Comparing Extent of Text in RDA to AACR2:
RDA: Extent of Text is for "resources consisting of printed or manuscript text (with or without accompanying illustrations)". Further in RDA 3.4.5.1: "These instructions apply to text resources in volumes, sheets, portfolios or cases." AACR2: for "separately published monographic printed items." These "comprise books, pamphlets, and single sheets." In both cases exceptions are made for cartographic resources and notated music. RDA is much more specific about the Content Type "text" and makes reference to illustrations as being only accompanying in nature. As such it would be odd to use the element name "Extent of Text" in this case: Extent of Text: 20 unnumbered leaves Illustrative Content: illustrations But in RDA, "Extent" is an element used when the exceptions don't apply. Possibility here (note that "Extent of Text" is not used): Extent: 1 volume (20 unnumbered leaves) In RDA 7.15 for Illustrative Content, the primary content of the resource is covered by the work element in RDA 7.2 (Nature of the Content). So if the reference is to the other element then that should be used to describe the primary content. Nature of the Content: An "illegible book" without text consisting of leaves of different colors and shapes. Which could be mapped to MARC 520 as one of the possibilities for Nature of the Content in the RDA-MARC map in the Toolkit. Thomas Brenndorfer Guelph Public Library ________________________________________ From: Resource Description and Access / Resource Description and Access [RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA] On Behalf Of Kathie Coblentz [kcobl...@nypl.org] Sent: September-20-13 12:54 PM To: RDA-L@LISTSERV.LAC-BAC.GC.CA Subject: Re: [RDA-L] "All illustrations" OK, the very next thing I picked up to catalog is one of a series of "illegible books" by the Italian Futurist artist Bruno Munari: "Libro illeggibile N.Y. 1." There is NO text except for the back flap of the book jacket (which, admittedly, is a pretty integral part of the volume in this case, since the front cover of the jacket bears a Munari design, and beneath it there are only plain black wrappers). The back flap has the title, the artist's name, a brief historical statement in Italian and English and publication information. (I have seen similar works that have none of this, but only (if you're lucky) a slip in the box with the title and artist's name.) But in terms of actual "primary content of the resource," we have a series of pages, or leaves (I speak loosely, since they are not functioning as "units of extent of text" here) of various gray, black and translucent papers, some of which contain a white spiral design, a round cutout, and/or a black circle the size of the cutouts. A red thread is strung through several leaves. Several of the translucent leaves are blank or bear only the "image content" provided by the thread that penetrates them. According to the back flap, "it is one of a group of books in which visual discourse, rather than a text composed of words, carries the thread of the story." There are two AACR 2 records for this in OCLC, and I may just use one of them more or less as is. One has "[40] p. : ǂb ill." and the other has "[20] leaves : ǂb ill. " I think the "leaves" solution is better here, since the designs, when present, are on one side of the leaf only, but I understand the "pages," since the cutouts are naturally on both sides of the leaf. Both records do account for all leaves including blanks, thus properly ignoring the directive not to count blank leaves. In this case, they are clearly part of the work as it is intended to be perceived. However, even under AACR 2, the use of "ill." seems to me inadequate. "All ill." would have been better, but there is the semantic problem of downgrading this work of art to mere "illustrations." At least, however, it would probably have been understood by catalog users. How would I handle this item according to the letter, or even the spirit, of RDA? -------------------------------------------------------- Kathie Coblentz, Rare Materials Cataloger Collections Strategy/Special Formats Processing The New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 313 New York, NY 10018 kathiecoble...@nypl.org My opinions, not NYPL's
