Bibliographic Standards Committee

DCRB Pre-2002 Revision Archives (not all information is current)

The ACRL/RBMS Bibliographic Standards Committee (BSC) is engaged in a revision of the rare book cataloging rules, Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books. It is anticipated that the new edition will include formats other than books, e.g., music, maps, serials, and hence will probably be called Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (DCRM).

To facilitate the revision process, an online discussion list has been created. Those interested in the discussion are invited to visit the listserv archives at http://mailman.lib.byu.edu/pipermail/dcrb-l/ . Those who wish to participate in the discussion should contact the list moderator Robert L. Maxwell.

At the midwinter 2000 meeting of the BSC at San Antonio Texas three motions were made and approved dealing with the name and organization of the new work.

I. Name: the next edition of DCRB will be called Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials, or DCRM.

II. DCRM will be developed as a set of separate manuals to be reconciled and eventually edited separately or together as the committee will decide. AMREMM will be included.

III. The manuals will be labeled in the same style as ISBD:

DCRM(G) -general information
DCRM(B) - for books
DCRM(PM) - for printed music
DCRM(S) - for serials
DCRM(C) - for cartographic materials
AMREMM will for the moment retain this abbreviation, but may in the future receive a label such as DCRM(MS)

The evaluation of DCRB has been divided into several subsections, with a member of the Bibliographic Standards Committee in charge of each:

Section 1. The influence of USMARC on DCRB (Patrick Russell)

Section 2. The incorporation of the new DCRB Core Standard into the rules and the implications for the current minimal level standard (Larry Creider/Jain Fletcher) This text was approved for inclusion in DCRM (replacing Appendix D: Minimal Level Records) at the Annual 2000 meeting.

Section 3. Possible expansion of DCRB to embrace 19th century/post handpress materials (E.C. Schroeder, with Manon Theroux)

Section 4. The transcription rule (Elizabeth Robinson)

Section 5. Other:

    1. Serials (Jane Gillis/Juliet McLaren)
    2. Music (Jain Fletcher)
    3. Maps and cartographic materials (Sandra Sider)
    4. Other?
Section 6. The glossary (Sandra Sider)

Section 7. Principles behind the rules (Robert Maxwell)

    1. Comparison with AACR2 (changes to DCRB approved by the BSC appear here)
    2. Other: British rules, ISBDA
Section 8. Incorporation of Examples to Accompany DCRB (Melinda Hayes)

Section 9. Future revision process (Juliet McLaren)

Section 10.Single sheet publications (Juliet McLaren)

As progress is made in these areas, reports will be posted below.

Section 1. The influence of USMARC on DCRB (Patrick Russell)

Summary of the discussion as of 11 February 1999.

Section 2. The incorporation of the new DCRB Core Standard into the rules and the implications for the current minimal level standard (Larry Creider/Jain Fletcher)

Summary of the discussion as of 30 June 2000. This text was approved for inclusion in DCRM (replacing Appendix D: Minimal Level Records) at the Annual 2000 meeting.

Section 3. Possible expansion of DCRB to embrace 19th century/post handpress materials (E.C. Schroeder, with Manon Theroux)

Section 4. The transcription rule (Elizabeth Robinson)

Summary of the discussion as of 14 June 1999.

Section 5a. Serials (Jane Gillis/Juliet McLaren)
Draft rare serials rules.

Section 5b. Music (Jain Fletcher)

Section 5c. Maps and cartographic materials (Sandra Sider)

Section 6. The glossary (Sandra Sider)

Summary of the discussion as of 30 May 1999.

Section 7. Principles behind the rules (Robert Maxwell)

The committee has agreed that DCRB (and thus its successor DCRM ) is based on the following principles, and revision of existing rules and addition of new rules should be based on these principles:Principle I. The rules should conform to the Paris Principles ["Statement of Principles adopted at the International Conference on Cataloguing Principles, Paris, October 1961", published by IFLA in 1971], the basis of all cataloging codes (including AACR2). These include: 2. Function of the catalogue

The catalogue should be an efficient instrument for ascertaining

2.1 whether the library contains a particular book specified by

a. its author or title, or

b. if the author is not named in the book, its title alone, or

c. if author and title are inappropriate or insufficient for identification, a suitable substitute for the title; and

2.2 a. which works by a particular author and

b. which editions of a particular work are in the library

3. Structure of the catalogue

To discharge these functions the catalogue should contain

3.1 at least one entry for each book catalogued, and

3.2 more than one entry relating to any book, whenever this is necessary

in the interests of the user or because of the characteristics of the book..."
 
 

Other principles deal with choice and form of entry, with which DCRM is less concerned. In integrated catalogs, form of entry, especially, must follow standard practice (i.e., AACR2)

To summarize the Paris Principles: The code should facilitate identification of the item (2.1) and the collocation of manifestations of the work (2.2).

Thus, DCRB/DCRM Principle I (restated): Does a given rule contribute toward the function of the catalog as defined above? If not, why is it needed?
 
 

Principle II: AACR2 is the basic cataloging rule for Anglo-American catalogers. DCRB supplements AACR2. In the absence of a rule in DCRB contradicting or supplementing AACR2, the appropriate AACR2 rule is used in cataloging rare materials.

The implication of this principle is that unless there is a sound rare materials reason for doing otherwise, rare items should be cataloged according to AACR2. Thus, the following questions need to be asked when evaluating the rules: 1) Is this DCRB rule necessary, given the already existing AACR2 rules? 2) if so, what problem unique to cataloging of rare items is the DCRB rule trying to solve? 3) Has the DCRB rule solved this problem?

Section 7a. Comparision with AACR2

This section includes a rule by rule analysis of DCRB compared with AACR2. Each section contains a comparison, a discussion, and recommendations for revision. Below, the comparison and discussion are linked to the rule number. For reference, the recommendations are given below with each rule number. The recommendations for DCRB 0 were discussed at the 1999 ALA Annual meeting for approval or revision. Approved changes are noted in their respective sections.

DCRB 0 (General Rules) (Robert Maxwell) Marked-up Chapter 0 showing approved revisions.

DCRB 1 Title and Statement of Responsibility Area) (Robert Maxwell)

DCRB 2 (Edition Area) (Jennifer O'Brien Roper)

DCRB 5 (Physical Description Area) (Gregory Pass)

DCRB 7 (Note Area) (Jain Fletcher)

Section 7b. Comparison with British rules; ISBDA

Section 8. Incorporation of Examples to Accompany DCRB (Melinda Hayes)

Section 9. Future revision process (Juliet McLaren)

Section 10. Single sheet publications (Juliet McLaren)

Summary of the discussion as of 30 June 2000.

Proposed rules.