I can think of an item offhand that would be a "tactile three-dimensional form", though I certainly agree that the phrasing is problematic at best. A recent musical recording by the band The Flaming Lips was issued as .mp3 files stored on a USB drive embedded in a seven-pound edible gummy skull. Yes, it's a fringe item, but total flexibility in regards to the representation of resources and their various manifestations seems to be a large part of the goal of RDA, at least in spirit. It seems wise to future-proof a metadata standard by being as format-agnostic as possible, in my mind anyway. On the other hand, how many gummy skulls is anyone likely to catalog?
-- A. P. Laubheimer On Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 8:03 PM, J. McRee Elrod wrote: > Sunday afternoon I was at a delightful concert of 18th century French > music. During one legato movement, I admit my mind wondered (as it > sometimes does) to what the RDA media content term "tactile > three-dimensional form" might apply. A baton? The only answer which > has been suggested to me (offlist) is a dildo. (The more provocative > messages I receive are offlist.) > > There has never been one of those for SLC to catalogue, but if there > were, wouldn't "model" be a more intuitive term? Single intelligible > words work better for me than difficult to comprehend, too long for > display, phrases. > > For display purposes, SLC plans to reduce long phrases to one word, > e.g., "cartographic". and "form". But "map", "globe", "model", and > "object" seem better choices to me. > > The same applies to relationship terms, e.g., using "director" for the > various phrases containing that word. It is obvious from other data > in the record what has been directed. > > Among RDA terms, second only to those phrases in being objectionable, > is calling electronic media "computer". > > The calm mood induced by the music did not last long! > > Stewingly yours, Mac > > > __ __ J. McRee (Mac) Elrod (m...@slc.bc.ca (mailto:m...@slc.bc.ca)) > {__ | / Special Libraries Cataloguing HTTP://www.slc.bc.ca/ > ___} |__ \__________________________________________________________ > >
