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Strategies for Retrieving Translations through WebVoyage
Revised December 2005 About these strategiesNo single strategy for retrieving translations is perfect. We have numbered the strategies in this document according to our opinion of the balance between the likelihood of their success and the effort they will require. If the first search you try fails, try another. Strategy #1Search for the author of the original work. (This information will usually be in the 100 field of the MARC bibliographic record for the translation. The 100 field is indexed for author searching.) Example:
You should be able to count on there being an entry for a translated work under the same main entry that the original work would receive, whether or not the original work is represented in the catalog. (You can also count, of course, on there being an entry for the title of the work, as translated. But since it is sometimes difficult to know what that title is, we rank the title-search strategy second choice.) If the author is prolific, or much translated, use the Prolific Author/Composer option on the QuickSearch page, instead of the regular Author:
Strategy #2Search for the title of the work, as translated. (The title-as-translated will be in the 245 field of the bibliographic record, which is, of course, indexed for title searching.) Example:
There are many bibliographies of translated works, for determining what the title-as-translated is, or might be. On the Advanced Search page, try Subject Words translations bibliography [All of these] to see some examples:
Strategy #3Search for the original title by keyword or title, and apply a limit by language. Examples:
Language limits are usually applied on the WebVoyage More Limits page. Few I-Share libraries offer language limits on the QuickLimits list. No library offers every possible language on the QuickLimits list. Limits can be applied as QuickLimits, however, in URL-launched searches such as these two examples. The language codes to use can be found in the MARC Code List for Languages. Strategy #4Search for the title of the original work and include the language of the translation you seek. This strategy depends on the existence of a uniform title in the bibliographic record for the translation. Examples:
Note that keyword searches are subfield-specific, so searching cosi fan tutte french as a phrase on the Advanced Search page will fail. (The name of the language is in a separate subfield from the name of the work.) The left-anchored Title search, however, retrieves records where the search terms appear in sequential indexed subfields. Strategy #5Use the “--Translations” subdivision in a subject search. Examples:
The “--Translations” subdivision was formerly used only for books about translations of an author’s work. Since January 1987, however, LC has used the subdivision for history and criticism or for collections of translations. I-Share libraries tend to follow LC practice. The subdivision will still not usually retrieve examples of single translated works unless a literary form subject heading has been assigned to the work. Strategy #6Do a free text search. Example:
Strategy #7Search for the translator’s name, if known. Examples:
Author or Keyword Author searches for translators’ names are fruitful in relatively few cases. According to rule 21.30.K1 of the AACR2, a personal name added entry should be made for the translator if the main entry for the work is the heading for a corporate body or is the title; or if the translation is in verse, or is important in its own right; or if the work has been translated into the same language more than once; or otherwise at the discretion of the cataloger. Before AACR2, added entries for translators were more rare. (Personal name added entries, when made, are indexed for author searching.) |