Concepts of information retrieval and automatic text processing: The transformation analysis, and retrieval of information by computer

In 1978, when the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, second edition (AACR2) were published, libraries recognized that these significantly different rules would require an extensive relearning process, both for catalogers applying these rules for descriptive cataloging and for those librarians interpreting catalog entries for library users. In Minnesota, an independent volunteer group of librarians who had been participants in the ALA Preconference Introductory Program on AACR2 in Dallas, TX held in 1979 formed the core group of AACR2 instructors in Minnesota. This group became known as the “Minnesota AACR2 Trainers” and held a variety of workshops throughout Minnesota. For these training sessions, the trainers developed 15 separate manuals illustrating the AACR2 rules and these were published by Soldier Creek Press, with the funds received from sales used to underwrite these AACR2 workshops. The work reviewed here is a compilation of all of these original manuals, with some of the less legible title page photocopies closely duplicated as to layout and typography on an Apple Macintosh computer. The book is an excellent example of using today’s desktop publishing software (Microsoft Word, Aldus Pagemaker, Altsys Fontographic software) produced using an Apple LaserWriter printer. The two volumes use landscape orientation, with their paper bound covers bound along the 8.5.inch edge so that a title page and/or verso or other matter can be presented alongside the cataloging card copy example. Many of the examples also have MARC tagged examples using the OCLC system as the foundation for those examples. To use these volumes to learn AACR2, one needs to also have the AACR2 rules at hand, as the volumes give rule citations and other cataloging interpretations at the bottom of each example of the catalog card copy. This reviewer is not a specialist in cataloging, but rather is a systems specialist who has had to work with bibliographic records in machine readable form both prior to and after the advent of the MARC formats. I have had most of my direct experience with editing the serials entries in the first edition of the Minnesota Union List of Serials which I designed in which some 37,000 serials were converted to MARC format. And, prior to that I cataloged and indexed thousands of classified and unclassified technical reports while employed in an industrial special library. Therefore, this reviewer placed herself in the position of a librarian who needed to learn about AACRZ in detail so that this review could be done from the standpoint of the purpose of these volumes, i.e., to help librarians or others learn AACR2 rule application through close examination of actual examples applying specific rules, LC cataloging rule interpretations, and such for descriptive cataloging. These volumes contain sixteen chapters, ten of which are in the initial volume. The chapters deal with the following material types: (1) Printed Materials, (2) Technical Reports, (3) Early Printed Materials, (4) Cartographic Materials, (5) Manuscripts, (6) Music, (7) Sound Recordings, (8) Motion Pictures and Video Recordings, (9) Graphic Materials, (10) Three Dimensional Artefacts and RealiaKits, (11) Computer Files, (12) Microforms, (13) Serials, (14) “In” Analytics, (15) Legal Materials, (16) Liturgical Works. I noted that there are some typographic errors, particularly in the chapter introductory text, which should have been caught by a spelling check run but apparently were not. This unfortunately gave the impression of haste in assembling this work from the original manuals. However, in the actual examples which I used and checked, I came across really very few errors or what I perceived as possible errors in the examples themselves when examining the title page reproductions, the catalog copy, and rule citation material. Since AACR2 is a descriptive cataloging code the examples do not contain subject heading or classification entries. A few examples of the sorts of errors or possible errors I found in my examination follows. On page 7, the tracing for the author on the title page which reads “William R. Sanford” is given as “I. Sanford, William A. (William Reynolds).” The initial A is a typographic error, but despite such an error I was able to use the example to show me what the proper form for this name entry should be. Another example of an error occurs on page 69 where one MARC tagged example precedes the title page to which it belongs, yet I saw this immediately as the other examples all follow the title page to which they refer. On page 323 the title page carries the spelling “Bill” in the author surname while the example spelling is “Brill.” Similarly on page 208 a Roman numeral date has a typographic error. Some dozen others were similarly spotted, which is not very many in a work of this length with over 700 examples. It would have been nice if the compilers would have put a header on page 18 when they began their AACR2 Level 2 examples as one must look carefully at the elements to know that Level 2 examples have started. The examples selected by the original manual compilers are all excellent at showing subtle aspects of these rules governing the description, main entry, added entries, choice of entry, form of entry, LC rule interpretations, options, uniform titles, cross-references, and Cataloging Service Bulletin information. Very few of the remaining photoreproductions of the title pages remain difficult to read, but there still are a few which were not reproduced using the computer generated fonts. Since most of my experience with materials has been in the Serials and Technical Reports areas, I naturally examined these in detail and found them very well done. The Early Printed Materials and the Manuscripts chapters also were excellent for the purpose of this volume as were the Legal Materials and Liturgical Works chapters. The examples themselves contain many Minnesota regional related items, such as the sound recording example of “Memories of Snoose Boulevard,” the Anne-Charlotte Harvey recording of Scandinavian songs from Minneapolis’ own Snoose Boulevard Festival held in the Cedar-Riverside community near the University of Minnesota campus. It would have been nice if the compilers would have added some additional MARC tagged examples and would have insisted that the publisher use a buckram binding on these volumes as