Skip Maine state header navigation

Agencies | Online Services | Help

Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation

Home > Minerva > Cataloging > How To's > FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions Minerva Cataloging

  1. Any special tips for getting the most out of GUI Cat?
  2. May one duplicate a medical subject heading as an LC subject heading?
  3. How are foreign articles handled in web OPAC searching?

1. Are there any tips for getting the most out of the GUI Cat software?

Uncheck the Maximize All Windows box in Change Tools... Options... Display. You will be able to keep better track of multiple search and edit windows. In the same area, uncheck Large Icons. This gives you more space in edit windows. If you do not use the rudimentary spine label printing capabilities of GUI Cat, be sure you have unchecked Prompt to Print Spine Labels on the Spine Labels tab.

Be sure you understand how to use the Vertical Tiling button -- the one showing a page divided in the middle vertically. From the menus across the top of the screen, Window... Tile Vertically will do the same thing if you have two or more editing windows open.

Also, be sure you understand how to "ditto" a record -- make a copy as a starting point for a similar record -- using the Copy Record icon, fifth from the left in the editing window.

Consult the Cataloging How-To's for more info on using GUI Cat.

2. The title End of Life Nursing Care has "Terminal Care" as a subject heading.  There is a "2" in the 2nd indicator, designating this as a MESH medical subject heading, however.  May I add the same term, which is an acceptable LC subject heading, as a 650 with 2ndindicator of "0"?

[This response MAY CHANGE after the database undergoes OCLC/MARS authority processing.] Yes, you may. Medical subject headings, those with a 2nd indicator of "2", are NOT included in the index that supports searches by "Subject".  Instead, they go into the index for "Medical Subject" searches. If you believe your users need this access point when they search the main subject index, you may and you should add a proper LCSH heading.

Note the difference between this situation and one involving Sears or local subject headings.  The latter are both indexed with LCSH headings. It is therefore unnecessary and undesirable to add a local or Sears heading that is an authorized LCSH heading or a cross reference to an LCSH heading.

This answer for medical subject headings will also apply to children's subject headings when we follow through on the plan to create a new children's subject heading index for headings with 2nd indicator "1".

3. Three operas that I imported from Z39.50 use foreign articles and  the skip digit, although I believe I entered it correctly, doesn't work. For example, if I enter Der Rosenkavalier it doesn't come up in the OPAC, but if I search for The Rosenkavalier, it does!

Each of the records has the language of the opera in the language fixed field - I thought that might be the problem, changed one to English, but it still didn't work so I changed it back. The records are:

b19289625 - Der Rosenkavalier
b19289455 - Le nozze di Figaro
b19289765 - Il barbiere di Siviglia

The system is doing what it is supposed to in an imperfect situation.  Titles in the 245 field are indexed based on the SKIP value, which is derived from the 2nd indicator position of the MARC field.  Just as "The Lost Horizon" is indexed as "Lost Horizon", so "Der Rosenkavalier" indexes as "Rosenkavalier" and the definite article, which translates as "the" is dropped. 

Catalogers need and have control over indexing and exercise it with the indicator and SKIP settings in combination. 

However, the OPAC is a different matter.  The system is profiled to ignore the English articles "a", "an" and "the" at the beginning of a search string.  To do otherwise would result in no results for the user.  Since most of our collections are in English, this results in relatively few problems.  (One of them: "A B C of Riding")

However, this is harder to do unambiguously for foreign leading articles.  The German feminine for "the" is "Die" is indistinguishable from the English word "die" for instance. My impression is that most OPACs do not drop leading articles other than the three in English.  This is of course subject to discussion by the Cataloging Standards Committee if libraries feel the benefits outweigh the complications.