these lists is appropriate, record “other” and notify PSD via a message to LChelp4rda@loc.gov.

If there is more than one term appropriate, you have two choices:
·         Record all terms that are appropriate.  If you choose this option, repeat the entire field, rather than repeating subfield $a in the same 33X field
or,
·         Assign the term representing the predominant or most substantial content, media, or carrier
    • These elements will usually be part of a template, or can be added to an existing record using a template.


Content Type

  • Content type is a CORE ELEMENT

Content type is a categorization reflecting the fundamental form of communication in which the content is expressed and the human sense through which it is intended to be perceived. For content expressed in the form of an image or images, content type also reflects the number of spatial dimensions in which the content is intended to be perceived and the perceived presence or absence of movement.

  • Look at RDA instruction 6.9

This data is recorded in MARC field 336

Sources:          Take information on content type from any source.

Recording Content Type

Record the type of content contained in the resource using one or more of the terms listed in table 6.1. Record as many terms as applicable to the resource being described.

If the resource being described consists of more than one content type, instead of recording all, you may record:
  • the content type that applies to the predominant part of the resource (if there is a predominant part),
or
  • the content types that apply to the most substantial parts of the resource (including the predominant part, if there is one)

Examples:
            performed music
still image
text

Media Type

  • Media type is a CORE ELEMENT for LC

Media type is a categorization reflecting the general type of intermediation device required to view, play, run, etc., the content of a resource.

  • Look at RDA instruction 3.2

This data is recorded in MARC field 337

Sources:          Use evidence presented by the resource itself (or on any accompanying material or container) as the basis for recording media type. If desired, take additional evidence from any source.


Recording Media Type

Record the media type using one or more of the terms listed in table 3.1.

If the resource being described consists of more than one media type, instead of recording all, you may record:
  • the media type that applies to the predominant part of the resource (if there is a predominant part)
or
  • the media types that apply to the most substantial parts of the resource (including the predominant part, if there is one)

Examples
audio
computer
microform
unmediated

Carrier Type

  • Carrier type is a CORE ELEMENT

Carrier type is a categorization reflecting the format of the storage medium and housing of a carrier in combination with the type of intermediation device required to view, play, run, etc., the content of a resource.
  • Look at RDA instruction 3.3

This data is recorded in MARC field 338

Sources:          Use evidence presented by the resource itself (or on any accompanying material or container) as the basis for recording carrier type. If desired, take additional evidence from any source.

Recording Carrier Type

Record the type of carrier used to convey the content of the resource using one or more of the terms listed in 3.3.1.3. Record as many terms as applicable to the resource being described.

If the resource being described consists of more than one carrier type, instead of recording all, you may record:
  • the carrier type that applies to the predominant part of the resource (if there is a predominant part)
or
  • the carrier types that apply to the most substantial parts of the resource (including the predominant part, if there is one)


Carrier type gives more specific information than the Media type about the format, housing, and type of device needed, if any.  But be careful not to confuse carrier type with the similar terms used in the Extent element (300 $a), which we will see next.

Examples:
            audio disc
computer disc
microfiche
volume


Composite Example for 336-338 Fields

For a book:

            336 $a text $2 rdacontent
      337 $a unmediated $2 rdamedia
      338 $a volume $2 rdacarrier










SEE ALSO



REFERENCES

1. Library of Congress. Describing Carriers and Identifying Works Quiz. https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/RDA%20training%20materials/LC%20RDA%20Training/Captivate-Module%202-Describing%20Carriers%20and%20Identifying%20Works/RDA%20Module%202-Describing%20Carriers%20and%20Identifying%20Works.htm (accessed February 4, 2020).

2. Library of Congress. RDA: Module 2 -- Describing Carriers and
Identifying Works. https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/RDA%20training%20materials/LC%20RDA%20Training/Module2CarriersAndWorksSept12.doc (accessed February 4, 2020).



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