Re: Acronyms and Title Changes WILSONJP@VUCTRVAX.BITNET 30 Sep 1991 21:59 UTC

Mitch Turitz's note about rule 12.1B2 (which covers serials with their titles
in both spelled-out and acronym form) doesn't really help to answer Aimee
Algier-Baxter's question, which was about acronyms IN titles rather than FOR
titles.

I looked at rules and rule interpretations for a while in response to the
original question and realized I couldn't see quite why I do what I do.  I've
treated changes of corp. body names from spelled-out to acronym form, or vice  o
   r vice
versa, as genuine title changes if they occur within the first five words of
the title.  This despite the AACR2 rule saying that the title is not considered
to have changed if a word, even in the first five words, changes from
abbreviated to full form or vice versa.

I guess I do see a change to or from an acronym as more significant than a
change like "dept." to "department."  This seems to me intuitively reasonable.
If a publisher starts calling the Vanderbilt Cataloging Club Journal the "VCC
Journal," that generally indicates a conscious decision, whereas more minor
abbreviations don't.  However, like Ms. Algier-Baxter, I guess I can't quote a
guideline to this effect.
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