Geographic headings

From UANotebook

Authority Records for Geographic Headings

swiped from: http://hul.harvard.edu/cmtes/haac/Geographic_Headings.html

Background : For the purpose of creating authority records, the National Authority File is divided into two parts: the LC/NACO Authority File (sometimes referred to as the Names File) and the LC/SACO Authority File (sometimes referred to as the Subjects File). This division is based on two factors: the way the headings can be used on bibliographic records and the rules governing the creation of the authority records.

Headings in the LC/NACO Authority File can be used in 1XX, 6XX or 7XX fields in bibliographic records and are established according to the appropriate rules in AACR2. (Some headings in the LC/NACO Authority File have limitations with respect to their use as subject headings. These restrictions are normally given in a 667 note field. If the fixed field 008/15 is coded b, the heading is not valid for use as a subject.)

Headings in the LC/SACO Authority File can only be used in 6XX fields on bibliographic records and are established according to the appropriate rules in the Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings. If it becomes necessary to use a heading residing in the LC/SACO Authority File in a 1XX or 7XX field on a bibliographic record, the existing authority record is cancelled and a new authority record is created in the LC/NACO Authority File. (The Library of Congress control number of the cancelled authority record is recorded in a subfield z of the new authority record. The Library of Congress control number, field 010 on authority records, begins with the prefix n for authority records in the LC/NACO authority file and sh for authority records in the LC/SACO authority file.)

Geographic headings: Geographic headings are of two types, jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional. Jurisdictional headings can be used as corporate bodies in 1XX or 7XX fields on bibliographic records ("they are capable of authorship") and reside in the LC/NACO Authority File. In most cases they can also be used as subject headings. They are established according to the rules in AACR2, Chapter 23 and the corresponding Library of Congress Rule Interpretations. Names of countries and political or administrative divisions within countries, such as provinces, states and cities are jurisdictional headings. Entities that can be called jurisdictions include countries, principalities, territories, states, provinces, counties, administrative districts, and cities. Examples of jurisdictional headings are:

  • Bavaria ( Germany )
  • Boston ( Mass. )
  • Massachusetts
  • United States
  • Great Britain
  • British Columbia
  • Monaco

Non-jurisdictional headings can only be used in 6XX fields in bibliographic records and reside in the LC/SACO Authority File. They are established according to the rules in the Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings. Included in this category are geographic features such as lakes, mountains, plains, valleys, rivers, deserts and non-jurisdictional islands. Examples of non-jurisdictional headings are:

  • Great Lakes
  • Himalaya Mountains
  • Great Plains
  • Death Valley ( Calif. and Nev. )
  • Charles River ( Mass. )
  • Mojave Desert ( Calif. )
  • Nantucket Island ( Mass. )

It is important to note that the authority record for a jurisdictional heading such as France resides in the LC/NACO Authority File, but if a subject heading string is established using this heading plus one or more subject subdivisions (subfields v, x, y or z), the resulting heading is considered a subject heading and resides in the LC/SACO Authority File. For example if one does a search of the heading France in the subject headings section of Classification Web, there is a long list of heading/subdivision combinations of the type France |x Antiquities, France |x History |y Francis I, 1515-1547, etc. However, the authority record for the heading France itself is not listed there because it is a jurisdictional heading and resides in the LC/NACO Authority File. Conversely, if one searches the LC/NACO Authority File (on a utility, for example), one finds a list including the unsubdivided heading France and a list of headings consisting of the heading France and various subdivisions usually in subfields b or t, e.g., France |b Agence de l’informatique, France |t Code civil, etc.

Note also that geographical headings are coded 151 on authority records regardless of whether they are in the LC/NACO Authority File or the LC/SACO Authority File. For example: 

Authority record:
151 France

Bibliographic record:
110 1# France
651 #0 France

Authority record:
151 Himalaya Mountains

Bibliographic record:
651 #0 Himalaya Mountains

Catalogers may create name authority records for jurisdictional place name headings (of the LC/NACO Authority File type ) directly in Aleph. These records will not be contributed to the national authority file. New headings for non-jurisdictional place names should be proposed through the SACO program for inclusion in the LC/SACO Authority File.

If you have questions concerning these procedures, contact Bruce Trumble.

The LC/NACO Authority File (NAF) provides the most current information on standard headings for names, uniform titles, and series created by the Library of Congress and participants in LC's National Coordinated Cataloging Operations (NACO).


The LC/SACO Authority File (LCSAF) contains Library of Congress subject headings.


Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms (TGM I)

INTRODUCTION (1995 printed edition)

Swiped from: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/tgm1/iiib.html


III. Subject Heading Strings and Subdivisions III.B. Geographic Subdivisions


Important geographical information may be embodied in images. A number of questions commonly arise regarding the best means of providing geographic access, partly because the MARC format offers a number of fields in which geographic designations may be encoded. Use of geographic subdivisions has been expanded in this edition of TGM I because in a MARC record environment it is, at present, one of the best methods for (1) providing hierarchical access to places, enabling keyword retrieval by specific place name as well as by the larger geographic entity in which the place is located and (2) making a clear linkage between topic and place, so as to avoid confusion when multiple topics and multiple places are recorded in a single catalog record.[1] P&P does not employ a technique found in LCSH for subdividing place names by topics (e.g., Chicago (Ill.)--Commerce) because this does not offer as predictable a form of hierarchical place name access; moreover, constructing such headings requires additional indexing effort with little added benefit in systems featuring keyword retrieval and for a collection that comprises all areas of the world. The [place]--[topic] technique may be of more value in manual systems or automated systems that do not have keyword searching capability. It may also be useful in geographically oriented collections where it is important to be able to browse under place name for all aspects of a particular geographic place. Institutions that are trying to match headings that are used on records for books and other materials cataloged using LCSH may also find it desirable to follow this practice. [2]


A facet indicator for geographic subdivision is added to terms for natural geographical features, structures, and objects which have fixed locations; to most activity terms; as well as to other terms where locale is deemed both a distinguishable and a distinguishing feature. The geographic subdivision is understood to indicate place of depiction (as opposed to, for example, place of origin), unless a cataloger's note specifies otherwise. (Users of TGM I may find terms that do not have a geographic facet indicator, although a geographic subdivision may seem appropriate. To make sure geographic subdivisions are used consistently, indexers may wish to annotate their copies of the thesaurus if they decide to use a geographic subdivision with a heading where the geographic facet indicator does not presently appear.)


Following LCSH practice, geographic subdivisions are constructed in indirect order (i.e., broader place name preceding narrower place name). The facet indicator [country or state]-- [city] merely suggests the general pattern; as appropriate, catalogers substitute names of regions or specific geographic features. Geographic names are taken from LCSH and the LC Name Authority File, or are formulated according to guidelines on choice of name found in the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. The Library of Congress' Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings (Section H 830) specifies subdivision practice for various types of geographic entities. For instance, sites in the United States are subdivided first by state (not by country) and then by the lowest appropriate geographic jurisdiction or feature (other than named sections of cities). Geographic features that span more than two jurisdictions are entered without interposing a broader geographic name. 

Example: [Thesaurus]         Marine terminals
                             --[country or state]--[city]

         [Indexing string]   Marine terminals--California--San Diego

         [Thesaurus]         Steamboats
                             --[country or state]--[city]

         [Indexing string]   Steamboats--Mississippi River

MARC coding: Geographic subdivisions are assigned subfield code "z."

NOTES:

1. There has been some discussion of modifying an existing USMARC field or creating a new one in order to make it possible to provide hierarchical geographic subject access, perhaps down to the street address level. As new methods are developed for providing hierarchical access to places represented in images and for linking topic and place elements, there may be less need for geographic subdivisions. Go Back

2. For discussion of the [place]--[topic] indexing technique, see Library of Congress. Office for Subject Cataloging Policy, Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings. (Washington, D.C.: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1991), sections H1140, H1145.5, and H1845. Go Back

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