----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Betsy -- Thanks for sending proposed LC changes in cataloging
carto. mtls.  For the most part, they look either reasonable
(given budget probs. we all face) or big improvements on what we
now do (remote sensing headings).  Just have these comments
(since I won't be going to ALA):
 
     1.  3.3D.  Statement of coordinates & equinox
 
     I think it's not very forward looking to fail to apply this
option when it's easily available on the piece being cataloged.
Sooner or later there will be coordinate searching (it's now
available in some systems like ImageQuery and it just seems
inevitable that it will be widely available in the not-too-
distant future in others).  The future potential seems to be  too
great to jeopardize by failing to relatively economically add the
data at the point of cataloging.  It will be much more expensive,
and perhaps prohibitively so do add this data retrospectively.
Personally, I'm not at all concerned about adding data for
celestial maps. There are compromises that could be made to
economize if some other practices/rules were changed:
 
          a.  Record info only in 034 and don't bother to repeat
in 255 fields.
 
          b.  If area covered is a standard political division
or a city, e.g., a U.S. state or county, don't record.  Put
something into record to identify it so that at some future time
the data could be automatically plugged in (if necessary) from a
standard database of coordinates.  Perhaps this type of
coordinate info could somehow be linked to an authority file.
The authority file would contain the coordinate info for
standardized areas and be searchable and then linked through
subject headings (or subject heading number) to bibliographic
records.  If LC drops putting in coordinate info when it's easily
available I hope the records will be identified in the MARC
record as less-than-full level.
 
     2.  Subject treatment for remote-sensing imagery.
 
          a.  Punctuation conflict?  "Remote-sensing images" but
"Remote sensing" (without hyphen).
 
          b.  Would be helpful to users and library staff to have
links between "Remote-sensing images," "Image maps," and "Aerial
photographs" as well as between "Remote sensing" and "Aerial
photography."  I don't care whether it's in a note or in a "see
also" field.
 
          c.  I assume that "Photographs from space," and "Photo
maps" will be among the 450s under the replacement headings.
 
cc  MAPS-L
                    Phil (Earth Sciences Library, Univ. of
California, Berkeley; [log in to unmask])