DRAFT 3 OF LCRI 25.5B ON UNIFORM TITLES FOR
MOTION PICTURES, TELEVISION PROGRAMS,
AND RADIO PROGRAMS

Since the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division (M/B/RS) uses Archival and Moving Image Materials, 2nd ed. (AMIM2) in cataloging moving image materials, there has been little guidance in LCRI 25.5B with respect to the AACR2 approach to the application of uniform titles to these materials. CPSO has been aware of this lacuna for some time, the most recent reminder being questions stimulated by an attempt by LC's Cooperative Cataloging Team to develop an FAQ on uniform titles and a paper written by Greta de Groat, Stanford University (Discussion Paper--Uniform Titles for Moving Image Materials OLAC CAPS Meeting ALA Midwinter, 2001). CPSO, working with the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Standing Committee on Standards (SCS), has attempted to address this lacuna for PCC libraries.

The first draft of LCRI 25.5B on uniform titles for motion pictures was posted for comment in the period January-March 2003. There was a consensus among almost all the respondents on three points:

1. disagreement with the proposal not to use a uniform title to break a conflict between a moving image resource and another bibliographic resource;
2. lack of a proposed treatment for television programs;
3. the questionable inclusion in an LCRI of the guidelines stating the actual practice provided for by Archival Moving Image Materials, 2nd ed. (AMIM2).

Some respondents thought the proposal called for the use of qualification in cases not really needing qualification.

The second draft of LCRI 25.5B was posted for comment in the period November 2003-January 15, 2004, and attempted to address these concerns:

1. by including a proposed treatment of television programs and radio programs;
2. by calling for use of a uniform title to distinguish between a moving image resource or a radio program entered under a title proper from another bibliographic resource entered under that same title;
3. by omitting a statement of actual AMIM2 practice and substituting instead notation, at the appropriate places, where AMIM2 practice differs from the proposed AACR2 practice;
4. by limiting the use of qualifiers to cases of breaking conflicts.

The comments on the second draft were generally favorable but raised additional situations and concerns that needed to be addressed. The third draft attempts to do this by providing guidelines on the following issues:

1. the "catalog" to be used when testing for conflict and eligible title fields for conflict;
2. past practice (what to do about existing headings that do not reflect the conventions of the revised LCRI);
3. clarification of when to make authority records for uniform title headings for these materials;
4. use of additional qualifiers beyond the first or second to break conflicts;
5. the treatment applied to a single resource that may contain versions of a work that exhibit multiple language-related conditions;
6. the treatment of motion pictures with translated intertitles in a manner parallel to the treatment of dubbed motion pictures;
7. the use of actual examples instead of made-up ones;
8. unlike serials, do not make an authority record solely to omit an initial article that precedes an individual title in a comprehensive/individual title construct; if an authority record is needed for some other reason, however, omit the initial article;
9. when the comprehensive title in a comprehensive/individual title combination conflicts, place the qualifier following the comprehensive title;
10. in view of the instability of episode/show/production numbers of television series, limit their use to series intended to be viewed consecutively;
11. the treatment of compilations related to television and radio series.

Although LC's Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division uses AMIM2 for cataloging motion pictures and television programs (but not for radio programs), staff in that Division have provided invaluable advice based on their experience cataloging moving image materials and radio programs.

Please send comments by May 31, 2004 to the CPSO email account: cpso@loc.gov

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