Controlled Vocabulary rules

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Goal

Following the example of the STCN, the bibliographical descriptions in STCV receive keywords for content and form. An exhaustive list was drawn up by STCN, which was almost entirely taken over by STCV. Each keyword received a code consisting of 1 letter and 3 digits. For specific details, see the list of subject headings.

Source

The list of content keywords is based on the 'Nederlandse Basisclassificatie'. This explains why a few terms in the list may seem anachronistic.

The purpose of the keywords is not to give all the nuances of a bibliographical description, but to provide a general idea about the overall content and formal characteristics of the works described.

In general, the view from which a work was written is less important than the actual contents of the work. In the list below, a number of content keywords are explained in more detail. A concise list of subject headings is included in the Reference section.

SUBJECT HEADINGS

General works (d001)

• Collected works on a diverse range of topics, even if from the same author, as well as general collections of letters, receive the code d001 for general works.
• Collections of letters on one subject do not receive this code, but receive the code of the subject they treat.

Book studies and library science, writing (d004)

This code is also added to book auction catalogues and printer/publisher's lists or catalogues.

Christian practice (d012)

This category is only added to works strictly concerning what the church does with the doctrine, both organisational (church government/council, ecclesiastical offices, canon law) as regards to content (liturgy, sermons, catechisms). In other words, a prayer book falls under the category d011 for Christian doctrine, unless it is clear that it was used during church services. Then it will (also) receive the code d012.

History (d014-d030)

• Historical works such as Tacitus or for example the Rijmkroniek [chronicle in rhyme] by Melis Stoke, fall under history and not under linguistics and literature (code d031-d043).
• Poems, sermons, speeches, etc. about historical events also receive a code for history (as specific as possible).
• Wedding songs, laudatory poems for a promotion, eulogies and similar occasional writings are also categorised under history (as specific as possible). They do not receive a code for linguistics and literature. They do, however, also receive the code d909 for occasional writings, and, if relevant, also for poetry (d917).
• Poems in praise of monarchs and other public dignitaries also fall under history and not linguistic and literature. They also receive the code d922 for period documents.

History in general (d014)

Numismatics, genealogy and heraldry also fall under this category.

History: the Netherlands (d017)

The lands or regions in the keywords for history and for linguistics and literature reflect the current national states and regions. So the term 'the Netherlands' only indicates the territory of the present Netherlands.

Linguistics and Literature (d031-d043)

• This category rules out other classifications. If, for example, one adds the keyword d035 (Dutch), then the more general keywords d031 (general linguistics and literature) and d032 (linguistics and literature in general) are excluded.
• Historical works receive a code for history but not for linguistics and literature, even though the considered work might be fully in verse. In that case, the work does receive the code for poetry (d917).
• Wedding songs, laudatory poems for a promotion, eulogies and similar occasional writings are categorised under history and not under linguistics and literature. The same holds true for poems in praise of monarchs and other public dignitaries.

Veterinary medicine (d056)

Works concerning animal husbandry fall under d057 (agricultural science). When, for example, the aspect of animal care dominates, the work receives the keyword d056 (veterinary medicine).

Agricultural science (d057)

• Works concerning horticulture and the growing of fruit and vegetables receive this code d057 for agricultural science. Gardening in the sense of landscape architecture receives the code d045 for particular arts.
• Tips for the small scale, private kitchen/vegetable garden fall under d058 for home economics.

Education (d072)

Elementary school/text books, abc's, arithmetic books, Latin grammars and similar works, receive the code d072 for education.

Law (d075)

• Official publications of court orders receive the code d075 as well as the document type code d922 for period documents.
• Notarial deeds also receive the code d075 for law.

Public administration (d076)

• Government publications concerning treaties and the issuing of rules, receive the code d076.
• Diplomatic acts, letters, rapports and similar items, however, fall under a history category (d014-d030).

DOCUMENT TYPES

When adding keywords for document types, only the body of the work matters. Therefore, poems that appear in the preliminaries, do not mean that the code d917 for poetry will be added. On the other hand, quality is of no concern: even books of poetry of dubious quality will receive the code d917.

Almanacs and prognostications (d902)

Not every work that has 'almanac' in the title is automatically an almanac in the strict sense of the word. Nevertheless, all works claiming to be an almanac receive this code. Only the true almanacs, which appear annually, also receive the additional code d001 (general works). The 'feigned' almanacs are further categorised according to their actual contents.

Biographies (d904)

If the document type biography (d904) is used, then it is always combined with a content keyword d014-d030 (history of the specific country/region). For example, a seventeenth century biography of the saint Jan Berchmans will, besides d010 (church history and dogmatic history), also receive the codes d904 (biographies) and d018 (history: Belgium and Luxembourg).

Emblem books (d907)

All emblem books also receive the content keyword for plastic arts (d045) and the document type for poetry (d917).

Prayer books (d908)

Publications consisting almost entirely of prayers receive the code d908 for prayer books. This also holds true even when the publication is only a few pages long.

Song books (d912)

The code d912 for song books is only added to a work when the songs found in that work also contain tune indications. If a tune indication is absent, then this keyword is not used, with the exception of psalms. In other words, psalms and psalm adaptations always receive the keyword for song books.

Music books (d914)

This concerns music publications meant for use in performing music. These works always contain notes and often also text. They may be secular or religious and are typically motets, masses, litanies, madrigals, chorals, ... Secular popular song books and liturgical works without notation are not included here.

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Government publications (d915)

This concerns texts issued by a secular or religious authority meant to inform the general public of a new law or rule. Collected law texts meant for study are thus not considered to belong in this category. Most often, we find issues from a central government, from the states or from the cities and towns.

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Books of plates (d916)

Works published because of their illustrations, receive the code d916. This is not true for atlases: they receive the code d903.

Poetry (d917)

• The document type keyword for poetry ('everything in verse') is added when a substantial part of the publication was written in verse, regardless of whether it rhymes or not. This is not an indication of genre. The text itself need not be presented as a literary form (poem, song, etc.). For example, Den crvys-wech Christ. [...] Elcke plaetse met eene meditatie, ende een deuoot ghebedt, a seventeenth century prayer book containing numerous prayers set in verse, will receive the keywords d011 (Christian doctrine), d908 (prayer book) and d917 (poetry).
• Emblem books always receive, beside the content keyword d045 (particular arts: plastic arts), the document type keyword d917 (poetry).
• Plays set in verse receive the code d917 as well as the content keyword d046 (performing arts and music).

Period documents (d922)

• Official publications of judicial decrees, court orders, descriptions of crimes, trials and executions always receive the code d922 for period documents.
• Petitions to a government accompanied by a reaction from the government receive, on the one hand, the keywords for the petition (e.g. d018 for history of Belgium and Luxembourg and d922 for period documents) and on the other the keyword for government publication.
• Occasional writings and eulogies concerning prominent public figures are treated as period documents.

TYPOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Goal

With the help of typographical characteristics, a general picture is sketched of the techniques and outward elements used during printing. The aim is to name the different (typo)graphical elements in the description, so a user can effortlessly trace the presence of an engraved title page, the use of italics in the text or printer's devices in publications. For an overview of all elements, check the list of typographical characteristics.

General Remarks

The list of typographical characteristics is based on that of the STCN, including the mix of strictly formal, graphic categories and elements concerning content.

Besides strictly formal elements indicating the presence of illustrations, printer's devices, typefaces and the use of colour in typography, the list also contains content elements: does the work contains book lists, is the price mentioned and is there a list of subscribers?

In the list of formal characteristics, too, there are aspects of content: a distinction is made between illustrations in the prelims and the body matter, within and outside of collation. Clear boundaries between what falls within the prelims or what falls within or outside of collation cannot be defined by watertight rules.

To the exhaustive list of characteristics, STCV added a few more subcategories indicating the presence of coats of arms, author's portraits and maps within the prelims or elsewhere, within or outside of collation. There is also a code for the use of multiple colours elsewhere in the work.

In the prelims, within collation and outside collation

It is not always clear where precisely the prelims end. In first instance, purely formal elements, such as the signing, are considered. The prelims are often unsigned or signed differently, which is reflected in the collation formula. Sometimes, a gathering at the beginning of a work is signed double. The change in signature then is usually connected with the transition from prelims to body matter. Illustrations before that transition are then considered as belonging to the prelims, illustrations after the transition are considered as belonging to the body matter. Only two types of engravings are considered as belonging within the collation, even if they are added on separate leaves: the engraved title page and the frontispiece (an illustration characteristic of the entire work without an imprint or a title).

Illustrations on the title page/in the prelims (t010-t013)

• By illustration, for example on the title page, we mean an image that is not used arbitrarily. A generic ornament (e.g. a bouquet of flowers) to embellish the title page is not considered an illustration. However, a commonly used image that represent an aspect of the work (e.g. a stylistic reproduction of a stage-coach for a travel story), is considered an illustration. A vignette, which should not be confused with the printer's device, is not considered an illustration when it is merely used as an ornament and there is not reference to the contents of the work.
• All illustrations on the typographical title page, the engraved title page and the printed cover, receive the code t010. So, too, any illustration characteristic of the work as a whole (like a frontispiece), a coat of arms, a map or a portrait of the author belonging to the prelims or added to it, receives the code t010, t011, t012 or t013. It happens regularly that these last categories of illustrations are added to the prelims on separate leaves and are therefore not always visible in the collation formula. This does not prevent, however, the addition of the codes t010, t011, t012 or t013.

Illustrations outside of the prelims (t020-t033)

For illustrations not belonging to the prelims, a distinction is made between illustrations within collation and illustrations outside of collation. Unless it concerns clearly defined categories of sequential series of images corresponding to clearly defined passages, all illustrations on unsigned, added leaves are barred from the collation.

Book lists of printers and booksellers (t050-t060)

• When a work contains a book list from the printer or the bookseller, the code t050 respectively t060 is added. This is also true when the entire work is a list from the printer or bookseller, as in for example auction catalogues. They also receive these codes.
• A printer's book list may be perceived as a publisher's catalogue. He has printed the books or owns the copyright of these books and offers them for sale in large quantities.
• A bookseller's book list may be perceived as a stock list. The copies from this list are for sale in a specific book shop.

Book list: other (t070)

These 'other' could be, for example, advertisements, such as book announcements in a text and bibliographical reference works.

Printer's device (t080)

• Printer's devices on the title page, at the back or elsewhere in the work receive the code t080. As there is no overview yet of all printer's devices in the Southern Netherlands, it may not always be immediately clear whether an image on the title page should be considered a printer's device or not. When in doubt, this code is still added. Such doubt may be expressed in the cataloguing remarks.
• The location of printer's devices in a less obvious place, is explained in a general note.
• Vignettes of specific organisations and groups (e.g. IHS for the Jesuits), or vignettes of a merely embellishing nature, do not receive the code t080.

Typefaces (t090-t190)

• A code for a specific typeface is only added when the majority of the text is set in that typeface. An exception to this rule is made for the code t115 for the financière typeface, the code t120 for the civilité typeface and the code t170 for music notation. In these cases, the mere presence is enough.
• When a substantial part of the work is set in Roman and another clearly defined part in italic (e.g. a Latin text on the one hand and its translation on the other, one text one way and the commentary another way, one part in prose and another in verse, etc.) then both keywords are added. This also holds true for other combinations of typefaces.
• When an entire work is set in Gothic typeface and the title page contains a few words in Roman, the overall aim of the work is considered and only the keyword for the Gothic typeface is added. This is also true for similar cases.
• When an entire work is set in Gothic typeface but the privilege, for example, is set in Roman, then only the keyword for Gothic typeface is added. The privilege cannot be counted as part of the actual intended texts: the work was not produced for the privilege but for the actual text. The fact that the privilege is set in Roman typeface is therefore neglected. This is also true for similar cases.

Engraved title page (t200)

By an engraved title page, we mean a page that has been engraved in its entirety. An engraved title page contains, at the least, a title or an imprint. When both elements are lacking, we could only, potentially, speak of a frontispice. An engraved title page is usually composed of engraved text and figurative elements. In that case, both the codes t200 and t010 (for illustrations on the title page) are added, potentially also the code t011 (for a coat of arms), the code t012 (for an author's portrait) or the code t013 (for a map). In rare cases, the engraved title page only consists of engraved text. Then, only the code t200 is added.

Typographical title page (t210)

When a title page contains typography, we speak of a typographical title page, even if the majority of the space on the page is taken up by an engraving or a woodcut. When the typographical title page, besides typographical text, also contains engraved text or an illustration (engraving or woodcut), then the codes t010 (illustrations), t011 (coat of arms), t012 (author's portrait) or t013 (map) are also added.

No title page (t220)

The code t220 is added in two cases.

• When a work is published without a title page, then the code t220 has permanent status. This also includes double-sided single-sheet prints.
• When in the copies of a described work, the title page is lacking but there had probably been one, then the code t220 is added up until the moment a copy with its title page is found.

Single-page print (broadside) (t221)

Single-sheet prints (one-sided single-sheet prints) receive the descriptor t221. Double-sided single-sheet prints, however, receive the descriptor t220 (no title page).

Title page in multiple colours (t230)

When multiple colours (usually red and black) are used on the title page, the code t230 is added. However, when an entire title page is printed in red, this is not done. In that case, this may be mentioned in a general note. The use of multiple colours elsewhere in the work is indicated by the code t231.

Use of multiple colours elsewhere in the work (t231)

• When multiple colours (usually red and black) are used in more or less large parts of the work (e.g. in an extensive index, at the beginning of each chapter) in a systematic manner, then the code t231 is added. This code can be combined with the code t230 for title pages in multiple colours.
• Colouring by hand never results in the adding of the codes t230 or t231: the codes are reserved for printed colours. Hand-coloured copies can be indicated in the copy-specific information.

PARATEXTS

Legal paratext (p010)

Some publications contain a paratext signed by a worldly or religious authority stating that they approve of the work and allow it to be published. We call these legal paratext. They may be titled 'approbation', 'privilege', 'censura', ...

Literary paratext (p020)

In the prelims of some publications, we find poems addressed to the author or in praise of the work or the subject, or similar literary items. We call these "'literary paratext"'.

Dedication (p030)

Many works contain a dedication. We only add the keyword dedication if it is addressed to a natural person or a specific group (e.g. aldermen of Antwerp). The keyword is not used for general and vague dedications (e.g. to the patriots, to the Belgians, to the reader, etc.).

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