QUESTION
Of the following International Cataloguing Principles, which comes first and should always be kept in mind when providing bibliographic descriptions and access points?
OPTIONS
(a) Accuracy
(b) Representation
(c) Convenience of the user
(d) Economy
(e) Consistency and standardization
(e) Consistency and standardization
ANSWER
(c) Convenience of the user
Out of the International Cataloguing Principles, the principle "Convenience of the user" comes first and should always be kept in mind when providing bibliographic descriptions and access points.
Out of the International Cataloguing Principles, the principle "Convenience of the user" comes first and should always be kept in mind when providing bibliographic descriptions and access points.
Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP) 2016
... ... The principles in this statement are intended to guide the development of cataloguing codes and the decisions that cataloguers make. They apply to bibliographic and authority data, and consequently to current library catalogues, bibliographies and other datasets created by libraries.
They aim to provide a consistent approach to descriptive and subject cataloguing of bibliographic resources of all kinds.
The following principles direct the construction and development of cataloguing codes, the decisions that cataloguers make and policies on access to and exchange of data. Of these, the Convenience of the user is the most important, while principles 2 through 13 are in no particular order. If there is a conflict among principles 2-13, the Principle of interoperability should be rated higher than others.
1. Convenience of the user
2. Common usage
3. Representation
4. Accuracy
5. Sufficiency and necessity
6. Significance
7. Economy
8. Consistency and standardization
9. Integration
10. Interoperability
11. Openness
12. Accessibility
13. Rationality
1. Convenience of the user - Convenience means that all efforts should be made to keep all data comprehensible and suitable for the users. The word “user” embraces anyone who searches the catalogue and uses the bibliographic and/or authority data. Decisions taken in the making of descriptions and controlled forms of names for access should be made with the user in mind.
2. Common usage - Vocabulary used in descriptions and access points should be in accordance with that of the majority of users.
3. Representation - A description should represent a resource as it appears. Controlled forms of names of persons, corporate bodies and families should be based on the way an entity describes itself. Controlled forms of work titles should be based on the form appearing on the first manifestation of the original expression. If this is not feasible, the form commonly used in reference sources should be used.
4. Accuracy - Bibliographic and authority data should be an accurate portrayal of the entity described.
5. Sufficiency and necessity - Those data elements that are required to: facilitate access for all types of users, including those with specific needs; fulfil the objectives and functions of the catalogue; and describe or identify entities, should be included.
6. Significance - Data elements should be relevant to the description, noteworthy, and allow for distinctions among entities.
7. Economy - When alternative ways exist to achieve a goal, preference should be given to the way that best furthers overall expediency and practicality (i.e., the least cost or the simplest approach).
8. Consistency and standardization - Descriptions and construction of access points should be standardized as far as possible to enable consistency.
9. Integration - The descriptions for all types of resources and controlled forms of names of all types of entities should be based on a common set of rules to the extent possible.
10. Interoperability - All efforts should be made to ensure the sharing and reuse of bibliographic and authority data within and outside the library community. For the exchange of data and discovery tools, the use of vocabularies facilitating automatic translation and disambiguation is highly recommended.
11. Openness - Restrictions on data should be minimal in order to foster transparency and conform to Open Access principles, as declared also in the IFLA Statement on Open Access. Any restriction on data access should be fully stated.
12. Accessibility - The access to bibliographic and authority data, as well as searching device functionalities, should comply with international standards for accessibility as recommended in the IFLA Code of Ethics for Librarians and other Information Workers.
13. Rationality - The rules in a cataloguing code should be defensible and not arbitrary. If, in specific situations, it is not possible to respect all the principles, then defensible, practical solutions should be found and the rationale should be explained.
- Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP)
- Resource Description and Access (RDA)
- Library and Information Science Questions Answers Quizzes
REFERENCES
1. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/RDA%20training%20materials/LC%20RDA%20Training/Captivate-Module%201-Identifying%20Manifestations%20and%20Items/RDA%20Module%201-Identifying%20Manifestations%20and%20Items.htm (accessed February 3, 2020).
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