Thursday, December 19, 2013

CORPORAE AUTHORSHIP IN CCC & AACR-2R: GOVERNMENT P- 09. Knowledge Organization and Processing – Cataloguing * By :S P Sood

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CORPORAE AUTHORSHIP IN CCC & AACR-2R: GOVERNMENT


P- 09. Knowledge Organization and Processing – Cataloguing *

By :S P Sood

CORPORAE AUTHORSHIP IN CCC & AACR-2R: GOVERNMENT  


1. Introduction

The person or corporate body chiefly responsible for the creation of the thought content of a work is known as author. No work can be produced without its author. As such authorship is of 2 types:
  1. Personal authorship: In which person or persons are responsible for the thought content.
  2. Impersonal authorship: In cataloguing terminology we call it as Corporate authorship. In Corporate authorship the responsibility for the thought content does not rest on a personal author but on an organization or group of personal authors having a specific name.   
            Besides the publications of personal authorship, publications of Corporate bodies are very common in a library. Such publications are of immense value to the researchers as they contain authoritative information, data and statistics. Therefore, no library can work without procuring them. Specially governmental libraries have considerable part of corporate publications. Such corporate publications pose many difficulties before the cataloguer.

2. Definition of Corporate Body and Corporate Author

S.R. Ranganathan has defined corporate body in his Classified catalogue code as follows:
CCC Rule FC2
            Sense 1: A number of persons taken collectively- usually as united, or organized, or coming together informally, in a common cause or for common action such as governmental business or commercial or industrial, or service or political or any other business or statement (e.g. Government of Madhya Pradesh, Indian Library Association, International Religion Conference etc).
            Sense 2: A number of corporate bodies, in sense 1 taken collectively usually as united, or organized, or coming together informally in a common cause or for common action such as governmental business, or commercial or industrial or service or political or any other business or for deliberation or for collective expression of opinion or statement (e.g. United Nations, IFLA, Inter-University Board of India and Ceylon etc).
            Corporate Body owning the responsibility for a work, the responsibility for the ideas and the expression constituting it resting solely on the corporate body and not on the private capacity of any person or persons forming part of or holding office in or in any other way connected with that body’ is known as corporate author.
            In AACR-2R Corporate body has been defined as follows:-‘An organization or a group of persons that is identified by a particular name and that acts or may act, as an entity. Typical examples of corporate bodies are associations, institutions, business firms, nonprofit enterprises, governments, government agencies, projects and programmes, religious bodies, local churches, and conferences’.
            According to Jolly “a work is said to be of corporate authorship when the responsibility for its content, expression and opinion rests with a society, institution, government or other corporate body and not with a personal author”.
CCC’s definition of corporate body is more comprehensive as compared to AACR-2R. While CCC defines the functions of corporate body, which will make the recognition of corporate body easy, AACR-2R’s definition tries to provide information about the types of corporate bodies which is not appropriate. Emphasis is on formal gathering and it does not cover the informal gathering of citizens, lawers etc. Such an omission is likely to create practical difficulties in cataloguing.

3. Genesis & Types of Corporate Author

‘The corporate authorship is not an invention of the cataloguers, but is a concept which is natural to the law, politics, and common sense’. Pannizi was the first man who formulated the idea of making heading under corporate body and he provided some rules in his code known as British Museum Rules. But out of the total of 91 rules, there were only 3 rules dealing with the corporate body. In this code preference was given for entry under place name, but international societies, commercial firms and some religious bodies were being entered directly under their name. Before pannizi’s code, books written by corporate bodies were treated as anonymous books and were entered under title. Jewett also accepted this idea. He has first time defined the corporate authorship in his code.
            1876 is the land mark in the history of cataloguing because in this year Charles Ammie Cutter published his unique catalogue code known as rules for dictionary catalogue. In this code Cutter has accepted the idea of corporate author and has stated that ‘bodies of men are to be considered as authors of works published in their names or by their authority’. In Rule for dictionary catalogue Rc rules for corporate authorship are more detailed than those of British Museum Rules, and they grew in number through the four editions. In general, preference is for the entry under the name of organization (contrast to British Museum Rules), but there are many exceptions, in particular official organizations go under place. Cutter has recognized 4 types of corporate bodies as follows:-
  1. Government
  2.  Institution
  3.  Societies
  4. Conferences
            Cutter’s RDC has influenced all the later codes. In 1908 AA Catalogue Rules and title entries were published in which the distinction between Institution and Society was maintained. The same is the case with ALA Catalogue Code of 1949.A major portion of the rules is devoted for corporate bodies (Rule No.71 to 156).This code distinguishes institution from society saying that ‘Institutions are entities whose functions require plant with buildings, apparatus etc while in case of organized group of persons such as societies, associations etc it is not necessary and whose duties may be performed equally well in one place or other’. Lubetizky criticizing the distinction between institution and society proposed that this distinction be dropped altogether and that all corporate entries be made under the name of organization followed by a geographic location in case of conflict. Dr. Ranganathan has also severely criticized the artificial distinction between institution and society and he says that ‘now a day organizations and associations have a permanent set up while many institutions are changing their place now and then’. He has divided the corporate bodies in 3 types:
  1. Government
  2. Institution
  3. Conference
            AACR-2R which very much has been influenced by CCC has abolished the difference between societies and institutions. Now this code divides corporate bodies into following types:
  1. Institutions
  2. Government bodies and its officials
  3. Conferences, Congresses, Meetings etc.
  4. Religious bodies and officials
  5. Radio and  Television stations
            Though the English speaking countries have accepted the idea of making a heading under corporate body, libraries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Holland do not accept it. They consider all works issued by corporate bodies as anonymous for the purpose of entry and main entry is made under title, of course, if the name of personal author appears on title page he is treated as author, though he might have written the work in official capacity and however slight his contribution to the book. Pin code also follows these rules. One of the basic rules include entry under a corporate body. ‘Names of person, official bodies, corporations etc, of whose institution or with whose support the work has originated are disregarded’.

4.1 Government

For one purpose or other, most of us come across governmental publications. The term government publication may be interpreted to mean only the official documents, the thought contents of which are the direct responsibility of government as a whole or one or more organs of a government.
            S R Ranganathan has defined Government in 3 senses in his CCC under Rule No. FC22:
            Sense 1: Corporate body with full or limited sovereign power over a territory. It has generally functions of execution, legislation, justice and administration. Other functions such as defence, taxation, regulation of commerce, public transport, communication etc. will very with the degree of limitation, in the sovereign power viz Government of India, Government of Madhya Pradesh etc.
            Sense 2: Local authority in charge of the regulation, promotion, and/provision of specified Local public services in an area, under power delegated by the government within the territory of which its own area lies, and with a defined extent of autonomy viz Municipal Council, Jaipur, Municipal Corporation, Indore etc.
            Sense 3: Organ of Government in sense 1 or 2 defined above viz Ministry of Education of Government of Madhya Pradesh, Octori Committee of Municipal Council, Jaipur etc.
AACR-2R does not give any specific definition of Government in its glossary, but it is mentioned in foot note No. 9 on P 448 under Rule No. 24.3E. It is very close to that of CCC. It reads as ‘Government is used here to mean the totality of corporate bodies (executive, legislative and judicial) exercising the powers of a jurisdiction. Treat as government agency a corporate body known by the word Government, or its equivalent in other languages, or a term with similar meaning, that is an executive element of a particular jurisdiction’.

4.2 Organ of Government

Documents are not only the creation of government as a whole but can also be created by organs of government. Ranganathan defines organ of government as follows:
            Non-autonomous part of a government formed by:
  1. The constituent of the government for functions, such as legislative, deliberated, executive and administrative; or
  2. A legislative, executive or administrative measure, for a defined piece of deliberative, executive, or administrative work within the field of function of the Government, for an undefined period; or
  3. A legislative, or executive, or administrative measure, for a specific piece of work within the field of function of the Government, for a specific limited duration.

4.3 Types of Organ of Government

Ranganthan has divided Organs of Government into the following:-
  1. Permanent Organ of Government which is formed for undefined period.
  2. Temporary Organ of Government which is formed for a specific piece of work of a defined limited period. 

            Permanent organs are further divided into:-
      (i)     Constitutional organ of Government
      (ii)   Administrative organ or Government
      (iii) Head of Government

            Constitutional organ of Government of further divided into the following:-
       (a)    Executive
       (b)   Legislative
       (c)    Judiciary

CCC definition of Government is more comprehensive. It has 3 parts or aspects. First is Central or State Government, second is Quasi Government and third is any organ of these both types of governments. Organ of Government is also defined clearly. AACR’s definition covers only 2 aspects. It also implies Quasi Government though it is not explicitly mentioned. It does not give any clear-cut definition of Organ of Government.

5.1 Person V/s Corporate body

If the name of the government or its organ appears on the title page of the book in author statement, it can be safely used for heading purposes, but if a name of personal author as well as that of government appear in author statement, it creates considerable difficulty in deciding the main heading. The conflict is resolved in CCC vide Rule no. GC31. If the work is of routine character i.e. of deliberative, legislative, directive, judicial and administrative nature, if will be entered under the name of Government and if the purpose of the work is the extension of the boundaries of knowledge and responsibility of thought content is on the person and not on the office held by him, it will be treated as the case of personal authorship.
            AACR-2R also makes similar provision under Rule No. 21.1B2 ‘Enter a work emanating from one or more corporate body if it falls into one or more of the following categories:
(a)    Those of an administrative nature dealing with the corporate bodies itself.
(b)   Some legal and governmental works.
(c)   Those that record the collective thought of the body etc.

5.2 Government V/s Institution

Many institutions are government owned or financed viz National Library, UGC, Reserve Bank etc. In such cases it is a problem to decide whether they will be treated as organ of the government or institution. The conflict is resolved in CCC vide rule Nos. GD 2&3. According to GD3, ‘any autonomous or oven non-autonomous organization, engaged in the work of research, production, commerce, and supply of commodities and services to the public may have to be taken to be the institutional author for a work for whose thought and expression it is responsible. It is so even if the institution is owned and managed by the government’.
            There is a similar prescription in AACR-2R as well, AACR-2R restricts entry under the names of government to those bodies which are created or controlled by a government under its own name. However if a body is a subordinates to a higher body it is entered independently from its name in the form of subheading of a name of a Government viz.
            India. Ministry of EducationUniversity Grants Commission,
                    see University Grants Commission (India).

6.1 Whole Government

Both the CCC & AACR-2R prescribe the name of Whole Government to be entered in the main entry.

6.1.1 Conventional or official name V/s Name of territory

AACR-2R Rule No. 24.3E suggests to use the conventional name of a government unless the conventional name of a government is the geographic name of the area (country, province, state, country, municipality, etc)  over which the government excercises jurisdiction viz India not Republic of India, Russia not USSR.
            CCC Rule No. JCI suggests the use of the name of the territory viz INDIA for Government of India, RAJASTHAN for Government of Rajasthan.
As such CCC has provided simple and a more direct rule for rendering the government in such cases. AACR-2R’s practice will lead to inconsistency as for some cataloguer conventional name is in much use while for others the official name.

6.1.2 Language

AACR-2 Rule No. 24.3A prescribes that if the name of corporate body appears in different languages, use the form in the official language of the body. If there is more than one official language and one of these is English, use the English form. If English is not one of the official languages or if the official language is not known, use the form in the language predominantly used in items issued by the body. In case of doubt, use the English, French, German, Spanish, or Russian form, in this order of preference. If none of these apply use the form of name in the language that comes in English alphabetic order. CCC vides its Rule No. JB11 prefers that principle of favoured language of the library, which makes its scope more universal. In this way CCC’s approach is more satisfactory as compared to AACR-2R.

6.1.3 Individualization

If the name of a given place is not properly individualized or there are more places with the same name, in AACR-2R as well as in CCC, individualizing element will be added to resolve the homonym.
            AACR-2R Rule No.23.4A prescribes to make all additions to place names used as entry elements in parentheses. Rule No.23.4B prescribes that if it is necessary to distinguish between two or more places of the same name, add to each name the name of a larger place. Rule No.23.4C deals with in individualization of places in Australia, Canada or the United States, Rule No.23.4D1 of places in the British Isles, Rules No. 23.4E of places in Malaysia, the USSR or Yugoslavia, 23.4F of places on Islands, 23.4H places in cities, 23.4H other places, and 23.4J with further additions in case the additions of a larger place is insufficient to distinguish include a word or phrase commonly used to distinguish them.
            In the case governments with the same name are not differentiated by above rules further addition as instructed in Rule No. 24.6B to 24.5D may be applied. Rule No. 24.6B prescribes to add the type of jurisdiction in English if it is other than a city or a town. Rule No. 24.6C prescribes that if the type of jurisdiction does not provide a satisfactory distinction, add an appropriate word or phrase viz.
            German (Democratic Republic)
            German (Federal Republic)
            24.6D If two or more governments lay claim to jurisdiction over the same area, add a suitable designation to one or each of the governments, followed by the inclusive years of its existence viz.
            France
            France (Territory under German occupation, 1940-1944).
            CCC Rule No. JB 3&4 also suggest to use individualizing element for resolving the homonym of geographical it is to be individualized by the name of the country, if in the same country, it is to be individualized by the name of largest area and if geographic entity lies one within another in succession, individualizing element is to be the name of state, district, country, taluk, city, borough, town village etc as the case may be. For example:
            Hyderabad                                  MySore
            Hyderabad (Pakistan)                 MySore (District)
            Jaipur (Rajasthan)                           MySore (City)
            Jaipur (Orissa)                    
            CCC Rule No. JC65 suggests that two or more administrative departments of the same government having similar names, the individualizing element for resolving the homonym is to be an appropriate term denoted either
  1. Its area of jurisdiction
  2. Its function, or
  3. Its headquarters; or
  4. Any other necessary and sufficient attribute.

For example
  1. Uttar Pradesh, Education (District-Officer) (Varanasi)
  2. Uttar Pradesh, Education (District-Officer) (Kanpur)

6.2 Organ of Government

CCC Rule No. JC21 suggests the use of multiple heading. First heading will be name of government and further sub-headings will be added as per rules. AACR-2 also makes identical provision vide its Rule No. 24.18.


6.2.1.1 Constitutional Organ

According to Rule No. JC3 of CCC constitutional organs will be rendered after the name of the government as a sub-heading as follows:-
            India, Loksabha
            India, Cabinet
            Rajasthan, High Court
            AACR-2R Rule No. 24.18 type 5 and 24.21 deals with legislative bodies. Rule No. 24.21A prescribes that if a legislature has been than one chamber, enter such as a subheading of the heading for the legislature viz.
            India, Parliament, Loksabha
            United Kingdom Parliament, House of Commons
            AACR-2R Rule No. 24.23 deals with the rendering of courts viz.
            United States Supermen Court
            India Supreme Court
As regards the rendering of constitutional organs of Government are concerned, there seems similar treatment in both the codes except legislative organs. While CCC prescribes direct heading for legislative organs of government, AACR-2R prescribes indirect subheadings if legislature has more than one chamber. In this way practice adopted by AACR-2R seems to be very useful. The works of both the houses of legislature will cone at one place. But Ranganathan has criticized this practice saying that it is a violation of Canon of Ascertaiability and Law of Parsimony. While there is only one Loksabha in India, what is the necessity of individualizing it. It is not the duty of the catalogue of to inform the reader that legislature has sub-organs or chambers.

6.2.1.2 Heads of State and Government

AACR-2R Rule No. 24.20B deals with the Heads of States etc. This rule prescribes that the subheading for a sovereign, president, other heads of state, or governor in their official capacity be individualized by the inclusive years of the reign of incumbency and the name of the person in a brief form and in the language of the heading for that person. This individualizing element will be added in circular bracket as follows:
            United States. President (1953-1961: Eisenhower)
            India. President (1951-1961: Rajendra Prasad)
            CCC Rule No. JC4 suggests to use name of the Head of the State as second heading and individualized by the name of the occupant of the office viz.
            India, President (Rajendra Prasad)
            United States, President (Eisenhower)
            The individualization made by AACR-2R by giving the years of reign is helpful in arranging the catalogue cards in chronological order. According to S.R. Ranganathan what is the need of two individualizing elements. It is a violation of Law of Parsimony. Moreover readers cannot remember year of reign. There should not be a classified pocket in dictionary catalogue. 
            In case of more than one ‘incumbent’ in AACR-2R Rule No. 24.20B prescribes to omit the dates and names viz.
            United States, President
            In CCC such cases will be dealt according to Rule No. MD5 or MD6 as the case may be i.e. heading would be under the name of the editor or title.

Heads of Government
            AACR-2R Rule No. 24.20C prescribes that the subheading for a head of government acting in an official capacity who is not also a head of state consists of the title of the office in the vernacular and not to include dates and names as follows:
            United Kingdom. Prime Minister
            CCC Rule No. JC4 is equally applied to Head of the Government also viz.
            India, Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi)
The refusal to add dates and name in case of Heads of Government by AACR-2 and allowing these in case of Heads of States is a violation of Law of Impartiality. Perhaps it is done to make distinction between Heads of States and Heads of Governments.

6.2.1.3. Administrative Department

CCC Rule No. JC6 prescribes the use of word or word group denoting the sphere of work of the administrative organ to be used as entry element and remaining words to be deemed as secondary element as per Canons of Sought Heading and Recall Value. The omission of sphere of work is to be denoted by a dash viz.
            Rajasthan, Finance (Department of-)
            India, Education (Ministry of-)
            In AACR-2R there is no equivalent provision. Rendering is directly done in the name of administrative department viz.
            Rajasthan, Department of Finance.
            India, Ministry of Education.
            Thus CCC follows the Canon of Pre-potencies and Canon of Recall Value, but in AACR-2R less important word ‘Ministry of’ and ‘Department of’ precedes the important word Education and Finance.
            However in the case of interpolation of the names of the organs of earlier remove, both the codes CCC Rule No. JC66 and AACR-2 Rule No. 24.19 provide identical rules. We can leave in between links if omission does not create any homonym. These rules are in accordance of the Law of Parsimony viz.
Example 1
            CCC                United States, Aviation ForeCasT (Branch).  
            AACR-2         United States, Aviation Forecast Branch.
            Hierarchy:       United States, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aviation Policy, Aviation Forecast Branch.

Indirect Heading
Example 2
            CCC                United Kingdom, Employment (Department of),
                                  Solicitors (Office).
            AACR-2R       United Kingdom, Department of Employment, Solicitors Office.

Hierarchy
            United Kingdom, Department of Employment, Solicitors Office
In the first example in between links have been dropped as they do not create any homonym. But in second example they have been retained.

6.2.2 Temporary Organ

CCC provides a special treatment for the rendering of temporary committee and commissions under Rule No. JC72. In the case of temporary committees/commissions the year of establishment and name of the chairman are used as individualizing element viz.
            India, Education (Commission) (1964) (Chairman: D S Kothari)
            According to Rule No. KJ1, in the case of a Commission or Committee Two Class Index Entries are prepared from the last link viz.
            Report, India, Education (Commission) (1964).
            Report, Kothari Commission.
            In addition to Two CIEs, Two BIE’s are also prescribed vide Rule No. MK117.
            India, Education (Commission) (1964) (Chairman: D S Kothari).
            Kothari Commission.
Such prescription for temporary organ is essential as these days reports of the adhoc committee are common to the library and these are demanded by the name of chairman. No. such prescription exists in AACR-2R. However Rule No. 24.18 Type 2 exhibits the rendering and Rule No. 21.30F suggests to make added entry for chairman or temporary committee/commissions.

6.3 Joint Commission/Committees etc

CCC as per Rule No. JC8 suggests that in case of common organ set up jointly by two or more Governments, its name is to be preceded by the names of the Governments setting it up, and a conjunction ‘and’ is to be used to connect them viz:
            Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Anti Decoit Drive (Committee for-).
            There is quite different prescription in AACR-2R. Its Rule No. 24.15A prescribes to enter a body made up of representatives of two or more other bodies under its own name viz.
Joint Committee for Anti Decoit Drive.

6.4 Delegation to International and Intergovernmental bodies

In the case of a work by a Governmental Delegation to a near Sovereign Body or to a Conference, the Government cum Delegation is the author. Both the codes CCC and AACR-2R conform with this idea.
            CCC Rule No. GD71 prescribes that the Delegated-from-body should be taken to be the parent body of a Delegation to a Conference or to a body such as the United Nations or a Pease Conference in respect of any work embodying any though and expression created by the Delegation viz.
            India, United Nations (Mission to the-).
            As per AACR-2 Rule No. 24.26 and 24.10 which prescribe to enter a delegation, commission etc representing a country in an international or inter-governmental body, conference, undertaking etc, as a subheading of the head of the country represented. For example:
            India, Mission to the United Nations
AACR-2 also prescribed that in case it is uncertain that a delegation represents the government of a country; enter it under its own name.

Conclusion

The above comparison of rules of CCC & AACR-2 for Government publications reveal that some rules are identical in both the codes. Prescription of some rules in CCC is useful for preparing the heading viz rules regarding temporary organ and making heading under the term having highest Recall Value. Some rules of AACR-2 that is pertaining to Armed Forces, Embassies etc. are the uniqueness of the code. If we compare ALA code of 1949 and AACR-2, it is evident that AACR-2 is much influenced by CCC.

Note: This comparative study is based on the rules of CCC as uptedated by the amendants given in Cataloguing proactive and AACR-2, CCC’s rules Nos suffixed by asterisk represent the amended rules given in Cataloguing Practice by S.R. Ranganathan.

8. Further Readings

  1. Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 2nd ed 1988 revision. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1988.
  2. Kaula, P.N. Anomaly of Corporate authorship (1) Library Herald. 3 (2) July, 1960. 65-71. 
  3. Ranganathan, S.R. Classified catalogue code with additional rules for dictionary catalogue code. 5th ed. Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1963.
  4. Vadachalam, T.R. Cataloguing of Government publications, Herald of Library Science. 10 (4), 1971. 356-368.

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