PROPOSAL NO: 98-14

NAME: Additional Code List for Field 052 of the USMARC Bibliographic Format

SOURCE: U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency

SUMMARY: This paper proposes broadening field 052 (Geographic Classification Code) to allow for recording a code for a geopolitical entity other than from the Library of Congress Classification, including one from the FIPS Standard 10-4 (Countries, dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and their principle administrative divisions). It also proposes adding subfield $2 for the source of the code and subfield $c for the name of a populated place. Two options are presented: 1) define the first indicator as Source of code with values # (blank) for Library of Congress and 7 for Source specified in $2 or 2) leave the indicator undefined and always use $2 to specify the source.

KEYWORDS: Field 052 (BD); Geographic Classification Code (BD)

RELATED: 97-11 (June 1997)

STATUS/COMMENTS:

5/1/98 - Forwarded to the USMARC Advisory Group for discussion at the June 1998 MARBI meetings.

6/28/98 - Results of USMARC Advisory Group discussion - Approved Option 1 as amended.
Option 1 was approved with the addition of an indicator value 0 for U.S. Department of Defense Classification.

7/29/98 - Results of LC/NLC review - Agreed with the MARBI decisions.

PROPOSAL NO. 98-14: Additional Code List for Field 052

1 BACKGROUND

The U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA; formerly Defense Mapping Agency) has purchased an integrated library system and is in the process of converting its records into MARC. It expects to distribute some of its cataloging records in the future. A data element that has been used by the U.S. Department of Defense and the intelligence community for many years is the geopolitical identification codes from Countries, dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and their principal administrative divisions and other standardized lists as well as names for populated places as approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. (The code list was approved as the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 10-4.) There is currently no place in the USMARC bibliographic format to record this data. NIMA wants to convert its data as is to an appropriate field.

2 DISCUSSION

2.1 FIPS 10-4 codes

FIPS 10-4 provides a list of the basic geopolitical entities in the world with the principal administrative divisions for each entity. A two-character alphabetic code is used for the country, which is consistent with the ISO 3166 code (Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions). Each administrative division is identified by a four-character code consisting of the two-character alphabetic country code followed by a two-character administrative division code. The administrative division code is specified as alphanumeric, although it is numeric in most cases (only when there are more than 99 administrative divisions for an entity is it alphanumeric). It represents a province, state, city, or other administrative division.

The USMARC Advisory Group considered Proposal No. 97-11 (Definition of Subfields in Fields 043 (Geographic Area Code) and 044 (Country of Publishing/Producing Entity Code) to accommodate codes for subentities below the country level in USMARC records in June 1997. The approval of the proposal resulted in the addition of subfields in both fields for local subentity codes. However, neither field would be appropriate for the FIPS 10-4 code, because 043 requires adding the local subentity extension to the basic geographic area code, which has specific rules for its formulation, and 044 is for country of publication, not for subject coverage.

2.2 Field 052

Field 052 is defined for a geographic classification code that represents the geographic area and/or subarea covered by an item. It can provide more precise geographic access than the geographic area code recorded in field 043. The area code is derived from the Library of Congress Classification-- Class G and subarea code from the associated Cutter number lists for place names. Both documents are maintained by the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

The NIMA geographic coding could be included in this field by revising the definition of the field and subfields so that they could be used for the NIMA codes. Other standard geopolitical codes could also be included. An indicator could be added to specify the source of the code, with value blank meaning Library of Congress and value 7 meaning Source specified in subfield $2. Optionally, the indicator could remain undefined, and the source always added in subfield $2. (This option requires LC to retrospectively convert records to include $2.) In addition a subfield is needed for the approved form of the name for a populated place, and subfield $2 needs to be added.

An alternative that was considered was the definition of three additional subfields: one for the FIPS geopolitical code, one for the FIPS subarea code, and one for the populated place name. However, it was felt that the subfields could only be defined in terms of the FIPS codes, and that using the existing subfields for the same type of data and indicating the source was preferable.

It is also proposed that the field name be changed to Geographic Classification Code to Geographic Classification, since the data in the proposed subfield $c is not a code.

3 PROPOSED CHANGES

In the USMARC Bibliographic Format in field 052 (Geographic Classification Code):

3.1 Option 1.
- Define the first indicator value (Source of code) with the following values:

# Library of Congress Classification
7 Source specified in $2

- Change the name of the field to Geographic Classification and broaden it to include other types of codes.

- Change the description of the field and subfields to allow for other codes to be used as follows (< > indicates addition; [ ] indicates deletion):

$a - Geographic classification area code

Subfield $a contains a [four to six character] numeric <or alphanumeric> code that represents the main geographic area covered by an item. <If the first indicator contains value #,> the code <contains a four to six-character numeric code that> consists of the appropriate classification number from the range G3190-G9980 derived from the Library of Congress Classification--Class G by dropping the letter G. <If the first indicator contains value 7, a code from another list is used and that list is specified in subfield $2>.

         651   #0$aBosnia and Hercegovina$vMaps.
         052   ##$aBK$2(assigned code for DOD list)

$b - Geographic classification subarea code

Subfield $b contains [an alphanumeric Cutter number for] a geographic subarea of the geographic area coded in subfield $a. <If the first indicator contains value #>, the code <contains an alphanumeric cutter which> is derived from the Library of Congress--Class G or the expanded Cutter number lists for place names. <The subfield may also contain a geopolitical subarea code from FIPS 10-4, or other code list as specified in subfield $2>. Each geographic subarea code is contained in a separate subfield $b. Subfield $b may be repeated for subareas falling within a main area with the same code.

         651   #0$aVirginia$vMaps.
         052   ##$aUS$b51$2(assigned code for DOD list)

$c - Populated place name

Subfield $c contains the approved form of name for a populated place. In the case of a name established by the U.S. Board on Geographic Name, if a short form of the name has been approved that is used in preference to the full form of name.

         651   #0$aMostar (Bosnia and Hercegovina)$vMaps.
         052   ##$aBK$cMostar$2(assigned code for DOD list)

$2 - Source of code

Subfield $2 contains a code that identifies the source from which the code was assigned. It is used only with first indicator value 7. The codes to be used in the subfield are listed in USMARC Code List for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions.

3.2 Option 2.
- Leave the first indicator value undefined and always use $2 to indicate the source of the code.

- Change the name of the field to Geographic Classification and broaden it to include other types of codes.

- Change the description of the field and subfields to allow for other codes to be used.

$a - Geographic classification area code

Subfield $a contains a [four to six character] numeric <or alphanumeric> code that represents the main geographic area covered by an item. The code <may contain a four to six-character numeric code that> consists of the appropriate classification number from the range G3190-G9980 derived from the Library of Congress Classification--Class G by dropping the letter G. <The source of the code is always specified in subfield $2>.

         651   #0$aBosnia and Hercegovina$vMaps.
         052   ##$aBK$2(assigned code for DOD list)

$b - Geographic classification subarea code

Subfield $b contains [an alphanumeric Cutter number for] a geographic subarea of the geographic area coded in subfield $a. The code <may contain an alphanumeric cutter which> is derived from the Library of Congress--Class G or the expanded Cutter number lists for place names. <The subfield may also contain a geopolitical subarea code from FIPS 10-4, or other code list. The source of the code is specified in subfield $2>. Each geographic subarea code is contained in a separate subfield $b. Subfield $b may be repeated for subareas falling within a main area with the same code.

         651   #0$aVirginia$vMaps.
         052   ##$aUS$b51$2(assigned code for DOD list)

- Define subfield $2 (Source of code).

$2 - Source of code

Subfield $2 contains a code that identifies the source from which the code was assigned. The codes to be used in the subfield are listed in USMARC Code List for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions.

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