Re: [ARSCLIST] Cataloging question--IASA in particular

[andy kolovos <akolovos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

David--

David Seubert wrote:
> The IASA rules oddly don't address SMDs for digital files. I'd never 
> noticed this before, but they must have assumed that all sound had a 
> carrier of some sort. Not so anymore--record on hard disk or flash card, 
> upload audio to server, reuse media. So no carrier in the traditional 
> sense. For the SMD of a born digital audio file I think you'd need to 
> refer to AACR2 and follow the rules for computer files. I don't know if 
> you can use "1 digital audio file" or what without checking, but I'd 
> keep it in plain English if possible.

I got two useful suggestions in this regard, both, interestingly, from 
folks at the LC--
From Thom Pease I learned that with some projects at MBRS they're using 
the following terms for cataloging digital preservation files from 
analog source in the MARC 300 field:

‡a 2 sound files (1 hr., 7 min., 51 sec.) : ‡b digital preservation 
master,WAV files (96 kHz, 24 bit)

And from Maggie Kruesi at the American Folklife Center I got the 
suggestion of "digtial audio file" an SMD term.  I'm thinking I'm going 
to stick with "sound recording" as the GMD and then use, for example, 
"digital audio file (WAV)" as the SMD.  I'll specify bit depth/sample 
rate and other technical metadata in the database record.

> I wonder if GMDs are going away with the transition from AACR2 to RDA? 
> GMDs are really pretty useless in my opinion. Material types should just 
> be coded in the leader and the computer system will figure out what the 
> heck it is and describe it to the user.

This is something that Maggie brought up as well.  My problems aren't 
directly related to LC cataloging, they've got more to do with trying to 
pin down a standard vocabulary for distinguishing between 1. the means 
of documentation (e.g.: sound recording, video recording, still 
photography) and 2. the medium on which this documentation is fixed 
(tape, disc, file) for the purpose of my internal database.  The GMD/SMD 
distinction pretty much fits the bill, and the associated SMD terms are 
useful for language standards.  So I'm just piggy backing on something 
that, as you note, might become totally irrelevant in a year or two.

Thanks!

andy

--

Andy Kolovos
Archivist/Folklorist
Vermont Folklife Center
3 Court Street ; P.O. Box 442
Middlebury, VT 05753
(802) 388-4964
akolovos @ vermontfolklifecenter.org
http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org