Precisely: there is no right or wrong as such, but rather an attempt to
predict how users will be looking for a term.
Both AACR2 "commonest form" and NCA "last element" rules are simple and
clear to follow - the question is which best reflects how users work.
But users are actually a very diverse group, and thanks to the internet
may arrive in the deep content of a site without having seen, let alone
read, any preliminary guidance on the data structure of the domain.
So instead of worrying too much about rules, we should be making sure we
create datasets which include USE / USE FOR variants, which should find
the data regardless of the user's preference.
--
Martin Locock
Project Manager, Archives Network Wales
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01970 632800 x 885 or 01970 632546
www.archivesnetworkwales.info
www.rhwydwaitharchifaucymru.info
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3BU
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