Heidrun, It seems to me that the "carrier type" vocabulary is the least useful of the three controlled vocabularies that RDA introduces for describing the relationship between content and format.
On the one hand, it's too general to provide information users need to know in order to use a "mediated" resource. For example, DVD and Blu-Ray are both "videodiscs" but if you don't have a Blu-Ray player available to you, it's not much help to know it's a videodisc. On the other hand, as you point out, some of the distinctions seem a bit arbitrary (I tend to agree that a "flipchart" is essentially a volume, just spiral bound at the top rather than stitched on the side). I suppose it provides a general categorization of "carriers", and maybe that will prove useful in some systems. But it clearly doesn't take the place of specific descriptions that we put in the 300 $a and in the notes. Benjamin Abrahamse Cataloging Coordinator Acquisitions, Metadata and Enterprise Systems MIT Libraries 617-253-7137 -----Original Message----- From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [mailto:RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca] On Behalf Of Heidrun Wiesenmüller Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 12:04 PM To: RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Carrier type "Flipchart" Deborah, I don't have problems with the media type "unmediated" as such. But what I find amazingly difficult is assigning the (in the RDA sense) correct carrier type for things which are "unmediated". As I pointed out, wall calendars look very similar to these educational flip charts, which got me so confused, yet - if I read RDA correctly here - they wouldn't get "flipchart", but "volume". A couple of days ago, there also was an interesting discussion about the difficult distinction between "sheet" and "volume" on the AUTOCAT list. It feels weird to me that choosing between carrier types for "unmediated" things should be so difficult. After all, the "unmediated" area is where we all should have the best expertise, as these are the resources people are most familiar with. You may have to be an expert to understand the technical differences between certain carrier types in the "audio" or "computer" section, but I believe everybody should be able to pick the right carrier type in the "unmediated" area without having to give it too much thought. But this doesn't seem to be the case, and it makes me wonder whether RDA's system of carrier types is really well thought-out. Also, it somehow doesn't feel right that something as specialized as these educational flipcharts is honoured with a carrier type of its own. I'd say "volume" would have worked just as well for them, because basically they consist of "one or more sheets bound or fastened together to form a single unit" (RDA glossary for "volume"). On the other hand, something like a globe, which really might have been worth a carrier type of its own, is subsumed under "object". Of course I'm aware of the fact that one can be more specific in the "extent" element and (at least optionally) use more helpful terms there. Still, I'm not really happy with these carrier types. Heidrun On 01.02.2013 16:23, Deborah Fritz wrote: > Does it help if you ask the question of Media Type this way: "Do I > need some sort of media device/apparatus/equipment/contraption/gadget > in order to access the content of this thing?" > > If the answer is "No, no media device is needed", then the Media Type > is 'unmediated'. > > If some of the content of a resource needs no media device for access > and other content needs a device, then record multiple media types. > > If the content can be accessed using different media devices (e.g., a > computer or a video device) then record the different devices that can > be used for access. > > I, also, struggled with this, until I thought of it this way, so I > hope this approach might help. > > Deborah > > - - - - - - - - > Deborah Fritz > TMQ, Inc. > debo...@marcofquality.com > www.marcofquality.com > > -----Original Message----- > From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and > Access [mailto:RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Heidrun > Wiesenmüller > Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2013 3:05 PM > To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA > Subject: Re: [RDA-L] Carrier type "Flipchart" > > Many thanks to Benjamin, John and Daniel for the explanation. I've > never come across something like this in Germany, and will have to > find out whether there is a special German term for it (as the word > "Flipchart" > in German is really only used for the easel and whiteboard). > > It still bothers me a bit to have an unmediated carrier type for > something as specialized as this (especially if you compare it with > the huge range of "object"). > > By the way, this got me wondering about wall calendars (the typical > ones with one image per month). They often have a spiral binding, > which makes them very similar in form to those classroom flipcharts. > Only they are not "designed for use on an easel", as the RDA glossary > says, but for hanging on a wall. So I assume "flipchart" wouldn't be > suitable, and you'd have to use "volume" instead (RDA glossary: "One > or more sheets bound or fastened together to form a single unit"). > > It's really amazing how complicated assigning carrier types can get... > One should think that at least the unmediated carrier types would be > straightforward. > > Heidrun > > > > On 30.01.2013 22:06, Benjamin A Abrahamse wrote >> I think it refers to a type of childrens' (or educational) resource >> that > is published and intended to be used in the classroom. >> E.g.: >> http://www.staples.com/Calendar-Time-Sing-Along-Flip-Chart-and-CD/pro >> d >> uct_753900?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:753900&KPID=753900 >> >> >> >> Benjamin Abrahamse >> Cataloging Coordinator >> Acquisitions, Metadata and Enterprise Systems MIT Libraries >> 617-253-7137 >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and >> Access > [mailto:RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca] On Behalf Of Heidrun > Wiesenmüller >> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 3:45 PM >> To: RDA-L@listserv.lac-bac.gc.ca >> Subject: [RDA-L] Carrier type "Flipchart" >> >> In our regional cataloging experts group, we were dicussing RDA >> carrier > types yesterday. >> We were completely mystified why flip charts warrant a carrier type >> of > their own ("flipchart"). We found it very hard to imagine any library > or other institution collecting flip charts, in the first place. > Stretching our imagination, we could picture a collection of paper > sheets which had before been used on a flip chart - but these should > then simply get the data carrier "sheet", shouldn't they? And if a > library really wanted to collect the flip charts themselves (for us, > that would mean whiteboards on an easel) > - wouldn't that fall under "object"? >> I assume that there is a simple solution to this puzzle. Probably >> it's > just some sort of misunderstanding, either due to language or cultural > differences. So I wonder: What exactly is meant by "flipchart" in this > respect, and how are flip charts used in Angloamerican countries? >> The flip charts we were thinking of look like this: >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_chart >> We use the term for the whole device, i.e. the easel and the >> whiteboard > with its mechanism for holding paper sheets. The RDA glossary defines > flipchart as "hinging device holding two or more sheets designed for > use on an easel", which is perhaps not exactly the same. >> Thanks for your help. >> >> Heidrun >> >> -- >> --------------------- >> Prof. Heidrun Wiesenmueller M.A. >> Stuttgart Media University >> Faculty of Information and Communication Wolframstr. 32, 70191 >> Stuttgart, > Germany www.hdm-stuttgart.de/bi > > -- --------------------- Prof. Heidrun Wiesenmueller M.A. Stuttgart Media University Faculty of Information and Communication Wolframstr. 32, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany www.hdm-stuttgart.de/bi
