Jonathan Rochkind wrote:
|I think the path to this is in the BT (broader term)/NT (narrower term)
|"cross-reference" relationships which _are_ included in (much, but I
|don't think yet all) LCSH, as of a couple decades ago. Although they
|are not usually shown to the user at all.
As I recall, the standard rule in LCSH is that you make BT references,
but you *never* make NT references. NT references are machine-generated
at the higher level from the lower level BT references. (Otherwise, NT
refs are a nightmare to maintain.) The "trickier" one was that, if a
term had both BT and NT references with another term, then both terms
had RT references automatically machine-generated in place of the BT/NT
references.
|Of course, while they are in LCSH, the fact that they've never been
used
|for much of anything useful in a mass-processed way (just cataloger
|guidance), means that who knows if they will really work.
To my knowledge, they've been part of the Innovative Interfaces system
for quite a number of years, but *how* they work (user interface
aspects) may leave something to be desired. Play around in some III
catalogs to see these xrefs at work
<http://www.librarytechnology.org/lwc-search-advanced.pl?SID=20050314236
114501&UID=&auth=&code=lwc>, clicking the "Current Automation System"
dropdown button and choosing "Millennium". [I can't refer you to our
catalog because, unfortunately, past practice at our library was to
remove these since, originally, the *codes* in subfield w displayed to
the public for each subject heading containing subfield w, creating a
mess on the screen.]
Harvey
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Harvey E. Hahn, Manager, Technical Services Department
Arlington Heights (Illinois) Memorial Library
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Received on Wed May 09 2007 - 14:58:53 EDT