The big argument on AUTOCAT today was over the subject heading "Gay parents" vs. "Same-sex parents." There was some confusion over whether or not one authority record should have been cancelled in favor of the other (basically, "don't these mean the same thing?") or whether "Same-sex parents" should at least have a "broader topic" reference in the authority record for "Gay parents." I think it all came down to, "they are not necessarily redundant," with lots of references to films and sitcoms in which children have parent figures who are not gay but who are the same sex as one of their "actual" parents (a biological parent, or a guardian).
It kind of began to feel like a Friday thing (odd tangents, jokes, and other things that aren't really work-related are generally restricted to Fridays on AUTOCAT, although sometimes Friday starts a few days early), but similar discussions have happened in the past over other subject headings. Most often the subject headings causing confusion are religious or legal ones, where it is sometimes difficult for those without a lot of knowledge about the topics to understand how they should be applied.
So which are we going to use? Which do we have now? The Rest of the Story please.
ReplyDeleteBoth are subject headings with "Parents" as a broader term. If I understand it correctly, "Gay parents" should be used for parents who are gay, and "Same-sex parents" should be used for parents who are of the same sex but aren't necessarily gay. In practice, though, it sounds like catalogers tend to use "Same-sex parents" to mean "Gay and lesbian parents," even though it might be more correct to use two separate subject headings, "Gay parents" and "Lesbian parents."
ReplyDeleteRiveting stuff, eh?
Good grief.
ReplyDeleteBTW like the blog design except that the light print on the darker background is a bit harder for my old eyes to read.
No kidding.
ReplyDeleteAnd, ooh, an excuse to edit my template. Does that mean darker text on a lighter background would be better?
Yes, although I am not sure how that will work with the graphic you have.
ReplyDeleteThat's assuming I'll stick with the same picture and template setup. I think I might just completely change the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteAt least Amanda comment on design...no one else noticed or comment on the staff blog...I'm back to wanting to ditch it.
ReplyDeleteWrite a post on the staff blog about its new design, maybe. Or you could just say that, since there are no comments that means it's at least not bad.
ReplyDelete