How to catalog a translation
Step 1. Determine if the work is a translation
Examples of translations:
- 《資本論》Zi ben lun (a Chinese translation of Karl Marx’s Kapital)
- Dream of the red chamber (an English translation of 《紅樓夢》 Hong lou meng)
Step 2. Look for the bibliographic record made for the original
It will be helpful if we know more about the orginal work, such as title and author name in their original language and the call number assigned to the original. A bib record made for the original will do.
Step 3. Prepare a bibliographic record for the translation
1. SPECIAL MARC FIELDS
1.a. The Lang in Fixed fields
- The Lang should be the languae of the translation
1.b. Using the 041 field
- The 041 field is a language code field, and can be used for item that is or contains a translation:
041 1_ language of the translation text $h language of the original and/or the intermediate text
1.c. Treatment of title
- Transcribe the translation title in the 245 field
- Give the title in original language (if we know) in either 240 or 130 field
- Use 240 field if there is an author main entry (i.e. 100 field)
- Use 130 if there is no author main entry
- If the original title is not available, omit this step.
- Optionally, provide a 500 note like this:
500 __ Translation of: xxxxx.
1.d. Other treatments
- If there is colophon or CIP page in the language of the translation, we can give a 546 field like this;
Colophon title page in Chinese
2. ASSIGNING LC CALL NUMBER FOR THE TRANSLATION
Generally, the call number for a translation will be the call number assigned for the original plus a language cutter. Use the Translation Table to determine the cutter number.
Examples of records made for translations
OCLC#56519601 - A Chinese translation of a English classic (Huxley’s Evolution and ethics)
OCLC#227068880 - An English translation of a Chinese work but with colophon in Chinese
Note for “non-filing characters”
Non-filing characters, a.k.a. nonfiling characters, non filing characters, initial definite and indefiinte articles, initial articles, etc….. are things like, in English, “the”, “a”, or “an”.
For a list of non-filing character treated in MARC 21 bibliographic record, consult the following resources.
- Counting non-filing characters in MARC 21 bibliographic records
- Initial Definite and Indefinite Articles
- Appendix K. Initial Articles
Be aware that, things like “Des” in French may or may not always be treated as a non-filing character - because in French, Des can mean “of the” or “to the,” in which case it is a preposition word! A rule of thumb is: always consult with a language experts when you have doubt.
1 comment May 6th, 2008
