[Koha] Slash (/) following title

[Paul A]

At 09:54 AM 8/13/2015 +1200, clint.deckard wrote:
[snip]
>When I first came across the / and saw it in the OPAC I assumed it was an 
>error with my migration. However it was in the original records and that 
>lead me to explore its history and usage.
>The / might assist readability in a card catalogue but in the OPAC I 
>suspect it hinders, simply because it is 'jarring'. Cognitive dissonance 
>and such...

The slash is used (from what I'm told by qualified librarians) to separate 
the "title...subtitle...sometimes other odds and ends" from statements of 
"authorship, holding of copyright, illustrator, prefaces, introductions, etc"

As such, it represents textually the visual layout of the title page.

It is used increasingly[1] by LoC, BL, CaONL and many other national 
authorities.

If your users suffer from "cognitive dissonance and such" and find it 
"jarring", it's probably trivial for you to modify your OPAC layout. 
However, Koha *should* in its default format continue to follow what is 
done by the world's leading national authorities. Just my two cents...

[1] older records might not have the slash, just a comma. Updated records 
by national libraries use the slash in line with new records.

Best -- Paul


>Recently a librarian asked that it be removed.
>
>Interestingly, one service provider includes the / and another does not.
>
>Thanks again,
>Clint.
>
>
>James Weinheimer wrote:
>>On 12/08/2015 14.19, Owen Leonard wrote:
>>>It may be standard, and it may be correct as far as cataloging is
>>>concerned, but that doesn't mean it necessarily looks right to the
>>>general public using the catalog.
>>As happens so often, when you take something out of its "native habitat" 
>>it can look strange. In the older (obsolete?) ISBD display the slash and 
>>other punctuation are OK. E.g.
>>Transports : travel, pleasure, and imaginative geography, 1600-1830 / 
>>edited by Chloe Chard and Helen Langdon. - viii, 341 pages : 
>>illustrations ; 26 cm.
>>I never met anyone who was bothered by the punctuation or even noticed 
>>any of it.
>>But, when you "change the environment" you see:
>>Transports : travel, pleasure, and imaginative geography, 1600-1830 /
>>by Chard, Chloe; Langdon, Helen.
>>the hanging slash is a punch in the face, although probably nobody would 
>>really care about the : (colon) between the title-subtitle. But if the 
>>display was:
>>Transports :
>>travel, pleasure, and imaginative geography, 1600-1830 /
>>by Chard, Chloe; Langdon, Helen.
>>people would notice the hanging : and think that was weird too.
>>The Belgian painter Rene Magritte was really good at taking normal, 
>>everyday things and putting them in strange situations, so that they 
>>become weird.
>>http://www.mattesonart.com/Data/Sites/1/magritte/Hegel's%20Holiday.jpg
>>or
>>http://www.renemagritte.org/images/paintings/personal-values.jpg
>>The punctuation is similar. When not in an ISBD display, it should 
>>probably be removed.
>>James Weinheimer weinheimer.jim.l at gmail.com First Thus 
>>http://blog.jweinheimer.net First Thus Facebook Page 
>>https://www.facebook.com/FirstThus Cooperative Cataloging Rules 
>>http://sites.google.com/site/opencatalogingrules/ Cataloging Matters 
>>Podcasts http://blog.jweinheimer.net/cataloging-matters-podcasts [delay 
>>+30 days]
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