Jonathan Rochkind wrote:
>
> Why duplicate (some of) this information in the "pointing" record, when
> it's all already there in the "pointed to" record?
>
While you're perfectly right in theory, it won't do in practice, at
least not in all environments. Only those with permanent and reliable
internet access, including the source systems that are supposed to
contain the pointed to records. Of course you can have everything
in your own autonomous system, but wouldn't that be duplication as well?
No, I do think the rules do well in defining a standard "citation"
that should appear in textual form when a work or expression is
referred to. It is no good idea to leave it to implementers what
these citations look like when constructed from "pointed to" records
on the fly. Works and expressions, if we are going to think in these
terms and use the concepts seriously, need to be named in a
consistent way, not just numbered.
Of course, if you have advanced equipment and reliable technology,
you *can* have the system assemble the citations on the fly, and
this is certainly advantageous for more than one reason. Not,
however, without some rules for the outward appearance.
B.Eversberg
Received on Wed May 05 2010 - 10:16:20 EDT