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Fictitious and legendary characters, and animals with proper names

Historically, headings for fictitious and legendary characters and animals with proper names have been established as subject headings in LCSH.  With RDA, these entities can now be considered creators or contributors to works.  According to the current LC-PCC Policy Statements, when a fictitious or legendary character, or named animal, is a creator or contributor, a name authority record should be made in addition to the subject heading. 

That instruction will change with the July 9, 2013 update to the RDA toolkit.  Beginning on that date, headings for fictitious and legendary characters and animals with proper names will be established only in the name authority file using RDA instructions.  The RDA heading [sic] will be valid for use as a subject heading.  Proposals to establish new LC subject headings for characters and animals with proper names will not be accepted.  Existing LC subject headings may continue to be assigned as subject headings.

The new policy will state that a name authority record should be created if a character or an animal with a proper name is needed for the descriptive access point.  Optionally, catalogers may create a name authority record for any character or animal with a proper name encountered during the course of their regular cataloging duties, even if it is needed only for subject cataloging.  In either case, if an LCSH authority record exists, SACO libraries should make and submit a proposal to cancel the subject heading; libraries that are not in the SACO program should request PSD (policy@loc.gov) to create the proposal.

A project to transition all character and individual named animal headings from LCSH will be conducted as resources are available.  Catalogers in PCC libraries are requested to refrain from unilaterally undertaking local projects to convert the LC subject headings to name headings in a wholesale manner. Workload and staffing issues do not permit PSD to process the number of proposals that such projects would generate.  However, institutions wishing to undertake such a project may contact the Cooperative Programs Section at email address <saco@loc.gov> and the request will be considered. 

COIN will ask a Japanese cataloger to provide the necessary justification

(Sept. 4, 2012)

In the absence of conflict, this can only be an AACR2 record

corrected to read instead:

In the absence of conflict, this can only be an RDA record

(Aug. 15, 2012)

 

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