Genre and form: Difference between revisions
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Genre/form terms in catalog records describe what an item ''is'' (or contains), not what it is about. ''Genre'' corresponds roughly to the intellectual content of what is being described: for example, almanacs, depositions, plays, and poems. ''Form'' corresponds with physical characteristics. For instance, this [https://catalog.folger.edu/record/170013 catalog record for two copies of a 1635 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins ''Whole booke of Psalmes''] has been assigned the genre terms ''Psalters'', ''Adaptations'', ''Miniature books'', and ''Printing privileges'', and the form term ''Embroidered bindings''. In practice, "genres" and "forms" overlap, so the [[MARC]] cataloging standard uses the same field for both (the [[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form|MARC 655 Genre/Form field]]).


Genre/form terms in catalog records describe what an item ''is'' (or contains), not what it is about. ''Genre'' corresponds roughly to the content of what is being described: for example, almanacs, depositions, plays, and poems. ''Form'' corresponds with formats and physical characteristics: for example, embroidered bindings, imposition errors, manicules, and sammelbands. This [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=170013 Hamnet record for two copies of a 1635 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins ''Whole booke of Psalmes''] includes the genre term '''Psalters''' and the form term '''Embroidered bindings (Binding)'''. Genre/form terms are controlled by authorized forms.  
==Genre and form in library catalogs==
Catalogers use [[Controlled vocabularies|controlled vocabularies]] to ensure that terminology is more or less the same between different institutions, or can be cross-walked to equivalent terms when sharing data. But as the saying goes, "the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."


==Genre and form in library catalog records==
Guidance for Folger catalogers can be found in the Folgerpedia article "[[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form]]"; the general order of vocabulary preference is:
* RBMS [https://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/rbmscv.html Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloging]
* The Getty's [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)] 
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/tgm/ Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM)] or [https://id.loc.gov/authorities/genreForms.html Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms].
* [http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)] or a local term.


Due to the limits of the card catalog, genre and form terms were not systematically recorded by early catalogers. Shelflist cards - usually 3" x 5" index cards - did not have much room anything besides title, author, and publication information, and maybe a few subject headings or free-text notes. Libraries often maintained separate card catalogues for books, manuscripts, and other materials, which decreased the need for additional genre access.
Form subdivisions also appear at the end of a subject heading, though this practice has largely been replaced by separate Genre/Form terms. At the Folger, these include, for example:
* <code> -- Early works to 1800</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' pre-1801)
* <code> -- Manuscripts</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' manuscript rather than printed)
* <code> -- Pictorial works</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' primarily pictorial rather than verbal)


The advent of the [[MARC]] standard, however, allowed librarians to expand their item descriptions: catalogers could add as much descriptive information as needed to fully describe a book (or at least, they were constrained by computer processing power rather than the dimensions of the catalog card). The original MARC specification did not include a specific field for genre and/or form terms, but two were added during the 1980s: 655 (Index Term--Genre/Form) and 755 (Added Entry--Physical Characteristics). Due to some confusion over how these two fields were indexed, and how to differentiate which information went in which, the 755 field was officially made obsolete in 1995 in favor of the [[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form|655 field]], which is still in use today.
==Searching genre/form terms in the catalog==
 
The [[Catalog|Folger catalog]] has several built-in ways to search for items by their genre and form.  
===Controlled vocabularies===
* Begin a search then narrow your search results using the '''checkboxes in the Genre/form facet''' in the left-hand side bar (on a mobile device or narrow screen, use the “Options” button to reveal the facets).  
Genre and form entries benefit especially from the use of [[Controlled vocabularies|controlled vocabularies]], enabling librarians and scholars to to describe and find resources via a shared language. By using controlled vocabularies, a user can assume that when they search for "Embroidered bindings," they will get similar types of results no matter which library catalog they are searching in.  Librarians can choose from a range of controlled vocabularies, many of which are specialized for particular fields, when cataloging their materials.
* Type '''genreform:''' immediately before a keyword search in the main search box (remember to use quotation marks around phrases). For example:
 
** [https://catalog.folger.edu/search?ln=en&p=genreform%3A%22Embroidered%20bindings%22 genreform:"Embroidered bindings"]
===LCSH===
** [https://catalog.folger.edu/search?ln=en&p=genreform%3A%28cookbooks+AND+manuscripts%29 genreform:(cookbooks AND manuscripts)]
The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is a controlled vocabulary set that was developed in 1898 (and has been regularly updated since) to be used broadly across many types of libraries. However, they are were originally meant for use only as subject headings, not genre terms; in other words, they describe what an item is about (dinosaurs, jewel heists), not what genre it belongs to (short stories, horror movies) or what form it takes (carousel books, calendars).  
** [https://catalog.folger.edu/search?ln=en&p=genreform%3A%28epigrams+NOT+manuscripts%29 genreform:(epigrams NOT manuscripts)]
 
* Follow the '''Advanced Search''' link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" from the drop-down menus next to any of the three search boxes. You can search by genre/form alone, or combine it with other searches.
As libraries began to provide additional access to genre and form information, catalogers found attempted to find work-arounds to use LCSH headings as genre/form terms. Some added applicable subject headings to the 650 field (for subjects), even though that implied that an item was ''about'' a topic rather than an example of a topic (such as Haunted house films). Others added subject headings to the 655 field as genre/form terms, although this practice was not officially implemented until 2002.  Subfield ‡v was added to the MARC standard in 1995 to adapt subject heading fields for genre and form access as well. For instance:
* Follow the '''Browse records''' link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" then hit the "Search" button to browse an alphabetical list.
 
<code>600 10 ‡a Shakespeare, William, ‡d 1564-1616 </code>
 
tells a user that an item is about William Shakespeare, but nothing more. In comparison,
 
<code>600 10 ‡a Shakespeare, William, ‡d 1564-1616 ‡v Calendars </code>
 
tells the user that the item is about Shakespeare, and it is in the form of a calendar. A popular term in the $v subdivision is '''Specimens''', which can be used to adapt most noun-based subject headings into genre or form headings (i.e. <code>650 _0 ‡a Swords ‡v Specimens</code> or <code>650 _0 ‡a Crows ‡v Specimens</code>).
 
====LCGFT====
Around 2010, the Library of Congress began to separate out the genre terms from LCSH, and establish them as a separate list, Library of Congress Genre and Form Terms (LCGFT). LCGFT headings are a [[Controlled vocabularies|controlled vocabulary]] specifically meant to be used in the 655 field as genre/form terms. Some headings, such as Ten-minute plays, are established in both LCSH and LCGFT - an item can be either ''about'' ten-minute plays, or an example of a ten-minute play (or both, for that matter).
 
===RBMS vocabularies===
 
==Genre and form use at the Folger==
===Basic policy===
 
===Conventions for maintenance of the table===
===List of common genre and form terms in Hamnet===
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Term !! Scope note !! Folger practice !! Link
|-
| Judicial records. ǂ2 aat || Records of a tribunal established for the administration of justice.|| Use for Court rolls, Writs || [http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=&logic=AND&note=&subjectid=300027850 AAT]
|-
| ''Court rolls use'' Judicial records || || ||
|-
| ''Writs use'' Judicial records || || ||
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| Example || Example || Example || Example
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[[Category:Cataloging]]
[[Category:Staff policies and procedures]]

Latest revision as of 13:50, 30 September 2024

Genre/form terms in catalog records describe what an item is (or contains), not what it is about. Genre corresponds roughly to the intellectual content of what is being described: for example, almanacs, depositions, plays, and poems. Form corresponds with physical characteristics. For instance, this catalog record for two copies of a 1635 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins Whole booke of Psalmes has been assigned the genre terms Psalters, Adaptations, Miniature books, and Printing privileges, and the form term Embroidered bindings. In practice, "genres" and "forms" overlap, so the MARC cataloging standard uses the same field for both (the MARC 655 Genre/Form field).

Genre and form in library catalogs

Catalogers use controlled vocabularies to ensure that terminology is more or less the same between different institutions, or can be cross-walked to equivalent terms when sharing data. But as the saying goes, "the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."

Guidance for Folger catalogers can be found in the Folgerpedia article "MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form"; the general order of vocabulary preference is:

Form subdivisions also appear at the end of a subject heading, though this practice has largely been replaced by separate Genre/Form terms. At the Folger, these include, for example:

  • -- Early works to 1800 (material about the named subject that is pre-1801)
  • -- Manuscripts (material about the named subject that is manuscript rather than printed)
  • -- Pictorial works (material about the named subject that is primarily pictorial rather than verbal)

Searching genre/form terms in the catalog

The Folger catalog has several built-in ways to search for items by their genre and form.

  • Begin a search then narrow your search results using the checkboxes in the Genre/form facet in the left-hand side bar (on a mobile device or narrow screen, use the “Options” button to reveal the facets).
  • Type genreform: immediately before a keyword search in the main search box (remember to use quotation marks around phrases). For example:
  • Follow the Advanced Search link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" from the drop-down menus next to any of the three search boxes. You can search by genre/form alone, or combine it with other searches.
  • Follow the Browse records link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" then hit the "Search" button to browse an alphabetical list.