SPECIAL COLLECTIONS CATALOGING PROCEDURE
                                                            I.C.2
                           GENRE TERMS

Reviewed Nov 17, 1998 by Richard Lindemann


     Added entry terms that describe the intellectual genre or
form of presentation of published materials are coded in USMARC
field 655.  Terms are taken from the following thesauri:

     Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special
     Collections Cataloguing.  Chicago: Association of College
     and Research Libraries, 2nd ed., 1991.  [|2 rbgenr]

     Descriptive Terms for Graphic Materials: Genre and Physical
     Characteristic Headings.  Washington, D.C.: Cataloging
     Distribution Service, 1986.  [|2 gmgpc]

     Catalogers must familiarize themselves with the introductory
material in each thesaurus, since details of term selection and
coding vary.  For example, all terms in Genre Terms are coded in
field 655, while some terms in Descriptive Terms are actually
physical evidence terms belonging in field 755 (see procedure
I.C.3).

     Special Collections applies most terms selectively to items
that are particularly important, attractive, early, or
representative examples of a genre or form.  The terms listed at
the end of this procedure are to be applied exhaustively to every
item which they fit; otherwise, trace genre terms as indicated by
the curator or seek guidance about tracing features that are
especially exemplary.  Do not apply a particular term simply
because you find its usage in INNOPAC.

     Field 655 terms are used only for actual examples of a genre
or form, not for books on the subject of a genre or form.  A term
may sometimes apply to only a portion of a book (e.g., Calendars,
Bookplates, Genealogies, Letters, Maps, Menus, Advertisements),
not necessarily to the entire item.

     Field 655 is repeatable, so more than one term may be added
to a single bib record, as appropriate.

     Repeat terms in fields 650/651 and fields 655/755 when they
may apply to both (e.g. Atlases; Diaries; Letters; Treaties).  Be
mindful that use of 655/755 fields has the effect of isolating
the form or genre without topical context.  Avoid repeating terms
in both 650/651 and 655/755 fields when doing so contributes
nothing to the analysis; prefer the field entry that captures the
concept most fully (usually field 650 for terms that form free-
floater subdivisions: e.g., Guidebooks as 650 |x rather than 655
|a).

     Terms entered in the 655 field appear as "GENRE/FORM"
tracings in ROGER and as "SUBJECTS" in MELVYL.  They are
searchable in INNOPAC and MELVYL's subject index, but are not
indexed on OCLC.

     Order of subfields/subdivisions: Apply subdivisions/
subfields in the following order:

     1. geographic (|z)
     2. chronological (|y)
     3. color (|x)
     4. facsimile/reproduction (|x)
     5. thesaurus source code (|2)

     Geographic subdivision: Unless otherwise instructed, use for
the following terms only:  Cookbooks; Broadsides.  Subdivide only
by country unless collection-specific procedures dictate
otherwise (e.g. AIWF and Baja California procedures); when more
than one level of geographic subdivision is called for, use
indirect subdivision as prescribed by LCSH.

     Chronological subdivision: Special Collections usually, but
not always, codes the year of publication in the |y subfield. 
Consult precedent on INNOPAC for subdivision practice for each
term with which you are not familiar.  In cases where the imprint
date would be misleading in describing the period of the genre
term (e.g. Bookplates, Letters, Diaries), use the date or the
century appropriate to the feature itself, or omit the date
entirely.

     Color subdivision: Use "|x Color" for examples in color of
graphics/visual terms from Descriptive Terms.

     Facsimile/reproduction subdivision: Use "|x Facsimiles" for
facsimile copies indexed using terms from Genre Terms, and "|x
Reproductions" for reproductions of visual items indexed using
Descriptive Terms.  (The difference is just a matter of usage in
the rare book vs. graphics communities.)  Index facsimiles and
reproductions only for important examples or for terms indexed
exhaustively (e.g. a book of hours or a facsimile atlas).

     Thesaurus source code: |2 must always be present at the end
of the field; see above, or the introduction to each thesaurus,
for the appropriate |2 code.  Generally prefer to use a term from
Genre Terms when a term with the same meaning, but different
syntax, is also found in Descriptive Terms.

     Some examples of coded terms:

655  7  Travel literature |y 1843. |2 rbgenr
655  7  Broadside poems |y 1943. |2 rbgenr
655  7  Broadsides |zEngland. |2 rbgenr
655  7  Cookbooks |z United States |zIndiana |y 1989.
          |2 rbgenr

655  7  Bookplates |z 20 century. |2 gmgpc
655  7  Bird's-eye views |y 1912. |2 gmgpc

     Terms used exhaustively: Special Collections uses the
following terms for every book that is an example of that genre
or form, instead of only in selected cases.  Catalogers should be
especially familiar with the meaning of each of these terms. 
This list should be expanded as departmental needs dictate or new
terms are identified for exhaustive indexing.  Instructions for
exhaustive indexing of a particular term are sometimes also
included in collection-specific cataloging procedures.  Materials
cataloged prior to implementation of genre indexing (in 1985) may
lack these terms; as such items are identified, appropriate terms
should be added.

Almanacs
Artists' books
Atlases (Geographic)
Books of hours
Broadsides
Captivity narratives
Concrete poems
Cookbooks
Diaries
Exploration literature
Herbals
Imaginary voyages
Juvenile literature
Juvenilia
Leaf books
Letters
Overland journals
Playbills
Pop-up books
Postcards
Sermons
Souvenir viewbooks
Survivors' narratives

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