I think "CE" is more usually taken as "Common Era", rather than "Christian Era". "Christian Era" would, I agree, defeat the object.
The Wikipedia article on the abbreviations has the following links to published usage: http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=BC,BCE&year_start=1800&year_e nd=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3 http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/graph?content=century+AD,century+CE&year_st art=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3 Which indicate that "BC" and "AD" still predominate. However, quite why RDA allows "AD" to persist as a Latin abbreviation when it's been so retentive about elminating "fl." and "ca." is beyond me. They are all abbreviations in contemporary international use, but as has been said, this can in theory all be dealt with by altering displays. _________________________ Richard Moore Authority Control Team Manager The British Library Tel.: +44 (0)1937 546806 E-mail: richard.mo...@bl.uk -----Original Message----- From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of David Giglio Sent: 22 July 2012 03:49 To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Christianity-centric terminology in RDA Wouldn't the RDA version of the "non-Christian-centric terminology" have to be spelled out as "Christian Era" or "Before the Christian Era" ? I fail to see how these are any less "Christian-centric", since they explicitly mention it. Dave Giglio Head of Technical Services Dover Public Library Dover, Delaware 302-736-7031 ________________________________________ From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Buzz Haughton [bongob...@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 2:17 PM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: [RDA-L] Christianity-centric terminology in RDA All: I catalog as a volunteer at the Sosnick Library, Temple B'nai Israel in Sacramento, CA. I confess to some puzzlement as to why RDA has not apparently chosen to update dates to non-Christian-centric terminology, e.g. BC/AD --> BCE/CE. These terms have been in common usage now for many years (at least thirty, judging by what I have been able to find). Shouldn't RDA be moving into the twenty-first century when it comes to all aspects of cataloging? Buzz Haughton 1861 Pebblewood Dr Sacramento CA 95833 USA (916) 468-9027 bongob...@gmail.com<mailto:bongob...@gmail.com> ************************************************************************** Experience the British Library online at http://www.bl.uk/ The British Library’s new interactive Annual Report and Accounts 2010/11 : http://www.bl.uk/annualreport2010-11http://www.bl.uk/knowledge Help the British Library conserve the world's knowledge. Adopt a Book. http://www.bl.uk/adoptabook The Library's St Pancras site is WiFi - enabled ************************************************************************* The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this e-mail and notify the mailto:postmas...@bl.uk : The contents of this e-mail must not be disclosed or copied without the sender's consent. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the British Library. The British Library does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. ************************************************************************* Think before you print
