In general I would agree that trying to show the user the underlying
structure of the catalog/subject headings is a bad idea. Another
problem (with using the authority records/connection) is that you make
it look like everything is authorized, and it usually isn't. This
leads to queries that are too narrow and that misses some records. The
same problem arrises when searching "through" the authority index.
In LIBRIS we simply index the 4XX in the authority records with the
bibliographic record. That way the user does not have to know the
preferred term, or what a preffered term is, or that there is such a
thing as an authority record. Ofcourse this only works with authorized
records, but it is better than nothing.
/martin
On 5 maj 2009, at 15.33, Ross Singer wrote:
> On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 3:30 AM, Weinheimer Jim
> <j.weinheimer_at_aur.edu> wrote:
>
>> Could you clarify this? Are you saying that library catalogs do not
>> need any authority control just as in Google?
>
> No, he's saying we have an authority record which knows all of the
> terms for Nat Turner's Rebellion.
>
> Why should the user know or care what the LCSH preferred term is? The
> records should be indiscriminate because they are referring to an
> authority.
>
> What Tim is saying is that if the search is restricted to what appears
> in the 650 tag then we have have completely forgone the advantages of
> moving it from an index card to a computer.
>
> -Ross.
Received on Thu May 07 2009 - 05:35:06 EDT