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Guidelines for Cataloging Materials with Chinese Texts or Access Points

Background

The Library of Congress has decided to change the Chinese romanization system from Wade-Giles to Pinyin, starting from Oct. 1, 2000. (For the new Chinese Romanization Guidelines, see the Web site at http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/romcover.html.) All American libraries will follow the same practice. Currently, a massive conversion project is being undertaken at the Library of Congress and two major national bibliographic utilities, OCLC and RLIN. Authority records in the national authority file (NAF) have been converted and loaded as of Oct. 3*. OCLC will start converting its WorldCat database soon after October 1, with CONSER CJK records converted first, followed by the most recent records. The expected completion date is April 2001. As a result, catalogers should expect to see a mixed OCLC database for a few months. For a more detailed description of the conversion project, see OCLC Technical Bulletin 240 http://www2.oclc.org/oclc/pdf/tb/240.pdf.

After the WorldCat database is fully converted, OCLC will provide conversion services to its member libraries. UCLA plans to extract records (all EAL records and non-EAL records with language code "chi" in fixed field and/or 041) from TAOS and send them to OCLC for conversion. However, we are unable to determine the actual date of data extraction at this point. (There is also a remote possibility that we will be unable to extract based on language code, which could mean that only EAL (and Law?) would have their records converted automatically.)

In order to streamline the cataloging workflow and to prevent potential double conversion, catalogers are requested to follow the guidelines listed below during the interim period, from Oct. 1, 2000 to around August 2001. This set of guidelines applies to ANY bibliographic records that include romanized Chinese characters (in either description or access points), regardless of the primary language of the materials. Catalogers will be notified when changes are made at the national and/or local levels.

I. Bib Search

• When searching for Chinese titles, always search both Wade-Giles and Pinyin forms until OCLC completes the conversion of the WorldCat database.

II. Original Cataloging

• Description -- Use Pinyin romanization system to romanize Chinese texts

• Name, series, and subject headings - In principle, use the authority record found in the national authority files*, even if it conflicts with the local authority record.
  • The converted authority records will have one of the following values in the fixed field 008/07 (Romanization scheme):

    c -- Headings converted to the Pinyin form
    n -- Headings considered for conversion but were not converted because they were not romanized but established according to usage.

    Report problems on authority records to Philip Melzer, Team Leader, Korean/Chinese Team, LC, at pmel@loc.gov.

  • When establishing new headings, use pinyin romanization.

  • Import authority records for new-to-file pinyin names and series. Do not import authority records for names that are not new-to-file. These authority records will be supplied in the conversion process.

• Classification no. -- LC is changing classification schedules throughout to reflect new Pinyin romanization guidelines. Make sure you have consulted the latest version of the schedules.

• Add field 987 (Pinyin Conversion Marker) to records that have language code “chi” in either 008 or 041 to indicate that the record follows the new Pinyin romanization guideline and therefore should not be converted again.
     Example: 987 PINYIN $b CLU $d c

• Keep a printout of the record on file.

III. Copycataloging, or Using Contributed Copy -- For practical reasons we will not manually convert every Wade-Giles record to Pinyin. In principle, follow the guidelines below for copycataloging. However, individual cataloging centers may establish their own specific procedures for following these guidelines.

• OCLC record: Pinyin record

  Check that field 987 exists in the record. (Add if not present.)

  • If the value in 987 $d is c (record fully romanized) or n (record processed but not converted), make sure that all fields, both description and access points, follow the current romanization guidelines.

  • If the value in 987 $d is r (record requires manual review to fully convert romanization), edit the record by following the newly established romanization and LC cataloging guidelines, then change the content of 987 to "PINYIN $b CLU $c $d c".
      Example: 987 PINYIN $b CLU $c 20001010 $d c

  • Optionally, replace the master record.

• OCLC record: Chinese Wade-Giles record (record has "chi" in 008 or 041)-- Theoretically, both description and access points (except conventional geographic names and topical subject headings) should still be in Wade-Giles.
  • Records with 987 $d r -- Follow instructions under OCLC Record: Pinyin record.

  • Records without 987:

  • East Asian Library

    -- Copycatalog as is.
    -- Make sure that description and all name headings are in Wade-Giles
    -- Update conventional geographic names and topical subject headings if necessary.
    -- Do not include 987 in the record.

  • Other libraries

    -- Convert the entire record to pinyin (Ask East Asian Library Cataloging Division to help if needed.)
    -- Add field 987. Example: 987 PINYIN $b CLU $c $d c
    (Note: "$c " is optional if you do not intend to replace the master record.)
    -- Optionally, replace the master record.

• OCLC record: Non-Chinese records with Wade-Giles access points.

  -- Convert the access points to the form found in the national authority file. See "Name, series, and subject headings" section on p. 2 for more information.
  -- Do not add 987 if the only Pinyin romanized portion is an access point (name, subject heading, uniform title).
  -- Optionally, replace the master record.

• Import authority records for new-to-file pinyin names and series. Do not import authority records for names and series that are not new-to-file. These authority records will be supplied in the conversion process.

• Keep a printout of the record on file.

IV. OCLC Enhance (Lock/Replace)

• Change the Chinese romanization to Pinyin and use the converted, authorized headings; add field 987 to records containing Chinese texts in the description.
  Example: 987 PINYIN $b CLU $c $d c
  Field 987 will not be needed if the only Pinyin romanized portion is an access point (name, subject heading, uniform title).

• Replace before update/produce. (Note: If we have problem extracting data from our local system and have to convert our records from the archival tape, OCLC will take the last record we touched. Therefore, the last record should represent the record in our database.)

V. NACO Contributions

• Use Pinyin romanization in all new and changed authority records. However, Chinese names found in English materials (such as dissertations), whether it is in Wade-Giles or Pinyin form, should be established according to appropriate rules and not be affected by the change of romanization system.

• While the old Wade-Giles form of headings will be kept as cross-references in converted records, LC has decided not to automatically add Wade-Giles cross- references for new authority records.

V. Authority Control

• Import authority records for new-to-file names and series only when pinyin is used or when the Wade-Giles-like names are established according to usage. Do not import authority records for pinyin names and series that are not new-to-file or for names and series that are found in unconverted Chinese Wade-Giles records. These authority records will be supplied in the conversion process.

• UCLA will request from OCLC a file of authority records associated with the converted local records.

• Chinese topical subject headings and conventional geographic names will be taken care of by the YRL Authority Section systematically.

VI. Records Maintenance in TAOS

• Do not overlay any CJK records starting from October 1 until further notice, because the current Import program strips off vernacular data in overlaid records. The problem is expected to be fixed soon.

• In general, do not convert Chinese records in TAOS to Pinyin. If it needs to be done for some compelling reasons, be sure to add the 987 field to the record.

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Note

* The converted non-unique name authority records will be reviewed manually by LC and Chinese NACO contributors. The target for completion is January 2001. Take caution when using these records. Refer questions to East Asian Library Cataloging Division.

Important Information Resources:

Library of Congress Pinyin Conversion Project page
-- http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/pinyin.html

Pinyin Conversion Project Coordinated Timeline
--http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/timeline.html

News about Chinese romanization system (UCLA EAL)
-- http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/eastasian/pinyin.htm