Re: [ARSCLIST] cataloging sound recordings

["Steven C. Barr" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 9:56 PM
Just replying to my backlog...
> The fields involved MUST be completely searchable.  In the present MARC
> format, they are not.
>
> What is being considered here is a system for private collectors.   It
must
> be clear to these collectors and in their language.  If institutions
> benefit, so much the better.
>
> Before spending time on the same-old same-old, I'd have to be convinced
the
> time spent in looking over any propsed matrix, will  reveal that it is
> capable of doing what will satisfy the experienced collector.
>
> Otherwise, we DO need a different system, one that puts their need first.
To be honest, MARC would probably overwhelm the average private collector!
First, many of the fields are not really applicable to sound recordings,
since MARC was created to catalog (primarily) print items, mainly books.
Secondly, even the fields which would apply to sound recordings often are
more appropriate to libraries than private collectors.

As I noted, there are two (at least) different aims for databases of
sound recordings; the first is to catalog the contents of the users'
collection of phonorecords, while the second is to create an archive
of data on all (or a given subset) of phonorecords. In my own case,
I basically combine the two; being interested in discography, my
catalog application (created in MS Access) includes both the data
necessary to catalog my holdings and the discographic data on any
phonorecords I add to my collection.

After looking at MARC data records, I see than many, if not most, of
the the fields in my application aren't present in MARC (they could
be added as internal-use fields...is there a limit on those?). As
well, most private collectors aren't interested in discography...
what they expect from cataloguing software is tracking "which
phonorecords do I have, and where are they (or, more accurately,
where are they SUPPOSED to be?)."

What I would suggest would be private-collection cataloguing
software that was MARC-compatible (that used fields which exist
in MARC, with the same sizes...since MARC appears to create
text-based files, type wouldn't matter) so that it would be
possible to import data into a MARC-based or MARC-compatible
database file. It might be possible to define a set of core
fields for sound recordings, and then have a facility which
would allow users to include additional fields should they
wish to do so.

By the way, I'd be glad to supply a prototype version of my
personal MS Access application on request (it's about 250KB).

Steven C. Barr