AACR2R

Description of Materials Using AACR2R:

The AACR2R rules for descriptive cataloging of materials in all formats. AACR2R does not contain instructions for MARC coding. The Library of Congress issues a general outline of the MARC 21 format that includes definition of al tags, indicators and subfield codes and dictates the contents of each field and subfield. AACR2R cover:

·         Books, Pamphlets, and Printed Sheets

·         Cartographic Materials

·         Manuscripts

·         Music

·         Sound Recordings

·         Motion Pictures and Video recordings

·         Graphic Materials

·         Electronic Resources

·         Three-Dimensional Artifacts and Realia

·         Microforms

·         Integrating Resources (WWW sites and Loose-leaf publication)

·         Continuing Resources

Special Consideration for Non-book Materials

AACR2R cover materials that have been variously called: non-book, non-print, audiovisual, or media the last term often in clouding printed materials, as in School Media Center. In AACR2R all materials are described according to the same set of principles.

·         Manuscripts:

Collections of manuscripts can be cataloged at different levels. The collection can be described as a whole, or individual manuscripts can be described separately. The challenge of cataloging manuscripts is that each is unique. The manuscript or the manuscript collection does not exist in another library, except perhaps in reproduction. It is not the kind of material for which catalogers can find cataloging copy already in existence. In addition, such materials often do not have any clearly defined chief source of information and indeed, they often do not have clearly defined titles. The manuscript cataloger is often dealing with event and names of persons not recorded elsewhere.

·         Music:

One challenge in cataloging this material is that a musical composition in printed form normally appears as a series of staves upon which notes are printed, but increasingly other systems of notation are used. The description of music written for a solo instrument, such as the piano, is relatively straightforward. The description of music written for several instrumental or vocal parts (i.e., scores) presents some special problems, especially in the title and statement of responsibility area, in the physical description area, and in the notes area.

·         Sound recordings:

Both classification and description of sound recording are affected by the fact that extremely disparate materials often appear on a single physical piece. This problem is addressed for description in AACR2R.

·         Motion Pictures and video recordings:

Two of the complications involved in describing these materials involve the source of information and the large numbers of people responsible for them. Titles and other information, as they appear in the item itself, in accompanying materials, or on containers, often very considerably.

·         Graphic Materials

These include, among other forms: art originals, art prints, art reproductions, charts, filmstrips, flash cards, photographs, pictures, postcards, posters, slides, study prints, technical drawings and wall charts. Many of these materials are not cataloged and/or classified in many libraries.

·         Electronic Resources

The cataloging of electronic resources has posed some of the greatest challenges to established practice in recent times. The need for standards for cataloging these materials was recognized in 1970 when the American Library Association (ALA) cataloging and classification section established a subcommittee to develop rules for cataloging electronic resources. The state of the art of production of electronic resources is comparable to that of books in the early days of printing. A first there was no source of data comparable to a title page. Although program files and World Wide Web sites new usually have such a source, with non-standard and varying amounts of information, data files still usually have no such source.

·         Three-dimensional artifacts and realia

Prior to the advent of AACR2, three-dimensional artifacts and realia were not cataloged or classified except in a few museum libraries. With a method of description consistent with that of describing other materials, however, we are seeing more cataloging of these materials especially in media centers where emphasis is no longer on the book as the principal means of transmitting information.

A number of manuals have been written that supplement AACR2R in the area of non-book materials. They should be consulted for more detailed discussion of the problems of cataloging these materials, for definitions, of terms unique to these types, and for in-depth example of cataloging.

Special Considerations for Microforms

The cataloging of microforms requires knowledge of a number of different types of material. Books, manuscripts, maps, and graphic materials all can be reproduced in microform. In addition, microform can be the original means of publication of some kinds of content. According to AACR2, all microforms, whether original publications or reproductions, are described in terms of the microform format with details of the original, when applicable, given in a note.

Those who oppose it say that the user is misled by being given a modern date in the publication, distribution, etc., area when the intellectual content of the work is much older. They are also concerned about short-entry catalogs in which the notes are not printed.

Special Consideration for Serials

A serial is a continuing resource issued in a succession of discrete parts, usually bearing numbering, that has no predetermined conclusion. Serials include both periodicals and non-periodicals. A periodical may be defined as a serial that has a distinctive title and that is issued more frequently than once a year and at regular intervals, with each issue containing articles by several contributors. Non-periodicals are all other forms of serials, such as yearbooks, annuals, memoirs, transactions and proceedings of societies and any series cataloged together instead of separately.

The principles for cataloging serials are generally the same as those for cataloging monographic publication. On the other hand, certain physical characteristics of serial publications necessitate some special rules. The aim of these special rules is to prepare an entry that will stand the longest time and will allow necessary changes to be made with a minimum of codification.

General Rules

Sources of Information 

A chief source of information is specified for each type of material or condition or pattern of publication. Information is the chief source is to be preferred to information found elsewhere. Some parts of the description may be taken from prescribed sources rather than the chief source. In either case information that is not from the chief source, where required, or from prescribed sources in the other instances, must be enclosed in square brackets.

Lack of a chief source of information may be a problem with such items as locally produced sound recordings. If the item cannot be used as a basis for description, the information is taken from any available source and is given a note explaining the source of the supplied data.