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A scheme for the classification of language tapes
SysremVol. 8. pp. 121-129 0 Pergamon Press Ltd. 1980. Printed in Great Britain
A SCHEME FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGE TAPES PENELOPE HARTLEY
Language Laboratory,
University of Aberdeen
This article outlines a new classification scheme specifically designed for language tapes and based on a wide review of other systems and consideration of alternatives. Basically designed for the Tape Library of Aberdeen University Language Laboratory which contains over 3,000 titles (7,000 tapes in all), it is capable of expansion and adaptation. The resulting catalogue is recorded on a card index and in printed booklet form, and is also filed in the university computer using the FAMULUS program. The completed catalogue has been in successful operation for a full academic year and has resulted in a considerable increase in the use of the Laboratory’s facilities. During the summer vacation 1978, Aberdeen University Language Laboratory undertook the classification and cataloguing of all its language tapes. It is the purpose of this article to examine the problems faced and the solutions reached. Aberdeen University holds some 7,000 language tapes; this number is made up of 3,000 Master tapes, with one or more student copies of most of them. They cover 33 different languages, with the bulk of the holdings in German, French and Russian. Most of the tapes are intended for the university students as part of their prescribed course work, but an increasing number of recordings are elementary courses in various languages intended for general use by-students and staff of the University and also by members of the public who may, for a small sum, use the facilities of the Language Laboratory. There are two sequences of tapes: firstly the master recordings, which are kept in a locked storeroom, are used only for making copies and are not touched except for yearly rewinding; secondly the student copies, which are held on open access in the Tape Library. There is not a student copy of every master, but there may be as many as four copies of a single master where there is a demand. Both the master tapes and the student copies are kept in plastic boxes and are arranged on shelves in numerical order of accession. Each tape is given a means of identification, two letters denoting its language, followed by M if it is the master tape or S if it is a student copy; the tapes are then given a serial number indicating the order of accession. There is a separate numerical sequence for each language. Thus there would be a French tape FFM.123 (the master recording) in the storeroom and perhaps two tapes FFS. 123 (two student copies) for use in the Tape Library. Because the tapes are arranged by these accession numbers not by subject matter, a good catalogue is necessary to enable users to find a tape on the shelves. Before the system was reviewed in the summer of 1978, there was a card catalogue recording the contents of each master tape. Some attempt had previously been made to classify tapes by subject matter or use and the catalogue cards were arranged under headings such as Literature, Talks or Complete Courses. However, the catalogue which had been perfectly adequate when there were only a few hundred tapes, had certain limitations now that the
121
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collection had grown so large. There was no overall scheme of classification; each language was arranged under different headings invented to suit the needs of different university departments; some headings covered too large a field; many tapes could have been used for more than one purpose but were not adequately cross-referenced, and in general it was felt that there was insufficient guidance on the catalogue cards as to the content, use and standard of the tapes. The problem therefore was to produce a new catalogue, with the tapes classified according to a. logical scheme. Because it seemed a daunting task to amend 7,000 tape boxes, it was decided at the outset to retain the existing accession numbers and to continue to arrange the tapes on the shelves in the same way. This system is straightforward and having a single numerical sequence for each language saves storage space which is already at a premium. It remained to improve the catalogue, to devise a scheme by which all the catalogue cards would be arranged, in order to make it easier for users to find a tape on a given topic. The content of the cards was to be such that they could easily be transferred to a file in the university computer. Consideration was given to using the Dewey Decimal system of classification employed in the University Library. There would have been advantages to this, such as consistency throughout the University and the possibility of having the Language Laboratory holdings catalogued centrally as well as in the Laboratory itself. However, the great disadvantage with the Dewey system is that it does not classify material primarily according to language but according to subject matter or form. To take the example of French. language exercises would be classified at 440-449, literature at 840-849, history at 944 and so on, whereas in the Language Laboratory there is a need for all material in French or about France to be grouped together. As for some of the languages which Dewey considered of lesser importance, the classification numbers for Swahili (496.92) or Finnish (494.541) are complicated enough before there is any attempt to introduce further subdivisions such as Swahili grammar drills (496.925) or Finnish intonation exercises (494.54116). The Dewey system is a comprehensive one which seeks toclassify the whole of human knowledge; all that is required in a language laboratory is a simple scheme to cover a limited field of interest. Standard works on the cataloguing and bibliographical control of non-book materials were consulted. (For further details of these works, see the bibliography at the end of this article.) Gilbert and Wright (1971) deal with the organisation of catalogues, mentioning the large national collections of audio-visual material and the Helpis system of computerised information retrieval, but as far as classification systems are concerned, do not suggest any alternative to Dewey or the Universal Decimal Clasification. Weihs (1975) gives general guidelines for the organisation of a collection of recordings and the care of magnetic tape and suggests a cataloguing policy, giving examples of the information which should appear on catalogue cards. However, she too seems to start out from the premise that the system of classification will be Dewey, UDC or Library of Congress. The Library Association pamphlet on cataloguing non-book materials (1974) and the new edition of the AngloAmerican Cataloguing Rules (1978) are simply lists of rules governing what details should appear on catalogue cards, how these should be filed and what added entries or crossreferences there should be. Though helpful regarding general principles of cataloguing, these works had nothing to say about the problems specific to a Language Laboratory as regards the classification of language material. A great many of our tapes do not seem to fit the rules: many recordings do not have an obvious author or performer by which-entries in a catalogue can be arranged; for many of the language exercises we have had to invent a title; some recordings such as plays and poetry should clearly be catalogued under the author’s name, some such as talks on French politics or German history should be classified by their
CLASSlFlCATlON OF LANGUAGE TAPES
123
subject matter and some such as dictation passages or pronunciation exercises need to be grouped together under their intended use. It seemed that a special classification scheme was needed for language tapes. The classification schemes in operation in other university Language Laboratories were also examined. Most introduce an element of classificationinto the tape accession numbers and employ a simple mnemonic system of notation, a letter denoting the language, a second denoting the form - D: drama, S: song, C: course work - followed by a serial number. Essex University (Kay, 1967) uses a further refinement of dividing all non-literary material into groups according to the number and preparedness of the speakers, for example partly prepared monologue (Lecture), unprepared polylogue (discussion), polylogue with one speaker prepared (interview). There are seven categories denoted by the letters Q, R, T, W, X, Y and Z and a further category N has had to be introduced for recordings of mixed content. To sub-divide each category further, the non-literary tapes also bear the letters representing their subject matter; these are fairly self-evident - Biol., Chem., Nat. Hist., Plas. Arts. At the time of the article the most useful subdivisions at Essex were still being worked out. Although this article was most helpful ai regards procedure, the Essex system was nof adopted for several reasons. Firstly, at Essex the classification of a tape was part of its accession number and it has already been mentioned that we were unwilling to renumber 7,000 tapes. Secondly, we felt that it was more useful to classify non-literary material by subject matter (history, institutions, science) rather than by form (talk, interview, lecture). Thirdly, the category ‘course material’ seemed to cover too wide a field and it needed to be subdivided under headings such as grammar, pronunciation and comprehension. For various reasons then it was clear that a scheme for classifying ianguage tapes and organising a catalogue would have to be invented to fulfil the specific needs of Aberdeen University and meet the following conditions:, 1. The scheme should apply to all the languages covered in the Laboratory; 2. There should be provision for expansion, both in the case of new languages and new subject headings. 3. As the Language Laboratory catalogue was to be stored on a file in the University computer, the different subject headings should be represented by some form of classification code; 4. The notation of this code should look different from the existing accession numbers to avoid confusion; 5. The system should be as simple as possible, with some mnemonic element if possible. The stock of the Language Laboratory was analysed and each department of the University which made use of the Language Laboratory’s facilities was consulted as to its needs. The consensus of opinion was that, within each Language, the tapes should be divided into four main categories: those specifically designed to teach language, those dealing with literature, those containing background material and finally songs and other musical items. Each of these main categories was further divided into sub-categories, which were all given a code number ready for computerisation. It was decided to use a numerical notation for the classification scheme as this would look different from the existing accession numbers which are a combination of letters and figures. For the full classification scheme, by which each language in the catalogue is now arranged, see the Appendix to this paper. The scheme covers all the tapes in the Language Laboratory at the moment but is capable of expansion in the event of new headings being required. There are different ways of adding to
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the scheme. There might at some time be a need for new sub-categories such as Semantics which could become 115 or Economics, 314. (It will be noticed that Miscellaneous in the category of Non-Literary Material has been given the number 399 to allow for the insertion of more specific sub-categories.) Already it has been found useful to break down certain sub-categories such as drama and poetry to provide for anthologies. This has been done by the use of decimals. Thus poetry is represented by 202 and poetry anthologies by 202.1. In the same way we have introduced a further subdivision of drama (201) to cover Radio Plays (201.2). The German department makes a special study of the H&spiel and it is obviously helpful to have these grouped together in the catalogue. If any of the other existing subcategories became too large, they too could be further divided in this way. If it was felt to be useful to have a heading specifically to cover intonation exercises within the sub-category Pronunciation and phonetics (107), this could be introduced as 107.1. Likewise, The Arts (301) could be broken down into 301.1 Painting, 301.2 Music, 301.3 Cinema and so on. There could be as many as 99 sub-categories within each of the four main categories, with an almost unlimited number of further possible subdivisions by means of decimals. Of course new main categories (500, 600 etc.) could also be added if it was found to be necessary. As for the numerical code, it works as follows: each language bears a number, for example 07 French, 13 Italian, 26 Russian. (There are 33 languages at present but this format would permit expansion up to 99 languages). These figures are used as a prefix to the numbers in the classification scheme set out in the Appendix. This can be illustrated by the following examples: 07/101 13/101 07/202 26/202
Beginner’s course in French Beginner’s course in Italian French poetry Russian poetry
The entries are grouped firstly by language (the prefix) and then by subject (the rest of the classification number). All the tapes in German or about Germany, for example, are thus kept together. One of the advantages of the system is that, once the general layout is understood, it becomes clear that each language is catalogued under the same headings and arranged in the same order. This is particularly useful for students of more than one language. The content of the catalogue cards is at present being transferred to a file in the University computer, employing a system designed for bibliographical references called FAMUL US. This makes it possible to print out the whole catalogue, to update it, to sort the contents in alphabetical, numerical or any other order, and to print out selections from it at very short notice. It is a very simple matter to obtain from the computer sub-catalogues with headings such as: - Spanish pronunciation materials - Tapes relevant to students doing 1st year French - Tapes relating to Moliere Special cross-referencing labels are stored in the computer for each tape. These make the compiling of such sub-catalogues a very easy matter. They would not normally be printed in the main catalogue. Meanwhile, users of the Language Laboratory still consult the card catalogue. With tapes
CLASSIFICATION
OF LANGUAGE
125
TAPES
arranged on the shelves in numerical order, borrowers need to use the catalogue in order to find the accession number of the tape they wish to listen to. As already indicated, the entries for each language are arranged according to the new classification scheme and there is a system of colour coding to distinguish the four main categories. The full heading of the appropriate sub-category appears on each catalogue card along with the classification number, as it was never intended that students should have to memorize a computer code in order to find a tape on a given topic. The sample catalogue card below will show the sort of information which was felt to be necessary:
27/101 COMPLETE
COURSES -
BEGINNERS
Ealing Spanish Course Part 1
SSM.109-120
Course for students with no previous knowledge of Spanish; dialogues in useful situations; gapped for repetition Tapes 109-116 Units l-18 117-l 19 DRILLS Pronunciation 120 Course continued Standard _
8
Notes:
1. 2.
exercises
in Ealing Spanish Course Part 2, which is Intermediate
Text Book Length 17-23 m Copies 2 of each
Under Text is recorded any book, leaflet or handout accompanying the tape. Copies 2 refers to the number of copies made from the master tape which are available for use by students in the Tape Library. Where there is not already c’ student copy, one can very soon be made upon request.
Some tapes will be referred to at more than one point in the catalogue. For instance, Schumann’s Lieder, settings of poems by Heine will appear at 04/202 (German poetry, under Heine) and 041401 (German songs, under Schumann). Likewise, a French reading passage followed by pronunciation exercises and comprehension questions will appear both at 07/107 (Pronunciation and phonetics) and 071109 (Comprehension). The holdings in some of the 33 languages are represented by only a few catalogue cards, mostly complete courses, but for each of the languages with tapes in categories other than Language Learning, there is, in addition to the classified cards, an alphabetical index of names as a guide to finding works by, or references to, authors, composers, historical figures, etc. These index cards do not attempt to list all the works by a particular author held on tape, but refer a student to the section of the catalogue where he will find full details of those works. The entries on the index cards merely read See: Drama or See: Anthologies of poetry etc. and this avoids unnecessary duplication of typing.
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PENELOPE
HARTLEY
When a new tape is added to stock, the member of staff responsible for ordering it is asked to complete a form giving recording instructions for the Technician and cataloguing instructions for the Tape Librarian. It is, after all, the teaching staff who know how their tapes are going to be used and therefore they now do the job of classification by supplying the following information: 1. Language 2. Category (Language Learning, Literature, etc.) 3. Sub-category (Complete course, Drama, etc.) 4. Title 5. Author, composer (where relevant) 6. Description of contents, comments 7. Text (a note of any accompanying book or handout) 8. Approximate length (exact length is entered by technician) 9. Editing instructions (where applicable) 10. Source of recording 11. Number of student copies required Added by Recording Technician: 12. Accession number 13. Date of recording Added by Language Laboratory staff: 14. Other cross-referencing labels Once the master tape and any student copies have been made, the form is passed on to the Tape Librarian who uses it to type the relevant catalogue card or cards. The classification number is assigned, using the information given under items l-3 on the form. Once these forms have been dealt with, they are filed by accession number and act as a numerical register of all the tapes in the Language Laboratory, and a record of how they have been classified. The content of the cards will be transferred at regular intervals to the computer file to update the printed catalogue. The project of re-cataloguing Aberdeen University Language Laboratory’s tapes took one person 4-5 months. Each tape was dealt with in turn, allocated to one or more categories in the classification scheme and the relevant catalogue cards typed. For complete courses a single card was typed, not one for each individual tape in the series. Where the title of a tape or the reference to it in the original catalogue did not give an adequate indication of its contents, the tape had to be listened to. The staff of the various language departments in the University were consulted on many points and were very helpful with comments as to the use, merit and comprehensibility of recordings. Some of the older tapes with rather dated vocabulary were discarded. Thus all the existing tapes were classified and re-catalogued and subsequent additions to stock are now being dealt with by the cataloguing instructions form already mentioned. It is not claimed that the new classification scheme should be universally adopted, but it does meet the needs of Aberdeen University. Different language laboratories will have different, requirements: not all will have so many tapes to classify; not all will need headings such as ‘Old and Classical Language’ or ‘Instrumental and Orchestral Music’; not all will be intending to put their catalogues on computer. However, the classification scheme is basically very simple and, above all, it is adaptable: not all the headings need to be used and
127
CLASSIFlCATION OF LANGUAGE TAPES
new headings can be introduced to accommodate additions to stock. At a time when the majority of university language laboratories are expanding, more and more are having to consider seriously the problem of cataloguing their holdings. It is pointless having resources without the means to exploit them fully. It is most gratifying to record that, in the first year since the new catalogue was completed, students have appreciated being able to find useful material much more easily, and the use of language tapes that are not actually prescribed for course work has measurably increased.
REFERENCES Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 1978, M. Gorman & P. W. Winkler (eds) 2nd edition, Library Association, London. (Section on Sound Recordings pp. 144-163). GILBERT, L. A. & Wright, J. 1971 Non-book NCET, London.
materials: their bibliographical control
RAY, J. B. & Jameson, A. 1967 ‘A classification and retrieval system for recorded foreign language tapes’ IRAL V, 4, 193-200. Library Asociation: Media Cataloguing Rules Committee cataloguing rules 2nd edition, CET, London.
1974 Non-book
materials:
WEIHS, J. R. et al. 1973 Non-book materials: the organisation of integrated collections Canadian Library Association, Ottawa.
128
CLASSIFICATION
100
(to ‘0’ Grade) (‘0’ to ‘H’ Grade or ‘A’ Level) COURSES - ADVANCED (‘H’ Grade and above) COURSES - USEFUL AT MORE THAN ONE LEVEL COURSES - UNIVERSITY PRESCRIBED COURSES
COMPLETE COMPLETE COMPLETE GRAMMAR PRONUNCIATION AND PHONETICS DICTATION EXERCISES COMPREHENSION DIALECTS AND VARIETIES CONVERSATION OLD AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGE SPECIALIST LANGUAGE EXAMS
LITERA TURE 201
202 203 204 205
DRAMA 201.1 DRAMA ANTHOLOGIES 201.2 RADIO PLAYS POETRY 202.1 POETRY ANTHOLOGIES PROSE 203.1 PROSE ANTHOLOGIES .EARLY LITERATURE BACKGROUND TO LITERATURE 205.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND
Each of the sub-categories is arranged alphabetically 300
TAPES
LANGUAGE LEARNING 101 COMPLETE COURSES - BEGINNERS 102 COMPLETE COURSES - INTERMEDIATE 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114
200
Appendix SCHEME FOR LANGUAGE
NON-LITERAR 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 399
(under individual authors) by author.
Y MATERIAL
THE ARTS CURRENT AFFAIRS AND POLITICS CUSTOMS, WAY OF LIFE EDUCATION GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL HISTORY HUMOUR INSTITUTIONS THE MEDIA PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SOCIAL ISSUES SPORTS AND RECREATIONS MISCELLANEOUS
(Post War)
(to 1945)
129
400
SONGS AND MUSIC 401
402 403 404
SONGS 401.1 ANTHOLOGIES
OF SONGS FOLK MUSIC INSTRUMENTAL AND ORCHESTRAL MUSIC OPERA, CHURCH AND CHORAL MUSIC
Each of these sub-categories is arranged alphabetically by singer or composer (except Anthologies of songs and Folk Music which are arranged by title).
Notes: 1.
The tapes in the COMPREHENSION section (109) comprise only those specifically designed as comprehension exercises with questions. However, it is pointed out to students that all the tapes in the literature and non-literary material sections and also many of the songs are useful listening material.
2.
OLD AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGE (112) and EARLY LITERATURE (204) are interrelated and cover the ancient form of a language such as Medieval French, Middle High German, Old English, Classical Hebrew, Ancient Greek, etc.
3.
BACKGROUND TO LITERATURE (205) covers literary criticism, talks by and interviews with authors and also general works on the history of literature.
4.
Performances of musical works are included in the section SONGS AND MUSIC, but talks about composers, interviews with singers and the like would be classified at 301 THE ARTS.
A SCHEME FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGE TAPES PENELOPE HARTLEY
Language Laboratory,
University of Aberdeen
This article outlines a new classification scheme specifically designed for language tapes and based on a wide review of other systems and consideration of alternatives. Basically designed for the Tape Library of Aberdeen University Language Laboratory which contains over 3,000 titles (7,000 tapes in all), it is capable of expansion and adaptation. The resulting catalogue is recorded on a card index and in printed booklet form, and is also filed in the university computer using the FAMULUS program. The completed catalogue has been in successful operation for a full academic year and has resulted in a considerable increase in the use of the Laboratory’s facilities. During the summer vacation 1978, Aberdeen University Language Laboratory undertook the classification and cataloguing of all its language tapes. It is the purpose of this article to examine the problems faced and the solutions reached. Aberdeen University holds some 7,000 language tapes; this number is made up of 3,000 Master tapes, with one or more student copies of most of them. They cover 33 different languages, with the bulk of the holdings in German, French and Russian. Most of the tapes are intended for the university students as part of their prescribed course work, but an increasing number of recordings are elementary courses in various languages intended for general use by-students and staff of the University and also by members of the public who may, for a small sum, use the facilities of the Language Laboratory. There are two sequences of tapes: firstly the master recordings, which are kept in a locked storeroom, are used only for making copies and are not touched except for yearly rewinding; secondly the student copies, which are held on open access in the Tape Library. There is not a student copy of every master, but there may be as many as four copies of a single master where there is a demand. Both the master tapes and the student copies are kept in plastic boxes and are arranged on shelves in numerical order of accession. Each tape is given a means of identification, two letters denoting its language, followed by M if it is the master tape or S if it is a student copy; the tapes are then given a serial number indicating the order of accession. There is a separate numerical sequence for each language. Thus there would be a French tape FFM.123 (the master recording) in the storeroom and perhaps two tapes FFS. 123 (two student copies) for use in the Tape Library. Because the tapes are arranged by these accession numbers not by subject matter, a good catalogue is necessary to enable users to find a tape on the shelves. Before the system was reviewed in the summer of 1978, there was a card catalogue recording the contents of each master tape. Some attempt had previously been made to classify tapes by subject matter or use and the catalogue cards were arranged under headings such as Literature, Talks or Complete Courses. However, the catalogue which had been perfectly adequate when there were only a few hundred tapes, had certain limitations now that the
121
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PENELOPE HARTLEY
collection had grown so large. There was no overall scheme of classification; each language was arranged under different headings invented to suit the needs of different university departments; some headings covered too large a field; many tapes could have been used for more than one purpose but were not adequately cross-referenced, and in general it was felt that there was insufficient guidance on the catalogue cards as to the content, use and standard of the tapes. The problem therefore was to produce a new catalogue, with the tapes classified according to a. logical scheme. Because it seemed a daunting task to amend 7,000 tape boxes, it was decided at the outset to retain the existing accession numbers and to continue to arrange the tapes on the shelves in the same way. This system is straightforward and having a single numerical sequence for each language saves storage space which is already at a premium. It remained to improve the catalogue, to devise a scheme by which all the catalogue cards would be arranged, in order to make it easier for users to find a tape on a given topic. The content of the cards was to be such that they could easily be transferred to a file in the university computer. Consideration was given to using the Dewey Decimal system of classification employed in the University Library. There would have been advantages to this, such as consistency throughout the University and the possibility of having the Language Laboratory holdings catalogued centrally as well as in the Laboratory itself. However, the great disadvantage with the Dewey system is that it does not classify material primarily according to language but according to subject matter or form. To take the example of French. language exercises would be classified at 440-449, literature at 840-849, history at 944 and so on, whereas in the Language Laboratory there is a need for all material in French or about France to be grouped together. As for some of the languages which Dewey considered of lesser importance, the classification numbers for Swahili (496.92) or Finnish (494.541) are complicated enough before there is any attempt to introduce further subdivisions such as Swahili grammar drills (496.925) or Finnish intonation exercises (494.54116). The Dewey system is a comprehensive one which seeks toclassify the whole of human knowledge; all that is required in a language laboratory is a simple scheme to cover a limited field of interest. Standard works on the cataloguing and bibliographical control of non-book materials were consulted. (For further details of these works, see the bibliography at the end of this article.) Gilbert and Wright (1971) deal with the organisation of catalogues, mentioning the large national collections of audio-visual material and the Helpis system of computerised information retrieval, but as far as classification systems are concerned, do not suggest any alternative to Dewey or the Universal Decimal Clasification. Weihs (1975) gives general guidelines for the organisation of a collection of recordings and the care of magnetic tape and suggests a cataloguing policy, giving examples of the information which should appear on catalogue cards. However, she too seems to start out from the premise that the system of classification will be Dewey, UDC or Library of Congress. The Library Association pamphlet on cataloguing non-book materials (1974) and the new edition of the AngloAmerican Cataloguing Rules (1978) are simply lists of rules governing what details should appear on catalogue cards, how these should be filed and what added entries or crossreferences there should be. Though helpful regarding general principles of cataloguing, these works had nothing to say about the problems specific to a Language Laboratory as regards the classification of language material. A great many of our tapes do not seem to fit the rules: many recordings do not have an obvious author or performer by which-entries in a catalogue can be arranged; for many of the language exercises we have had to invent a title; some recordings such as plays and poetry should clearly be catalogued under the author’s name, some such as talks on French politics or German history should be classified by their
CLASSlFlCATlON OF LANGUAGE TAPES
123
subject matter and some such as dictation passages or pronunciation exercises need to be grouped together under their intended use. It seemed that a special classification scheme was needed for language tapes. The classification schemes in operation in other university Language Laboratories were also examined. Most introduce an element of classificationinto the tape accession numbers and employ a simple mnemonic system of notation, a letter denoting the language, a second denoting the form - D: drama, S: song, C: course work - followed by a serial number. Essex University (Kay, 1967) uses a further refinement of dividing all non-literary material into groups according to the number and preparedness of the speakers, for example partly prepared monologue (Lecture), unprepared polylogue (discussion), polylogue with one speaker prepared (interview). There are seven categories denoted by the letters Q, R, T, W, X, Y and Z and a further category N has had to be introduced for recordings of mixed content. To sub-divide each category further, the non-literary tapes also bear the letters representing their subject matter; these are fairly self-evident - Biol., Chem., Nat. Hist., Plas. Arts. At the time of the article the most useful subdivisions at Essex were still being worked out. Although this article was most helpful ai regards procedure, the Essex system was nof adopted for several reasons. Firstly, at Essex the classification of a tape was part of its accession number and it has already been mentioned that we were unwilling to renumber 7,000 tapes. Secondly, we felt that it was more useful to classify non-literary material by subject matter (history, institutions, science) rather than by form (talk, interview, lecture). Thirdly, the category ‘course material’ seemed to cover too wide a field and it needed to be subdivided under headings such as grammar, pronunciation and comprehension. For various reasons then it was clear that a scheme for classifying ianguage tapes and organising a catalogue would have to be invented to fulfil the specific needs of Aberdeen University and meet the following conditions:, 1. The scheme should apply to all the languages covered in the Laboratory; 2. There should be provision for expansion, both in the case of new languages and new subject headings. 3. As the Language Laboratory catalogue was to be stored on a file in the University computer, the different subject headings should be represented by some form of classification code; 4. The notation of this code should look different from the existing accession numbers to avoid confusion; 5. The system should be as simple as possible, with some mnemonic element if possible. The stock of the Language Laboratory was analysed and each department of the University which made use of the Language Laboratory’s facilities was consulted as to its needs. The consensus of opinion was that, within each Language, the tapes should be divided into four main categories: those specifically designed to teach language, those dealing with literature, those containing background material and finally songs and other musical items. Each of these main categories was further divided into sub-categories, which were all given a code number ready for computerisation. It was decided to use a numerical notation for the classification scheme as this would look different from the existing accession numbers which are a combination of letters and figures. For the full classification scheme, by which each language in the catalogue is now arranged, see the Appendix to this paper. The scheme covers all the tapes in the Language Laboratory at the moment but is capable of expansion in the event of new headings being required. There are different ways of adding to
124
PENELOPE HARTLEY
the scheme. There might at some time be a need for new sub-categories such as Semantics which could become 115 or Economics, 314. (It will be noticed that Miscellaneous in the category of Non-Literary Material has been given the number 399 to allow for the insertion of more specific sub-categories.) Already it has been found useful to break down certain sub-categories such as drama and poetry to provide for anthologies. This has been done by the use of decimals. Thus poetry is represented by 202 and poetry anthologies by 202.1. In the same way we have introduced a further subdivision of drama (201) to cover Radio Plays (201.2). The German department makes a special study of the H&spiel and it is obviously helpful to have these grouped together in the catalogue. If any of the other existing subcategories became too large, they too could be further divided in this way. If it was felt to be useful to have a heading specifically to cover intonation exercises within the sub-category Pronunciation and phonetics (107), this could be introduced as 107.1. Likewise, The Arts (301) could be broken down into 301.1 Painting, 301.2 Music, 301.3 Cinema and so on. There could be as many as 99 sub-categories within each of the four main categories, with an almost unlimited number of further possible subdivisions by means of decimals. Of course new main categories (500, 600 etc.) could also be added if it was found to be necessary. As for the numerical code, it works as follows: each language bears a number, for example 07 French, 13 Italian, 26 Russian. (There are 33 languages at present but this format would permit expansion up to 99 languages). These figures are used as a prefix to the numbers in the classification scheme set out in the Appendix. This can be illustrated by the following examples: 07/101 13/101 07/202 26/202
Beginner’s course in French Beginner’s course in Italian French poetry Russian poetry
The entries are grouped firstly by language (the prefix) and then by subject (the rest of the classification number). All the tapes in German or about Germany, for example, are thus kept together. One of the advantages of the system is that, once the general layout is understood, it becomes clear that each language is catalogued under the same headings and arranged in the same order. This is particularly useful for students of more than one language. The content of the catalogue cards is at present being transferred to a file in the University computer, employing a system designed for bibliographical references called FAMUL US. This makes it possible to print out the whole catalogue, to update it, to sort the contents in alphabetical, numerical or any other order, and to print out selections from it at very short notice. It is a very simple matter to obtain from the computer sub-catalogues with headings such as: - Spanish pronunciation materials - Tapes relevant to students doing 1st year French - Tapes relating to Moliere Special cross-referencing labels are stored in the computer for each tape. These make the compiling of such sub-catalogues a very easy matter. They would not normally be printed in the main catalogue. Meanwhile, users of the Language Laboratory still consult the card catalogue. With tapes
CLASSIFICATION
OF LANGUAGE
125
TAPES
arranged on the shelves in numerical order, borrowers need to use the catalogue in order to find the accession number of the tape they wish to listen to. As already indicated, the entries for each language are arranged according to the new classification scheme and there is a system of colour coding to distinguish the four main categories. The full heading of the appropriate sub-category appears on each catalogue card along with the classification number, as it was never intended that students should have to memorize a computer code in order to find a tape on a given topic. The sample catalogue card below will show the sort of information which was felt to be necessary:
27/101 COMPLETE
COURSES -
BEGINNERS
Ealing Spanish Course Part 1
SSM.109-120
Course for students with no previous knowledge of Spanish; dialogues in useful situations; gapped for repetition Tapes 109-116 Units l-18 117-l 19 DRILLS Pronunciation 120 Course continued Standard _
8
Notes:
1. 2.
exercises
in Ealing Spanish Course Part 2, which is Intermediate
Text Book Length 17-23 m Copies 2 of each
Under Text is recorded any book, leaflet or handout accompanying the tape. Copies 2 refers to the number of copies made from the master tape which are available for use by students in the Tape Library. Where there is not already c’ student copy, one can very soon be made upon request.
Some tapes will be referred to at more than one point in the catalogue. For instance, Schumann’s Lieder, settings of poems by Heine will appear at 04/202 (German poetry, under Heine) and 041401 (German songs, under Schumann). Likewise, a French reading passage followed by pronunciation exercises and comprehension questions will appear both at 07/107 (Pronunciation and phonetics) and 071109 (Comprehension). The holdings in some of the 33 languages are represented by only a few catalogue cards, mostly complete courses, but for each of the languages with tapes in categories other than Language Learning, there is, in addition to the classified cards, an alphabetical index of names as a guide to finding works by, or references to, authors, composers, historical figures, etc. These index cards do not attempt to list all the works by a particular author held on tape, but refer a student to the section of the catalogue where he will find full details of those works. The entries on the index cards merely read See: Drama or See: Anthologies of poetry etc. and this avoids unnecessary duplication of typing.
126
PENELOPE
HARTLEY
When a new tape is added to stock, the member of staff responsible for ordering it is asked to complete a form giving recording instructions for the Technician and cataloguing instructions for the Tape Librarian. It is, after all, the teaching staff who know how their tapes are going to be used and therefore they now do the job of classification by supplying the following information: 1. Language 2. Category (Language Learning, Literature, etc.) 3. Sub-category (Complete course, Drama, etc.) 4. Title 5. Author, composer (where relevant) 6. Description of contents, comments 7. Text (a note of any accompanying book or handout) 8. Approximate length (exact length is entered by technician) 9. Editing instructions (where applicable) 10. Source of recording 11. Number of student copies required Added by Recording Technician: 12. Accession number 13. Date of recording Added by Language Laboratory staff: 14. Other cross-referencing labels Once the master tape and any student copies have been made, the form is passed on to the Tape Librarian who uses it to type the relevant catalogue card or cards. The classification number is assigned, using the information given under items l-3 on the form. Once these forms have been dealt with, they are filed by accession number and act as a numerical register of all the tapes in the Language Laboratory, and a record of how they have been classified. The content of the cards will be transferred at regular intervals to the computer file to update the printed catalogue. The project of re-cataloguing Aberdeen University Language Laboratory’s tapes took one person 4-5 months. Each tape was dealt with in turn, allocated to one or more categories in the classification scheme and the relevant catalogue cards typed. For complete courses a single card was typed, not one for each individual tape in the series. Where the title of a tape or the reference to it in the original catalogue did not give an adequate indication of its contents, the tape had to be listened to. The staff of the various language departments in the University were consulted on many points and were very helpful with comments as to the use, merit and comprehensibility of recordings. Some of the older tapes with rather dated vocabulary were discarded. Thus all the existing tapes were classified and re-catalogued and subsequent additions to stock are now being dealt with by the cataloguing instructions form already mentioned. It is not claimed that the new classification scheme should be universally adopted, but it does meet the needs of Aberdeen University. Different language laboratories will have different, requirements: not all will have so many tapes to classify; not all will need headings such as ‘Old and Classical Language’ or ‘Instrumental and Orchestral Music’; not all will be intending to put their catalogues on computer. However, the classification scheme is basically very simple and, above all, it is adaptable: not all the headings need to be used and
127
CLASSIFlCATION OF LANGUAGE TAPES
new headings can be introduced to accommodate additions to stock. At a time when the majority of university language laboratories are expanding, more and more are having to consider seriously the problem of cataloguing their holdings. It is pointless having resources without the means to exploit them fully. It is most gratifying to record that, in the first year since the new catalogue was completed, students have appreciated being able to find useful material much more easily, and the use of language tapes that are not actually prescribed for course work has measurably increased.
REFERENCES Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules 1978, M. Gorman & P. W. Winkler (eds) 2nd edition, Library Association, London. (Section on Sound Recordings pp. 144-163). GILBERT, L. A. & Wright, J. 1971 Non-book NCET, London.
materials: their bibliographical control
RAY, J. B. & Jameson, A. 1967 ‘A classification and retrieval system for recorded foreign language tapes’ IRAL V, 4, 193-200. Library Asociation: Media Cataloguing Rules Committee cataloguing rules 2nd edition, CET, London.
1974 Non-book
materials:
WEIHS, J. R. et al. 1973 Non-book materials: the organisation of integrated collections Canadian Library Association, Ottawa.
128
CLASSIFICATION
100
(to ‘0’ Grade) (‘0’ to ‘H’ Grade or ‘A’ Level) COURSES - ADVANCED (‘H’ Grade and above) COURSES - USEFUL AT MORE THAN ONE LEVEL COURSES - UNIVERSITY PRESCRIBED COURSES
COMPLETE COMPLETE COMPLETE GRAMMAR PRONUNCIATION AND PHONETICS DICTATION EXERCISES COMPREHENSION DIALECTS AND VARIETIES CONVERSATION OLD AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGE SPECIALIST LANGUAGE EXAMS
LITERA TURE 201
202 203 204 205
DRAMA 201.1 DRAMA ANTHOLOGIES 201.2 RADIO PLAYS POETRY 202.1 POETRY ANTHOLOGIES PROSE 203.1 PROSE ANTHOLOGIES .EARLY LITERATURE BACKGROUND TO LITERATURE 205.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND
Each of the sub-categories is arranged alphabetically 300
TAPES
LANGUAGE LEARNING 101 COMPLETE COURSES - BEGINNERS 102 COMPLETE COURSES - INTERMEDIATE 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114
200
Appendix SCHEME FOR LANGUAGE
NON-LITERAR 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 399
(under individual authors) by author.
Y MATERIAL
THE ARTS CURRENT AFFAIRS AND POLITICS CUSTOMS, WAY OF LIFE EDUCATION GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL HISTORY HUMOUR INSTITUTIONS THE MEDIA PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SOCIAL ISSUES SPORTS AND RECREATIONS MISCELLANEOUS
(Post War)
(to 1945)
129
400
SONGS AND MUSIC 401
402 403 404
SONGS 401.1 ANTHOLOGIES
OF SONGS FOLK MUSIC INSTRUMENTAL AND ORCHESTRAL MUSIC OPERA, CHURCH AND CHORAL MUSIC
Each of these sub-categories is arranged alphabetically by singer or composer (except Anthologies of songs and Folk Music which are arranged by title).
Notes: 1.
The tapes in the COMPREHENSION section (109) comprise only those specifically designed as comprehension exercises with questions. However, it is pointed out to students that all the tapes in the literature and non-literary material sections and also many of the songs are useful listening material.
2.
OLD AND CLASSICAL LANGUAGE (112) and EARLY LITERATURE (204) are interrelated and cover the ancient form of a language such as Medieval French, Middle High German, Old English, Classical Hebrew, Ancient Greek, etc.
3.
BACKGROUND TO LITERATURE (205) covers literary criticism, talks by and interviews with authors and also general works on the history of literature.
4.
Performances of musical works are included in the section SONGS AND MUSIC, but talks about composers, interviews with singers and the like would be classified at 301 THE ARTS.