LC ‘Maps’ Policy Change

LC has recently made changes to the way that Maps will be handled in subject headings. As such, many people wondered how we were going to handle the changes and allow you the freedom and flexibility to do whats best for you library. Our expert librarian, Karen, drew up this explanation of the changes and how we can help you:

Proposals for handling the new LC policy for map form subdivisions

When LC created Genre/Form headings for cartographic materials, they looked at the current usage of form subdivisions in the LCSH.  They put out a proposal for comment last year and after a period for comments, decided to proceed with it.  The following snippet describes the basic policy change.  The entire proposal can be read at:

http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/cartographic.pdf

“In order to ameliorate the negative impacts of the genre/form projects as outlined above, PSD proposes that the syntax of subdivisions be altered. Its proposal is to simplify the form subdivisions, removing the qualifier (e.g. Topographic, Bathymetric) and allowing the more specific genre/form heading to characterize the type of map being described…. 14 of the 17 form subdivisions used for cartographic materials would be affected.”

So, the new LC policy is to use $vMaps on 650 headings and add the more descriptive Genre/Form term as a 655 to the record.

We propose to you, our clients, four options for how to handle these subdivision changes:
1 – follow LC policy and make the changes as described

2 – change the affected map subdivisions to just Map but don’t add the 655

3 – don’t change the map subdivisions and let them be counter to LC policy

4 – If none of the above options work, please contact us and we will customize a solution that will work for you.

If we make the changes as described, only LC 650 and 651 (2nd indicator ‘0’) fields will be affected.  Also, this would only affect $v, changing the found term (below, left) to “Maps” and adding a 655 $a with the corresponding term (below, right):

Bathymetric maps                                           655 Bathymetric maps

Index maps                                                     655 Index maps

Maps                                                               655 Maps

Maps, Comparative                                         655 Comparative maps

Maps, Manuscript                                           655 Manuscript maps

Maps, Mental                                                  655 Mental maps

Maps, Outline and base                                  655 Outline and base maps

Maps, Physical                                                655 Physical maps

Maps, Pictorial                                                655 Pictorial maps

Maps, Topographic                                         655 Topographic maps

Maps, Tourist                                                  655 Tourist maps

Maps for children                                            655 Children’s maps

Maps for people with visual disabilities          655 Maps for people with visual disabilities

Maps for the blind                                          655 Maps for the blind

Remote-sensing maps                                     655 Remote-sensing maps

There are 3 subdivisions that do not change to ‘Maps’ but would still need to add the 655 for those clients following the new policy.

$v Aerial views    (stays the same)                              655 Aerial views

$v Relief models         (stays the same)                      655 Relief models

$v Remote-sensing images (stays the same)               655 Remote-sensing images

In the example below, our system would make the corrections, then dedupe the two 651 fields since their $v would both become “Maps”:

Mapeasy’s guidemap to Boston.

651 Boston (Mass.) $v Maps, Pictorial.

651 Boston (Mass.) $v Maps, Tourist.

655 Pictorial maps.

655 Tourist maps.

—Changed to—

Mapeasy’s guidemap to Boston.

651 Boston (Mass.) $v Maps.

655 Pictorial maps.

655 Tourist maps.

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