Catalogers and the choices they make about which contributors to name or not name, which contributors receive authorized access points, how to address name changes, especially those for LGBTQ+ creators, and more, will have an impact not just on search and discovery, but also on the (in)visibility of works by historically underrepresented or marginalized contributors. In describing resources, catalogers may include contributors in the statement of responsibility, publication fields, in access point fields, as well as in various note fields, and many of these decisions rely on cataloger judgment. It’s also important for catalogers to be wary of making assumptions about the identities of creators and contributors (see resources below for information on ethical implications of using the 386 field, for example). Depending on time, expertise, and level of training, catalogers may represent contributor information in a variety of ways, such as through different combinations of transcribed fields, note fields, and (authorized) access point fields. Contributors for a resource can range from a single author to collaborations among multiple writers, editors, illustrators, photographers, musicians, performers, cartographers, organizations, artists, curators, and many more. How these contributors show up in the metadata (for example, bibliographic or archival description records), or if at all, can greatly impact discovery of these resources.
This example shows the cataloger engaging in metadata remediation for an archival collection, which is described in both a MARC record and in a finding aid. Originally, the title of this collection did not mention contributors to the collection in full. Changing the finding aid title from "William Roscoe Papers" to "William Roscoe and Jane Griffies Roscoe Collection" will support better discovery of materials by Jane Griffies Roscoe in a collection previously described as being only her husband’s.
Metadata Element |
Earlier Metadata |
Revised Metadata |
Title (MARC 245) |
$$a Papers, $$f 1774-1887, undated, $$g (bulk 1774-1833). |
$$a William Roscoe and Jane Griffies Roscoe Collection, $$f 1774-1887, undated, $$g (bulk 1774-1833). |
Contributors (MARC 700) |
N/A |
$$a Roscoe, Jane Griffies, $$e creator. |
Metadata Element |
Earlier Metadata |
Revised Metadata |
Collection Title |
Roscoe (William) Collection |
Roscoe (William and Jane Griffies) Collection |
Collection Contents |
Correspondence Outgoing correspondence from William Roscoe Correspondence from others Poetical commonplace book Images and ephemera |
Correspondence Outgoing correspondence from William Roscoe Correspondence from others Jane Griffies Roscoe poetical commonplace books Images and ephemera |
This example shows a record created by a NACO-trained cataloger and the use of access points to provide discovery and access to a resource created by a community underrepresented in the library’s collections. In creating this record, the cataloger, after investigating the language of the resource, consulted external sources beyond the item in hand, including visiting a listed website for more information. The NACO-trained cataloger also made the decision to create or enhance authorized access points for all contributors, including them in the 7XX MARC fields with appropriate relator terms as applicable; extensive research into these access points involved communicating with the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center during the enhancement of its name authority record, and reaching out to colleagues with relevant expertise during the creation of new authority records. In total, the cataloger created 7 new authorized access points - 2 personal names, 4 corporate bodies, and 1 title.
Metadata Element |
Metadata |
Title (MARC 245) |
$$a Pagpasalamat : $$b pagtimbaya sa kinaiyanhong kalibutan = Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen : mga pulong una ang tanan / $$c gihubad gikan sa Ingles ni: Geejay Arriola ; bersyon sa Ingles: John Stokes ug Kanawahienton (David Benedict, Turtle Clan / Mohawk) ; Bersyon sa Mohawk: Rokwaho (Dan Thompson, Wolf Clan / Mohawk) ; dibuho: Kahionhes (John Fadden, Turtle Clan / Mohawk) ; gigikanang inspirasyon: Tekaronianekon (Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan / Mohawk). |
Publication (MARC 264) |
$$a [Corrales, New Mexico?] : $$b Native Self-Sufficiency Center : $$b Six Nations Indian Museum : $$b The Tracking Project : $$b Tree of Peace Society ; $$a Onchiota, N.Y. : $$b Six Nations Indian Museum, $$c [1993] |
Language Note (MARC 546) |
$$a Text in Cebuano and Mohawk. |
Contributors (MARC 700) |
$$a Stokes, John, $$d 1952- $$e translator. $$a Kanawahienton, $$e translator. $$a Rokwaho, $$d 1953- $$e translator. $$a Swamp, Jake, $$d 1941-2010. $$a Ka-Hon-Hes, $$e illustrator. |
Contributors (MARC 710) |
$$a Native Self-Sufficiency Center, $$e publisher. $$a Six Nations Indian Museum, $$e publisher. $$a Tracking Project (Corrales, N.M.), $$e publisher. $$a Tree of Peace Society, $$e publisher. |
Uniform Title (MARC 730) |
$$i Container of (work): $$a Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen. $$l Cebuano. $$i Container of (work): $$a Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen. |
This example shows a record created by a cataloger without NACO training who wanted to show the equal contributions of all three co-directors of a film, but where only two of the three directors had established name authority headings. By creating a local access point in the bibliographic record, along with the appropriate relator term, the cataloger was able to feature the equal contributions of all three filmmakers. And in UC Library Search, this local heading provides access to this filmmaker's works similar to that of the two filmmakers with authorized name headings.
Metadata Element |
Metadata |
Title (MARC 245) |
$$a We're alive / $$c UCLA Women's Film Workshop ; directed by Kathy Levitt, Michie Gleason, Christine Lesiak. |
Contributors (MARC 700) |
$$a Levitt, Kathy, $$e director. $$a Gleason, Michie, $$e director. $$a Lesiak, Christine, $$e director. |
This example shows the use of the MARC field 386 Creator/Contributor Characteristics. See Willey and Yon’s "Applying Library of Congress Demographic Group Characteristics for Creators" for an example of how to embed ethical considerations in the decision to record the 386 field. See also ethical considerations around contributor identity and privacy related to recording 386 fields:
Metadata Element |
Metadata |
Title (MARC 245) |
The fire this time : $$b a new generation speaks about race / $$c edited by Jesmyn Ward |
Table of Contents (MARC 505) |
$$t "The tradition" / $$r Jericho Brown -- $$t Introduction / $$r Jesmyn Ward -- $$g Legacy. $$t Homegoing, AD / $$r Kima Jones -- $$t The weight / $$r Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah -- $$t Lonely in America / $$r Wendy S. Walters -- $$t Where do we go from here? / $$r Isabel Wilkerson -- $$t "The dear pledges of our love" : a defense of Phillis Wheatley's husband / $$r Honorée Fanonne Jeffers -- $$t White rage / $$r Carol Anderson -- $$t Cracking the code / $$r Jesmyn Ward -- $$g Reckoning. $$t Queries of unrest / $$r Clint Smith -- $$t Blacker than thou / $$r Kevin Young -- $$t Da art of storytellin' (a prequel) / $$r Kiese Laymon -- $$t Black and blue / $$r Garnette Cadogan -- $$t The condition of black life is one of mourning / $$r Claudia Rankine -- $$t Know your rights! / $$r Emily Raboteau -- $$t Composite pops / $$r Mitchell S. Jackson -- $$g Jubilee. $$t Theories of time and space / $$r Natasha Trethewey -- $$t This far : notes on love and revolution / $$r Daniel José Older -- $$t Message to my daughters / $$r Edwidge Danticat. |
Summary (MARC 520) |
"National Book Award-winner Jesmyn Ward takes James Baldwin's 1963 examination of race in America, The Fire Next Time, as a jumping off point for this groundbreaking collection of essays and poems about race from the most important voices of her generation and our time. In light of recent tragedies and widespread protests across the nation, The Progressive magazine republished one of its most famous pieces: James Baldwin's 1962 "Letter to My Nephew," which was later published in his landmark book, The Fire Next Time. Addressing his fifteen-year-old namesake on the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Baldwin wrote: "You know and I know, that the country is celebrating one hundred years of freedom one hundred years too soon." Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward knows that Baldwin's words ring as true as ever today. In response, she has gathered short essays, memoir, and a few essential poems to engage the question of race in the United States. And she has turned to some of her generation's most original thinkers and writers to give voice to their concerns. The Fire This Time is divided into three parts that shine a light on the darkest corners of our history, wrestle with our current predicament, and envision a better future. Of the eighteen pieces, ten were written specifically for this volume. In the fifty-odd years since Baldwin's essay was published, entire generations have dared everything and made significant progress. But the idea that we are living in the post-Civil Rights era, that we are a "post-racial" society is an inaccurate and harmful reflection of a truth the country must confront. Baldwin's "fire next time" is now upon us, and it needs to be talked about. Contributors include Carol Anderson, Jericho Brown, Garnette Cadogan, Edwidge Danticat, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Mitchell S. Jackson, Honoree Jeffers, Kima Jones, Kiese Laymon, Daniel Jose Older, Emily Raboteau, Claudia Rankine, Clint Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Wendy S. Walters, Isabel Wilkerson, and Kevin Young"--Provided by publisher. |
Creator Characteristics (MARC 386) |
$$n eth $$a African Americans $$2 lcdgt $$n nat $$a Americans $$2 lcdgt |
This non-exhaustive list contains documentation by various metadata communities that address the description of contributors related to resources.