Genre Headings and
Authorities in the University of
Washington Libraries Catalog
Adam L. Schiff
Principal Cataloger
University of Washington Libraries
aschiff@u.washington.edu
• Comments are applicable to the UW
Libraries Catalog at
http://catalog.lib.washington.edu/search~/,
not the WorldCat Local Beta catalog
• Innovative Interfaces OPAC
Three topics to consider:
• Genre/Form Index
• Genre/Form Policies
• Genre/Form Authorities
Genre/Form Index
• 655 fields
• Locally defined 695 field
• Form subdivisions ($v) from all 6XX fields
655 0 Feature films.
655 0 Feature films|zUnited States.
655 0 Biographical films.
650 0 English language|zUnited States|vDictionaries.
650 0 Americanisms|vDictionaries.
Genre/Form Policies
655s are accepted in copy cataloging for all resources, but we
have developed specific policies for genre/form access for
certain types of resources, specifically:
Artists’ Books and Miniature Books
Audiobooks
Children’s Literature
Ethnic and Special Audience Newpapers
Graphic Novels, Comics, and Cartoons
Oral History Materials
UW Theses and Dissertations and Thesis-Like
Documents
 Videorecordings
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Sources of Genre/Form Terms
• for most materials, prefer terms from LCSH
• if appropriate terms not available in LCSH:
a) propose them through SACO whenever possible, e.g.
Animated videos
Medical drama
Anti-war television programs
Miniature periodicals
Car-chase films
Nature videos
Comedy videos
Novels in verse
Concert films
Romantic comedy films
Documentary videos
Submarine films
Ethnographic films
Suicide victims’ writings
Film excerpts
Teen films
Gay youths’ writings
Third stream (Music)
Instructional videos
Thrillers (Motion pictures, television, etc.)
Legal drama
Underground periodicals
Sources of Genre/Form Terms
• if appropriate terms not available in LCSH:
b) use a different controlled vocabulary if it provides needed terms, e.g.
Art & Architecture Thesaurus for oral history materials
655 7 Oral histories. $2 aat
655 7 Transcripts. $2 aat
655 7 Reminiscences. $2 aat
Moving Image Materials: Genre Terms
655 7 Dance. $2 mim
655 7 Debates. $2 mim
655 7 Plays. $2 mim
Newspaper Genre List
655 7 College student newspapers. $2 ngl
655 7 Labor newspapers. $2 ngl
Sources of Genre/Form Terms
• if appropriate terms not available in LCSH:
c) use local terms specified in cataloging policies, e.g.

Videorecordings
655 7 Historical reenactments. $2 local
655 7 Foreign language films $x Swedish. $2 local

UW theses and thesis-like documents
655 7 Theses $x Anthropology. $2 local
655 7 Professional papers $x Forestry. $2 local
655 7 Research projects $x Music. $2 local

Children’s literature
655 7 Science fiction $v Juvenile. $2 local
655 7 Baseball stories $v Juvenile. $2 local
655 7 Christmas plays $v Juvenile. $2 local
Genre/Form Authority Records
Genre/Form Authorities
• Acquired from our authorities vendor
(Backstage Library Works) based on monthly
processing of our bibliographic records:
GSAFD, AAT
• GSAFD authorities are also available for free
downloading – more information from
http://www.ala.org/ala/alctscontent/
alctspubsbucket/webpublications/cataloging/
marc21authorityr/marc21authority.htm
GSAFD authority record
AAT authority record
• Acquired from OCLC Terminologies Services
Pilot Project: Newspaper Genre List
NGL authority record
Genre/Form Authorities
• Modified from existing LC subject authorities
• Since LCSH authorities for motion picture,
television, and video genres have not been
available, we use the existing LCSH
authorities, change the tagging, and export
the records into our OPAC. We then delete
the LCCN and other data that pertains only
to the subject authority
• Once LCSH genre authorities become
available, we will replace these with them
LCSH motion picture
authority record in OCLC
MARC tags changed from
X50 to X55
Genre authority record after fields pertaining to the
subject authority record have been deleted
The authority record in action in the OPAC
The authority record in action in the OPAC
Genre/Form Authorities
• Locally created authorities, or local
modifications to national-level authority
records
• Needed because the index contains terms
from multiple thesauri for the same thing as
well as conflicts between genre/form
headings and subdivisions in LCSH
• Needed because full hierarchical
relationships in some thesauri are not
expressed, which is not helpful in a single,
general genre index
Problems Using Multiple Thesauri in One Index
LCSH:
GSAFD:
Humorous stories
Humorous fiction
LCSH:
Children’s poetry
LCSH form subdivision: $v Juvenile poetry
Solution: provide references or links between the
equivalent terms. 7XX linking entry fields in the
MARC 21 authority format are available to do this,
but LCSH topical and genre subject authority
records don’t yet include them. Also, many systems
do not use them to generate links.
Problems Using Multiple Thesauri in One
Index
Our solution: add 555 see also references from one
term to another and create needed authority records
to enable these references
Locally created genre authority for the form
subdivision Juvenile poetry, with see also reference
to the LCSH genre heading Children’s poetry
Problems Using Multiple Thesauri in One Index
Problems Using Multiple Thesauri in One Index
Solution: add Newspapers as a broader term to the
authority records for the NGL
Conclusion: Issues to Consider
• Should you create a genre index that is separate from any subject indexes
you may have? If yes, what fields will you index? (e.g., just 655, or also $v
from subjects?)
• Will you allow terms from multiple thesauri in your genre index or attempt
to only use terms from a single controlled vocabulary? Which
vocabulary/vocabularies will be permitted? How do you achieve this? (e.g.,
will catalogers have to make sure only acceptable thesauri have been used,
or can your system delete unwanted headings?)
• Can your system be configured to limit what gets indexed? (e.g., based on
second indicator value in 655 or based on source code in subfield $2)
• If you get authorities from a vendor, can you protect any local modifications
from overlay when a change is made to the authority?
• If you add linking entry fields to your authorities, will your system actually
use them? How can we get linking fields into national authority records, and
persuade system developers to make use of them?
• Do you need to use locally-devised headings? How will you maintain
them?
Conclusion: Issues to Consider
• Will you use headings from existing thesauri in non-standard ways? (e.g.,
subdividing literary genres with $v Juvenile for children’s materials or
Foreign language films by language)
• Can you easily convert headings tagged 650 to 655 in your OPAC? How
will you avoid converting headings on records for resources that are about
the genre rather than examples of it?
• Are there records in your catalog to which you will retrospectively add
genre headings? Can this be done using automation or batch processing?
• Will existing master records in OCLC be converted to the correct coding?
Who will do this?
• If you use LCSH genre headings, will you propose new genre headings
through SACO once the program allows that?
• Are some materials more important than others to provide genre access for
your users?
Thank you!