[Koha] Is there a language field in mysql tables?

[Steven F. Baljkas]

Tuesday, January 25, 2005   00:45 CST

Hi, Rachel,

Just wanted to add that having the language field would probably be useful for more libraries than not.

Albert C. responded to the listserv noting the MARC21 field 041 where language info can be coded (the predominant language of the material in hand should be coded in the 008 fixed field, positions 35-37 inclusive, and this is often considered sufficient coding if the work in question is monolingual).

If I understood Zhang's message correctly, though ("I don't need the MARC info too"), that was less of an issue than having the info in the core SQL tables (right?). That distinction brings to mind the question of whether Koha is running off of the MARC records it imports or the tables it populates, stuff which makes cataloguing staff worry. 

Another notendum: books can be in more than one language. This is fairly common in Canada, where federal and many provincial documents are flip-flop bilingual editions. A more scholarly example, brought to mind by Brooke's regular Latin salutation, is the entire Loeb classical library (Latin or Greek on left page, English translation on right). 

Whatever the example, MARC coding allows for multiple languages being noted in the 041 but what does Koha do with that data?

Just seeking a little clarification on this,

Amitiés, yours,
confused (as usual),
Steven F. Baljkas
library tech at large
Koha neophyte
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

> From: Rachel Hamilton-Williams <rachel at katipo.co.nz>
> Date: 2005/01/24 Mon PM 05:18:07 CST
> To: Zhang Chunxiao <tzhcx at hotmail.com>
> CC: koha at lists.katipo.co.nz
> Subject: Re: [Koha] Is there a language field in mysql tables?
> 
> Hi Zhang
> 
> 
> > Sorry.I mean that if there is a language field which stores the language 
> > of books,not the language of the Koha interface.
> 
> We did put one in for UNIDO - they have books in different languages and
> wanted people to be able to search on that basis - however that was a
> modified 1.9 I think, and I don't think that field is in the new version.
> 
> We are doing an upgrade for UNIDO at the moment, and I'm assuming that's
> one of the things we'll be changing, so would you like that added to the
> general release, and I'm assuming you would just choose the UNIDO
> templates to access it?
> 
> It will be a few weeks away, but hopefully not more than that.
> 
> Cheers
> Rachel
> 
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