Breaking Records: The History of Bibliographic Records and Their Influence in Conceptualizing Bibliographic Data

Abstract

A bibliographic record is a conceptual whole that includes all bibliographic information about a resource together in one place. With the Semantic Web, individual data statements are linked across the web. This position article argues that the traditional conceptualization of bibliographic records affects the affordances and limitations of that data. A historical analysis of the development of bibliographic records contrasted with the Semantic Web model reveals how the “record” model shaped library cataloging and the implications on library catalogs today. Reification of the record model for bibliographic data hampers possibilities for innovation in cataloging, inspiring a reconceptualization of bibliographic description.

KEYWORDS:

• bibliographic records
• Semantic Web
• linked data
• library cataloging

Notes

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Ronald Hagler, The Bibliographic Record and Information Technology, 3rd ed. (Chicago: American Library Association, 1997), 15.

Jim Ranz, The Printed Book Catalogue in American Libraries, 1723–1900 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1964), 33.

Ibid.,11–12.

Ibid.,7–8.

Ibid.,25–26.

Barbara B. Tillett, “Bibliographic Structures: The Evolution of Catalog Entries, References, and Tracings,” in The Conceptual Foundations of Descriptive Cataloging, ed. Elaine Svenonius (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1989), 150.

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Charles A. Cutter, Rules for a Dictionary Catalog (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1891).

Tillett, “Bibliographic Structures,” 156.

¹¹ American Library Association, Catalog Rules, Author and Title Entries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1908).

¹² Library of Congress Descriptive Cataloging Division, Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1949).

Seymour Lubetzky, Cataloging Rules and Principles; a Critique of the A.L.A. Rules for Entry and a Proposed Design for their Revision (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1953).

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Lawrence F. Buckland, The Recording of Library of Congress Bibliographical Data in Machine Form (Washington, DC: Council on Library Resources, Inc., 1965), 2.

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Robert L. Bothmann, “Evolving Standards: Making the Jump to RDA in Historical Context,” in Practical Strategies for Cataloging Departments, ed. Rebecca L. Lubas (Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2011), 10.

Ibid., 7.

Tim Berners-Lee, James Hendler, and Ora Lassila, “The Semantic Web,” Scientific American, May 2001.

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Bermes, “Enabling,” 123.

Tim Berners-Lee, Roy Fielding, and Larry Masinter, “Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax. Request for Comments 3986.” Section 1.1. http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986 (accessed November 20, 2013).

Ibid., Section 1.1.3.

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Christine L. Borgman, “From Acting Locally to Thinking Globally: A Brief History of Library Automation,” The Library Quarterly 67, no. 3 (1997): 215–249.

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