Cataloguing Section
ISBD Review Group
Invitation to:
World-Wide Review of "ISBD(G): General International Standard Bibliographic Description - 2003 revision"
(Comments were due by February, 2004)
In the early 1990s, IFLA's Division of Bibliographic Control set up a Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR). Following adoption of the Study Group's recommendations, the ISBD Review Group was charged to initiate a full-scale review of the ISBDs. The objective of this project was to ensure conformity between the provisions of the ISBDs and FRBR's data requirements for the "basic level national bibliographic record" (BLNBR).
In the ISBDs, national bibliographic agencies are called upon to prepare the definitive description containing all the mandatory elements set out in the relevant ISBD insofar as the information is applicable to the publication being described. To facilitate implementation of this principle, the ISBDs designate as "mandatory" those data elements that are always to be included in records prepared by national bibliographic agencies, as "conditional" those that must be included under certain circumstances but that need not be included otherwise, and as "optional" those that may be included if desired but that are not required. Therefore, the main task in pursuing this revision project has entailed a close examination of the ISBD data elements that are mandatory to make optional those that are also optional in FRBR. (In no case is a data element mandatory in FRBR but optional in the ISBDs.)
Download the revised version of "ISBD(G)"
In addition to the changes resulting from the work outlined above, this version of ISBD(G) introduces some changes in terminology. Among them is the use of the term "resource" rather than "item" or "publication". "Resource" is given a specific definition in 0.2. It was decided, because FRBR is a conceptual model and does not map exactly to terminology in the ISBDs, that FRBR terminology should not be used. The use of the former term "item" is different from the term "item" as used in FRBR, but it is not difficult to confuse them. This led to the decision to use "resource". The ISBD Review Group feels that it is essential for IFLA to clarify the relationship between the ISBDs and the FRBR model. The Group believes that development of a table to detail the relationship of each of the elements specified in the ISBDs to its corresponding entity attribute or relationship as defined in the FRBR model would satisfy the need to make clear that the ISBDs and FRBR themselves enjoy a harmonious relationship. Towards this end, a project has been proposed and funding for it is being sought. Those who comment on ISBD(G) are invited to share their views as to the need for and value of this project.
The text itself is presented as a draft for world-wide review.
Comments on this draft revision of ISBD(G) are now being sought.
Contacts:
Ms Dorothy McGarry
P.O.Box 931119
Los Angeles, CA 90093-1119
USA
Tel: +1-310-8250794
Fax: +1-310-2069872
E-mail: dmcgarry@library.ucla.edu
Thank you for participating in the world-wide review process.
John Byrum, Chair, ISBD Review Group
E-mail: jbyr@loc.gov
