The British Library’s
implementation of LCMPT
Caroline Shaw, Music Processing and
Cataloguing Team Manager
Presented by Thurstan Young, Collection
Metadata Analyst
Contents
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The Printed & Manuscript Music Processing & Cataloguing Team
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Background to LCMPT
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Why the decision was taken to implement LCMPT
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How LCMPT was configured on Aleph
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Documenting the assignment process
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The number of records processed so far
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LCMPT/FAST comparison
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Lessons learned and any other issues
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The Music Cataloguing Team
• Part of Content and Metadata Processing (South)
• A small team made up of one manager and three cataloguers, two
full-time and one part-time.
• Catalogues printed music, manuscript music and musicians’
archives.
• Uses appropriate international standards for encoding and
description: RDA, MARC21, ISAD(G)
• Applies international standards and vocabularies: LCSH, LCGFT,
LCMPT, DDC
• Applies and creates NACO authorities
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Background to LCMPT
Medium of Performance (RDA 6.15) :
“An instrument, voice, and/or ensemble for which a musical work
was originally conceived.”
https://access.rdatoolkit.org/
Library of Congress Medium of Performance Terms (LCMPT) :
“a stand-alone vocabulary that provides terminology to describe the
instruments, voices, etc., used in the performance of musical works”
https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/medprf-list.html
LCMPT launched on February 24th, 2014
https://classificationweb.net/LCMPT
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What were our initial reservations to LCMPT?
• Originally rejected its use in bibliographic records
• Medium of performance is a work level element in RDA
• Ideally it should not be applied at the manifestation level
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Why did we change our minds?
• To align with the element-based data recording approach of RDA
• To anticipate the exchange of data in future systems
• To facilitate the future creation of work records
• To retain and extend the ability to record medium of performance terms
using a controlled vocabulary
• LCMPT was already present in our catalogue in records derived from
American academic libraries
• LCMPT terms work in conjunction with the LCGFT terms which we were
already using
• The decision could be made and implemented easily, as it only affected a
small number of cataloguers
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Training and implementation date
• Training was held on 22 June 2016
• Training consisted of a tutorial based on MLA Best Practice
Guidelines, and practical exercises
• Five people (cataloguers, a curator and a cataloguing manager)
attended
• Implementation date for LCMPT was 30 June 2016
• Bodleian Library, Oxford and Cambridge University Library are now
also using LCMPT
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Background on systems configuration
• To coincide with implementation (Aleph)
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LCMPT terms loaded from classificationweb.net onto authority
database
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Look up feature provided to support the population of
bibliographic records with LCMPT terms
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Medium of performance indexed in authority and bibliographic
databases
• Following implementation (Explore)
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Medium of performance displayed in record details view
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Medium of performance indexed
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How updates are handled
1. Aleph load process generates an email alert which is sent to the music
cataloguing manager
2. Alert lists system numbers for added and changed authorities
3. Changes involving 162 field (Heading - Medium of Performance Term)
recorded in local COR field
4. Music cataloguing manager searches for related bibliographic records using
the COR field content in ‘Medium of performance’ index
5. 382 field (Medium of Performance) updated where necessary using Ctrl+F4
look up functionality
6. COR field expiry time set at 30 days from load, allowing time for any related
changes in bibliographic records to be made.
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MARC21 Field 382 (Medium of Performance)
• Field 382 contains four subfield codes denoting different types of medium, which
should all be authority-controlled:
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•
•
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$a (Medium of performance)
$b (Soloist)
$d (Doubling instrument)
$p (Alternative medium of performance)
• But full authority control linking not supported by Aleph system
• Only first term in string is subject to authority control
• Option to record each term in a separate iteration of 382 field
• Decision to retain the string approach to recording field 382 and forego authority
control (including global amendment overwrite)
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Benefits of 382 field strings
382 01
$a [medium of performance] piano
$n [number of performers of the same medium]
$a [medium of performance] alto flute
$n [number of performers of the same medium]
$d [doubling instrument] flute
$n [number of performers of the same medium]
$a [medium of performance] English horn
$n [number of performers of the same medium]
$d [doubling instrument] oboe
$n [number of performers of the same medium]
$s [total number of performers] 3
$2 lcmpt
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1 Alto flute player also
plays flute
1
English horn player
1 also plays oboe
1 The total number
of performers is 3
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Repetition of field 382
The field should be repeated only to:
1) express an entire medium statement in a different way:
382 01 $a piccolo $n 1 $a flute $n 4 $a alto flute $n 3 $a bass flute
$n 2 $s 10 $2 lcmpt
382 01 $a flute choir $e 1 $2 lcmpt
or
2) to express a different medium statement altogether:
382 01 $3 Magnificat $b singer $n 4 $a mixed chorus $e 1 $a violin
$n 2 $a continuo $2 lcmpt
382 01 $3 Beatus vir $b singer $n 5 $a mixed chorus $e 1 $a violin
$n 2 $a viola $n 1 $a serpent $n 1 $a continuo $2 lcmpt
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Limitations of library systems and MARC
• Desirable that future ILS software supports the fully automated
management of 382 subfield strings
• Field 382 is only a starting point
• The goal is to accommodate medium of performance information
in future systems and linked data ontologies
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Local solutions
• Lookup function is available to cataloguers even though there is no authority
control for field 382
• Subfields saved as input to retain sequence based meaning in 382
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Documenting the assignment process
• Cataloguers follow MLA Best Practice guidelines
• Local policy in RDA Toolkit BL Music Workflow: Applying Library of Congress
Medium of Performance Thesaurus (LCMPT) Terms using MARC 382
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•
•
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RDA basic requirement sometimes acceptable rather than furthest level of granularity
Coverage of implied medium of performance
Piano accompaniment for rehearsal
Some poly-choral works
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Impact on cataloguing workflow (positive)
• Single LCMPT terms are easier to apply than LCSH strings:
LCSH:
650 #0 $a Choruses, Secular (Mixed voices) with orchestra $v Vocal scores with piano
LCMPT:
382 01 $a mixed chorus $n 1 $a piano $n 1
• Certain common combinations can be entered very quickly with the aid of
macros.
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Impact on cataloguing workflow: (negative)
• Time-consuming to enter data elements in many MARC subfields
• Does not always result in natural language; adding a note which repeats
information in “human-readable” form duplicates effort
LCMPT:
382 01 $a tenor voice $n 1 $d bongos $n 1 $a baritone voice $n 1 $d cymbal $n 1 $a
bass voice $n 1 $d percussion idiophone $n 1 $v woodblock $a trombone $n 3 $s 6
$2 lcmpt
Note:
500 ## $a For three men's voices (singers doubling on percussion instruments) and
three trombones.
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Impact on catalogue data: (positive)
• More specific options available for size/pitch of instrument and voice range;
improves discovery and can be used in a flexible way:
382 01 $a singer $n 3 $a orchestra $e 1 $2 lcmpt
OR
382 01 $a soprano voice $n 1 $b alto voice $n 1 $b bass voice $n 1 $a orchestra $e 1
$2 lcmpt
• New terms, e.g.: Speaker (as a type of voice); Live electronics; Processed
sound; Cell phone; Finger-snapping; Foot tapping
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Impact on catalogue data: (negative)
• Syntax not very user-friendly
• Display problems in resource discovery system: much intervention needed to
show the data in the right order and correctly labelled
• Inconsistency between old and new forms of recording; not possible for users to
interrogate entire database in the same way
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Number of records processed so far
• As of 24 February 2017 there were 3772 records with a 382 field in the
catalogue
• 1457 of these are original cataloguing and 2315 are derived records.
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LCMPT/FAST comparison
• FAST holds many terms in common with LCMPT
BUT
• FAST models medium of performance as topic rather than as genre / term
• FAST does not have a hierarchical structure for medium of performance terms
• FAST allows medium of performance to be recorded as part of a string including
a topical subdivision : e.g. “Guitar – Methods”
• FAST is not designed to allow flexible recording of number and type of medium
(e.g. doubling instrument, alternative instrument, soloist)
• FAST has links to equivalent terms in other language thesauri
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LCMPT/FAST comparison (continued)
The two vocabularies serve different
purposes and in some situations both
may be applicable.
FAST and LCSH record what the resource is
about, whereas LCMPT is designed to record
what medium of performance has been
conceived for the content of the resource.
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LCMPT/FAST comparison (case study)
Title (245): Harpsichord works / Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de
La Guerre ; edited by Arthur Lawrence ; with a biographical
essay by Mary Cyr.
Medium of performance (382): harpsichord
Subject (650): Harpsichord music
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Lessons learned and any other issues
• Impact of LCMPT implementation on productivity appears neutral
• a small team makes this more difficult to measure
• LCSH / LCMPT automated crosswalk which can both :
• allow for the complex syntax of LCSH headings
• avoid the risk of losing implicit information
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Thank you
Thurstan Young, Collection Metadata Analyst
[email protected]
Caroline Shaw, Music Processing and Cataloguing
Team Manager
[email protected]
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