“OW” Level of Copy

Introduction

The “ow” level of copy is for books catalogued using the Full-Level OCLC-Member Editing Guidelines (Books Format) that meet one or more of the criteria listed below.  It also applies to OCLC-member serials records that meet one or more of the relevant criteria listed below, as clarified further in the "Serials Cataloging with OCLC Member Level Copy" guidelines.

Terminology:

LC Classification (class) number:

Should represent the topic or primary topic of the work.  It functions to group together works on the same topic.  It includes the entire 050 $a or 090 $a subfield portion of the call number, including the first of two cutters when two are present.  Some examples:

DS 495		(Nepal:  general works on its history to 1768)
QL 76		(zoos:  general works about them)
F 2849.22 .G85		(Argentina:  history from 1955 to the present; biographies about Ernesto “Che” Guevara)

In some cases, when a second cutter reflects a subject focus (e.g., a place or the subject of a biography), the first part of the second cutter also functions as part of the class number.  An example:

call number		HX 315.7 .A8 $b K47 1997
main entry		Snyder, Timothy
subject:		Kelles-Krauz, Kazimierz, 1872-1905

In this case, in the class number:

HX 315.7		socialism or communism in Poland
A8		individual biography
K4	(second cutter, first part)	the subject of the biography
7	(second cutter, end)	the main entry

For literature, in place of topic, the class number may represent an aspect of literature such as a literary genre common to all works in that number, literature of a particular place, or works by and about the same literary author.  Some examples:

PS 555		U.S. literature:  collections of literature of the Gulf states
PQ 7503		Honduran literature:  history and criticism of Honduran drama
PQ 4835 .I7		Pirandello, Luigi, 1867-1936:  works by and about him

Please note:  Specific classification numbers are usually not included in the examples below, because the examples are intended only as illustrations of general principles.

Non-Literature

Use "ow" for:

• Adding LC call number from scratch, because none is in record

• Changing LC class number that
  • Is incorrect for the subject matter -- does not correspond to the topic

    E.g.    The book is about the history of travel in Austria.

    The class number is for description of and travel in Switzerland.

    The class number needs to be changed to one for the description of and travel in Austria, and the record should be coded as “ow.”

    E.g.    The book is about Mexican political history of the late 19th century.

    The class number is for Mexican history during the period 1910-1946.

    The class number needs to be changed to one for Mexican history during the period 1867-1910, and the record should be coded as “ow.”

  • Does not correspond to the clear primary emphasis of the subject matter

    E.g.    Title:  Women of Kerala : costume and ornamentation among peasants in a south Indian state.

    The summary on the back cover and the table of contents make clear that the book discusses traditional dress and jewellery among the rural inhabitants of Kerala, primarily but not only the women.  It does not deal with other aspects of women’s lives there, except tangentially.

    The class number is for women in Kerala (in HQ).

    The class number should be changed to one for costume in Kerala (in GT), because the primary focus is clearly on costume rather than on women as such -- notwithstanding the somewhat misleading main title.  The record should be coded as “ow.”

    If there is little difference in the relative importance of multiple subject areas, the classification should generally not be changed, so the level of copy should not be coded as “ow.”

    E.g.    The book traces the history of Italian and Greek immigrants in early 20th-century Egypt.  The Italian immigrants are discussed first,

    but about 55-60% (slightly over half) of the book deals with the Greek immigrants.

    The class number is for Italians in Egypt.

    The number should not be changed to one for Greeks in Egypt, because there is not a major difference in emphasis (and because, together with that fact, the Italian immigrants are covered first).

    Similarly, if no classification number available reflects all aspects of the topic and the one already in the record reflects one aspect, the class number should generally not be changed to reflect another aspect of roughly the same importance, because there would simply be a “trade-off” in coverage of the topic.  Therefore, the level of copy should not be coded as “ow.”

    E.g.    The book is about shamans in a particular town in Colombia.

    The class number in the record is for ethnography of the town.  In the schedules, there is a class number for shamanism without geographic specification and another number for ethnography of particular places in Colombia, but there is no number for shamanism in a particular place.

    The class number should not be changed.  If it were changed to the number for shamanism, the shamanism aspect would be gained but the geographic aspect lost -- a “trade-off.”

  • Is much too general or vague for the level of specificity of the subject

    E.g.    The book is about the history of trade associations in Brazil.

    The class number in the record is for the general economic history of Brazil.  There is another number available for trade associations in Brazil.

    The class number should be changed to the one for trade associations in Brazil, which reflects the topic much more adequately than the extremely general economic history number.  The record should be coded as “ow.”

    If the classification number is only slightly more general than the focus of the subject, the classification should generally not be changed, so the level of copy should not be coded as “ow.”

    Please note that a decision in this type of case may be affected by the number of books that we have already classified under particular numbers -- and thus how far apart books may end up on the shelves.  Fine-tuning the classification may be more worthwhile if we have a large number of books (e.g., 50 or more) under the general number

    E.g.    The book is about visitations as an aspect of the administration of Catholic monastic orders.

    The class number is for the government and administration of Catholic monastic orders, general works (BX2433).  There is also a more specific number under government and administration of Catholic monastic orders for visitations (BX2433.4).

    The class number should not be changed to the only slightly more specific number -- particularly as we have nothing under either number in our shelflist.

    On the other hand:

    E.g.    The book is about economic status among the Mayas.

    The class number is for the Mayas in general (F1435).  There is also a class number for economic conditions of the Mayas (F1435.3.E27)

    The class number should be changed to the number for Mayan economic conditions, even though the topic might appear to be only slightly more specific, because we have a very extensive collection of general works on the Mayas, with hundreds of entries in our shelflist for F1435, as well as hundreds more between F1435 and F1435.3.E27.

  • Is much too specific or narrow for the level of specificity of the subject -- i.e., the class number fails to reflect the topic(s) of a significant proportion of the work.  (Please note that in such a case both the level of specificity of the class number and the relative emphasis of a topic are involved.)

    E.g.    The book covers the U.S. Civil War, both generally and in the Southern States.  About 30-35% (roughly one-third) of the book

    concentrates on the South, but about 65-70% (roughly two-thirds) of the book is more general.

    The class number is for the Civil War in the Southern States.

    The number should be changed to one that is more general in geographic scope, because otherwise about two-thirds of the subject matter would not be covered.  The record should be coded as “ow.”

    If the class number, while more specific than the overall topic, does reflect the level of specificity of a considerable proportion of the work, the classification should generally not be changed, so the level of copy should not be coded as “ow.”

    E.g.    The book covers the U.S. Civil War, both generally and in the Southern States.  About 65-70% (roughly two-thirds) of the book

    concentrates on the South, while about 30-35% (roughly one-third) of the book is more general.

    The class number is for the Civil War in the Southern States.

    The number should not be changed to one that is more general in geographic scope, because about two-thirds of the subject matter is adequately covered with the more specific number for the Southern States.

    Multi-volume monographs:  It is not uncommon for an incomplete multi-volume work to have been catalogued based on the specific topic of one volume rather than the broader topic of the work as a whole.  In such a case, the class number should be changed to reflect the broader scope of the overall work, when it can be determined.  (The scope may be clearer if we have more volumes than were available when the original cataloguing was done, but it can also sometimes be determined from the first volume.)

    E.g.    Title:  History of nineteenth-century photography in Europe

    Volume one:  Early photography in Germany.

    The class number is for photography in Germany.

    The number should be changed to a more general one for photography in Europe, because even from the first volume it is clear that the work will cover more than Germany.  The record should be coded as “ow.”

  If only the main entry or work cutter of a call number is changed, not the class number itself, the level of copy should not be coded as “ow.”

  E.g.    The book is a collection of the paintings of Armand Quiberonnais (from his one-week exhibition).

  Main entry:    Quiberonnais, Armand, $d 1984-

  Call number:    090 $a ND 553 .Q44 $b Q53 1999b

  The second cutter, which has been based on the surname of the main entry, is incorrect.  Based on the cutter table for artists, the correct cutter should be A4:

        090    $a ND 553 .Q44 $b A4 1999b

  Although the call number should be changed, the classification (090 $a) has not been affected, so the record should not be coded as “ow.”

• Adding LCSH(s) from scratch, because none is in record

• Changing LCSH(s) that are inappropriate for the subject matter -- i.e., any heading indicating a topic that does not correspond to a topic in the piece

  E.g.    The book is about the history of travel in Austria.

  Subject heading:

        651  0  Switzerland $x Description and travel.

  This subject heading needs to be changed to:

        651  0  Austria $x Description and travel

  and the record should be coded as “ow,” even if the class number is correct.

  E.g.    The book is about Mexican political history of the late 19th century.

  Subject heading:
        651  0  Mexico $x Politics and government $y 1910-1946.

  This subject heading needs to be changed to:

        651  0  Mexico $x Politics and government $y 1867-1910.

  and the record should be coded as “ow,” even if the class number is correct.

Please note that the application of these criteria may often involve the use of judgement.  If you are not certain in a given case whether a classification number or subject heading should be changed or whether a record should be coded as “ow,” please consult with the Principal Cataloguer or with your trainer.

Literature

[to be expanded further]

Use "ow" for:

• Adding LC call number from scratch, because none is in bib record, and there is no authority record containing an 053 for that author **

• Correcting LC call number in bib record, if
  • There is no authority record containing an 053 for that author **

    or

  • There is a range of class numbers for the author, and the specific number used is incorrect for the genre, title, or subject matter of the work.

    E.g.    The book is an English translation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les misérables.

    The record has the class number for English translations of the collected or selected works of Hugo:  PQ2283.  The class number for an English translation of Les misérables would be PQ2286, cutter range A31-A39.

    The class number needs to be changed to the one for an English translation of this specific work, and the record should be coded as “ow.”

    E.g.    The book is a critical study of Geoffrey Chaucer’s treatment of his characters.

    The class number if the record is PR 1933 .C65, which turns out to be the class number for studies of Chaucer’s complaint poetry.  The class number for studies of his characters is PR1927.

    The class number needs to be changed to the one for studies of Chaucer’s characters, and the record should be coded as “ow.”

• Adding LCSH(s) from scratch, because none is in a record that warrants one

• Changing LCSH(s) that are inappropriate for the subject matter -- i.e., any heading indicating a topic that does not correspond to a topic in the piece

  ** Do not use "ow" for records in which you added or corrected the LC call number using the class number found in an 053 in an authority record in Voyager or OCLC.

HTML document last reviewed:  18 September 2002