The Canon of Recall
Value, devised by Dr. S.R. Ranganathan in 1969, is a result of research
conducted at DRTC, Bangalore. It aims to address the challenges of identifying
and recalling multiworded names of entities in library catalogs. Here's a
breakdown of the key concepts related to Recall Value:
What is Recall Value?
Recall Value refers to the relative ease with which a word or group of words can be remembered by the majority of readers when encountering a multiworded name of an entity in a catalog entry. In essence, it assesses how well readers can recall and identify specific terms within a multiworded entity name.
Definition of the Canon of Recall Value:
The Canon of Recall Value prescribes that in the multiworded name of:
- a person,
- a government,
- a near sovereign body,
- a quasi-government entity,
- an institution,
- a conference,
- an organ of government, institutions, or conferences,
and in the multiworded title of a document (other than periodical publications), the entry element should consist of the word or word group with the highest recall value.
Need for the Canon of Recall Value:
Several factors necessitate the implementation of this canon:
1. Increase in Corporate Bodies: The growth of interdisciplinary research and development activities has led to the formation of numerous corporate bodies involved in education, research, and specialized fields. These bodies often have similar or near-homonymous names.
2. Near Homonymous Names: Due to the rise in the number of institutions and corporate bodies, many entities have names that are similar or nearly identical, particularly in fields like international relations.
3. Multiworded Names: Corporate bodies are increasingly adopting multiworded names, making it more challenging to recall and identify specific entities.
4. Alternative Names: Entities may have alternative names, abbreviated names, or variations in citation formats, further complicating recall.
5. Limitation of Reader's Memory: Given the variety of institutions and permutations of terms, it becomes practically impossible for even specialists to remember these names accurately.
The Canon of Recall Value helps address these challenges by guiding cataloguers to choose the most memorable and recognizable word or word group from multiword entity names, enhancing the accessibility and usability of library catalogs.
The application of the Canon of Recall Value, as outlined in your description, provides specific guidelines for selecting the entry elements in cataloging different types of entities. Here's a breakdown of how the canon is applied to various categories:
(1) Whole Government:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating the name of the territory or area of jurisdiction (e.g., country or state).
- There is no secondary element.
Example:
- Entry Element: INDIA for Government of India
- Secondary Element: None
(2) Whole Near Sovereign Body:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating a subject and the name of the body as a whole.
- The secondary element consists of the rest of the words with the use of a dash.
Example:
- Entry Element: UNITED NATION (-s Organization)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
(3) Whole Quasi Government:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating the territory or area of jurisdiction (e.g., district, taluk, municipality).
- There is no secondary element.
Example:
- Entry Element: MYSORE (District) for District Board of Mysore
- Secondary Element: None
(4) Whole Institution:
- The entry element can be one of the following:
1. Word or word group indicating a subject within the institution's purview.
2. Word or word group indicating a class of persons or a category of corporate bodies within the institution's purview.
3. Word or word group indicating the nature of research.
4. Word or word group indicating the sphere of work.
5. Fanciful word such as a name of a person.
- The secondary element consists of the rest of the words.
Example:
- Entry Element: LABORATORY (Regional Research -)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
(5) Whole Conference:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating a subject within the conference's purview and the word or word group indicating classes of persons within the conference's purview.
- The secondary element consists of the rest of the words with the use of a dash.
Example:
- Entry Element: SPECTROSCOPY (International – Colloquium)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
(6) Organs of the Above:
- Entries for organs of government, near sovereign bodies, quasi-government entities, institutions, and conferences follow specific naming conventions.
(7) Title as Heading:
- General biographical works and encyclopedias are entered under the title.
- The entry element is determined based on specific criteria:
1. Word or word group indicating a subject within the document's purview.
2. Word or word group indicating a class of persons within the document's purview.
3. Fanciful word or word group.
4. Title as a whole.
- The secondary element consists of the remaining words with the use of a dash.
Example:
- Entry Element: SOCIAL SCIENCES (Encyclopedia of -)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
These guidelines ensure consistency in cataloging practices and help users recall and identify entries in library catalogs more effectively.
The relationship between the Canon of Recall Value and other canons in library cataloging is essential for ensuring a systematic and efficient cataloging process. Here's how the Canon of Recall Value relates to some other canons mentioned:
(1) Canon of Ascertainability:
- Recall Value focuses on selecting the entry element with the highest recall value.
- Ascertainability requests the publishing world to emphasize the entry word or name of the author in deeper impression.
- They are related as Recall Value relies on the term used on the title page or overflow pages, and Ascertainability aims to make those terms more accessible.
(2) Canon of Prepotence:
- Both canons deal with the importance of the entry element in cataloging.
- Recall Value selects the entry element with the highest potency for use in the heading.
- Prepotence determines the leading section of entries, ensuring minimum potency is allowed to overflow.
- While they seem similar, Recall Value focuses on the entry element itself, while Prepotence deals with the arrangement of entries.
(3) Canon of Individualization:
- Recall Value applies to names of persons and corporate bodies with multiworded names.
- Individualization resolves homonyms and is applicable to various types of headings, including persons, geographic entities, corporate bodies, series, documents, subjects, and languages.
- Recall Value focuses on multiworded entries, while Individualization addresses homonyms in a broader context.
(4) Canon of Context:
- Context emphasizes the need to adapt cataloging rules over time due to changes in book production, library organization, and service quality.
- Recall Value emerged as a response to the changing practice and the multiplicity of learned bodies.
- Both canons recognize the evolving nature of cataloging practices and adaptability to new circumstances.
(5) Canon of Sought Heading:
- Sought Heading, Prepotence, and Recall Value share a close relationship.
- All three canons aim to serve the readers' approaches and make catalog navigation efficient.
- Sought Heading ensures that all sought approaches of readers are addressed in the catalog.
- Prepotence and Recall Value deal with the arrangement and selection of entry elements.
- Together, these canons help create a catalog that aligns with readers' needs and preferences.
these canons work in harmony to provide guidelines for cataloging that serve the interests of both catalogers and library users, making the cataloging process effective and user-friendly.
These four principles of cataloging in library science, as recognized by CCC (Colon Classification Cataloguing) and outlined here, play a fundamental role in guiding cataloging practices:
(1) Principle of Local Variation:
- This principle recognizes the need for local considerations in cataloging practices.
- It acknowledges the diversity in publications across various languages and cultures.
- Local cataloging codes should provide instructions for addressing specific linguistic, stylistic, or other local variations.
- For example, rules regarding transliteration, rendering of personal names, handling single-word surnames, cataloging of ephemeral materials, selective cataloging, and more can be tailored to local needs.
- It emphasizes that while international cataloging standards exist, they should accommodate local variations and styles.
(2) Principle of Osmosis:
- This principle advocates a pragmatic approach to implementing changes in cataloging codes or classification schemes.
- It recognizes that making immediate, extensive changes to the entire catalog can be costly and disruptive.
- Osmosis suggests a gradual and practical approach to adaptation.
- New accessions are cataloged and classified using the updated standards.
- For existing collections, a phased approach is recommended, where only materials in high demand are reclassified and recataloged initially.
- The older materials are retained separately but can be accessed alongside the new materials.
- Over time, as books from the old collection are borrowed, they are recataloged and integrated with the new collection.
(3) Principle of Unity of Idea:
- This principle emphasizes the need for clarity and consistency in cataloging rules.
- It suggests that each rule within a cataloging code should focus on a single aspect of cataloging.
- The elements addressed include the definition of cataloging terms, their interpretation in different contexts, the choice of information for an entry, how that information is rendered, and the style used for recording it.
- By ensuring that each rule has a unified purpose, the cataloging code becomes more comprehensible and easier to apply.
(4) Principle of Probability:
- Introduced by Dr. S.R. Ranganathan in 1969, this principle deals with increasing the probability of satisfying the Canon of Prepotence.
- It suggests that using a word belonging to the more numerous group of entries as the entry element increases the likelihood of meeting the Canon of Prepotence.
- In cataloging, the Canon of Prepotence relates to the selection of the most appropriate entry element when multiple options exist.
- By choosing the entry element associated with the larger group of entries, the cataloger aims to satisfy the principle of probability, making it more likely that users will find the desired information.
These principles provide a framework for effective and practical cataloging practices, ensuring that catalogers can adapt to local needs, implement changes gradually, maintain clarity in cataloging rules, and increase the likelihood of satisfying cataloging canons such as the Canon of Prepotence.
What is Recall Value?
Recall Value refers to the relative ease with which a word or group of words can be remembered by the majority of readers when encountering a multiworded name of an entity in a catalog entry. In essence, it assesses how well readers can recall and identify specific terms within a multiworded entity name.
Definition of the Canon of Recall Value:
The Canon of Recall Value prescribes that in the multiworded name of:
- a person,
- a government,
- a near sovereign body,
- a quasi-government entity,
- an institution,
- a conference,
- an organ of government, institutions, or conferences,
and in the multiworded title of a document (other than periodical publications), the entry element should consist of the word or word group with the highest recall value.
Need for the Canon of Recall Value:
Several factors necessitate the implementation of this canon:
1. Increase in Corporate Bodies: The growth of interdisciplinary research and development activities has led to the formation of numerous corporate bodies involved in education, research, and specialized fields. These bodies often have similar or near-homonymous names.
2. Near Homonymous Names: Due to the rise in the number of institutions and corporate bodies, many entities have names that are similar or nearly identical, particularly in fields like international relations.
3. Multiworded Names: Corporate bodies are increasingly adopting multiworded names, making it more challenging to recall and identify specific entities.
4. Alternative Names: Entities may have alternative names, abbreviated names, or variations in citation formats, further complicating recall.
5. Limitation of Reader's Memory: Given the variety of institutions and permutations of terms, it becomes practically impossible for even specialists to remember these names accurately.
The Canon of Recall Value helps address these challenges by guiding cataloguers to choose the most memorable and recognizable word or word group from multiword entity names, enhancing the accessibility and usability of library catalogs.
The application of the Canon of Recall Value, as outlined in your description, provides specific guidelines for selecting the entry elements in cataloging different types of entities. Here's a breakdown of how the canon is applied to various categories:
(1) Whole Government:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating the name of the territory or area of jurisdiction (e.g., country or state).
- There is no secondary element.
Example:
- Entry Element: INDIA for Government of India
- Secondary Element: None
(2) Whole Near Sovereign Body:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating a subject and the name of the body as a whole.
- The secondary element consists of the rest of the words with the use of a dash.
Example:
- Entry Element: UNITED NATION (-s Organization)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
(3) Whole Quasi Government:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating the territory or area of jurisdiction (e.g., district, taluk, municipality).
- There is no secondary element.
Example:
- Entry Element: MYSORE (District) for District Board of Mysore
- Secondary Element: None
(4) Whole Institution:
- The entry element can be one of the following:
1. Word or word group indicating a subject within the institution's purview.
2. Word or word group indicating a class of persons or a category of corporate bodies within the institution's purview.
3. Word or word group indicating the nature of research.
4. Word or word group indicating the sphere of work.
5. Fanciful word such as a name of a person.
- The secondary element consists of the rest of the words.
Example:
- Entry Element: LABORATORY (Regional Research -)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
(5) Whole Conference:
- The entry element is the word or word group indicating a subject within the conference's purview and the word or word group indicating classes of persons within the conference's purview.
- The secondary element consists of the rest of the words with the use of a dash.
Example:
- Entry Element: SPECTROSCOPY (International – Colloquium)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
(6) Organs of the Above:
- Entries for organs of government, near sovereign bodies, quasi-government entities, institutions, and conferences follow specific naming conventions.
(7) Title as Heading:
- General biographical works and encyclopedias are entered under the title.
- The entry element is determined based on specific criteria:
1. Word or word group indicating a subject within the document's purview.
2. Word or word group indicating a class of persons within the document's purview.
3. Fanciful word or word group.
4. Title as a whole.
- The secondary element consists of the remaining words with the use of a dash.
Example:
- Entry Element: SOCIAL SCIENCES (Encyclopedia of -)
- Secondary Element: Rest of the words
These guidelines ensure consistency in cataloging practices and help users recall and identify entries in library catalogs more effectively.
The relationship between the Canon of Recall Value and other canons in library cataloging is essential for ensuring a systematic and efficient cataloging process. Here's how the Canon of Recall Value relates to some other canons mentioned:
(1) Canon of Ascertainability:
- Recall Value focuses on selecting the entry element with the highest recall value.
- Ascertainability requests the publishing world to emphasize the entry word or name of the author in deeper impression.
- They are related as Recall Value relies on the term used on the title page or overflow pages, and Ascertainability aims to make those terms more accessible.
(2) Canon of Prepotence:
- Both canons deal with the importance of the entry element in cataloging.
- Recall Value selects the entry element with the highest potency for use in the heading.
- Prepotence determines the leading section of entries, ensuring minimum potency is allowed to overflow.
- While they seem similar, Recall Value focuses on the entry element itself, while Prepotence deals with the arrangement of entries.
(3) Canon of Individualization:
- Recall Value applies to names of persons and corporate bodies with multiworded names.
- Individualization resolves homonyms and is applicable to various types of headings, including persons, geographic entities, corporate bodies, series, documents, subjects, and languages.
- Recall Value focuses on multiworded entries, while Individualization addresses homonyms in a broader context.
(4) Canon of Context:
- Context emphasizes the need to adapt cataloging rules over time due to changes in book production, library organization, and service quality.
- Recall Value emerged as a response to the changing practice and the multiplicity of learned bodies.
- Both canons recognize the evolving nature of cataloging practices and adaptability to new circumstances.
(5) Canon of Sought Heading:
- Sought Heading, Prepotence, and Recall Value share a close relationship.
- All three canons aim to serve the readers' approaches and make catalog navigation efficient.
- Sought Heading ensures that all sought approaches of readers are addressed in the catalog.
- Prepotence and Recall Value deal with the arrangement and selection of entry elements.
- Together, these canons help create a catalog that aligns with readers' needs and preferences.
these canons work in harmony to provide guidelines for cataloging that serve the interests of both catalogers and library users, making the cataloging process effective and user-friendly.
These four principles of cataloging in library science, as recognized by CCC (Colon Classification Cataloguing) and outlined here, play a fundamental role in guiding cataloging practices:
(1) Principle of Local Variation:
- This principle recognizes the need for local considerations in cataloging practices.
- It acknowledges the diversity in publications across various languages and cultures.
- Local cataloging codes should provide instructions for addressing specific linguistic, stylistic, or other local variations.
- For example, rules regarding transliteration, rendering of personal names, handling single-word surnames, cataloging of ephemeral materials, selective cataloging, and more can be tailored to local needs.
- It emphasizes that while international cataloging standards exist, they should accommodate local variations and styles.
(2) Principle of Osmosis:
- This principle advocates a pragmatic approach to implementing changes in cataloging codes or classification schemes.
- It recognizes that making immediate, extensive changes to the entire catalog can be costly and disruptive.
- Osmosis suggests a gradual and practical approach to adaptation.
- New accessions are cataloged and classified using the updated standards.
- For existing collections, a phased approach is recommended, where only materials in high demand are reclassified and recataloged initially.
- The older materials are retained separately but can be accessed alongside the new materials.
- Over time, as books from the old collection are borrowed, they are recataloged and integrated with the new collection.
(3) Principle of Unity of Idea:
- This principle emphasizes the need for clarity and consistency in cataloging rules.
- It suggests that each rule within a cataloging code should focus on a single aspect of cataloging.
- The elements addressed include the definition of cataloging terms, their interpretation in different contexts, the choice of information for an entry, how that information is rendered, and the style used for recording it.
- By ensuring that each rule has a unified purpose, the cataloging code becomes more comprehensible and easier to apply.
(4) Principle of Probability:
- Introduced by Dr. S.R. Ranganathan in 1969, this principle deals with increasing the probability of satisfying the Canon of Prepotence.
- It suggests that using a word belonging to the more numerous group of entries as the entry element increases the likelihood of meeting the Canon of Prepotence.
- In cataloging, the Canon of Prepotence relates to the selection of the most appropriate entry element when multiple options exist.
- By choosing the entry element associated with the larger group of entries, the cataloger aims to satisfy the principle of probability, making it more likely that users will find the desired information.
These principles provide a framework for effective and practical cataloging practices, ensuring that catalogers can adapt to local needs, implement changes gradually, maintain clarity in cataloging rules, and increase the likelihood of satisfying cataloging canons such as the Canon of Prepotence.
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