A summary of the treatment of bibliographic relationships in cataloging rules

Abstract

History has shown no rationale and little consistency in how we relate bibliographic entities. An analytical study was conducted to examine the cataloging rules through the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2d ed., to reveal practices for indicating bibliographic relationships in catalog records, and to identify types of relationships. Each type of bibliographic relationship has had several linking devices used to connect bibliographic entities. The technology available to create and maintain a catalog has greatly influenced the types of linking devices included in the catalog and prescribed in cataloging rules.