Penn State University Libraries - 6XX Individual Biographies

For many older records, you may notice that subject headings for biographical content are quite sparse. In most cases, records may only contain a single 600 field containing the name of the individual the biography is about. For copy cataloging, follow the procedures outlined below for adding missing subject headings to individual biographies:

Is it an individual biography or autobiography? Follow this definition from the Library of Congress' Subject Cataloging Manual, H 1330 Biography:

"A narrative work more than 50% of which recounts the personal aspects of the life of one or more individuals. (In the case of historical figures, particularly those from the distant past, where little is known of the personal details of their lives, the limitation of the definition to "personal aspects" does not apply.) Personal aspects include such details as the individual's early years, education, marriage and other personal relationships, personal habits and personality, family life, travels, personal experiences and tragedies, last years and death, etc. Life means a relatively large portion of the individual's life, not just a single brief incident."

Another good indicator that you have a biography is checking the Biog fixed field (in Connexion or WorkFlows). If it is coded a (autobiography) or b (individual biography), then you have an individual biography. Please keep in mind that this field is typically not coded in older CAT records and can sometimes be coded incorrectly. After examining the item, if you determine it to be a biography, please fix the Biog fixed field if it is incorrect.

For works about an individual person that are less than 50% biographical, consider it a partial biography. These do not need the treatment followed in steps 2-4 below. These usually only have the name as a subject heading plus additional non-biography topical headings. Examples include critical works about individual artists, literary authors, etc., and historical works that are about the life and times of an individual statesman or ruler, but are more about the history of the time than the life of the ruler.

Search for more recent biographies about the individual in WorldCat. A subject browse of the individual's name should be suitable. Prefer LC records.

When you find a suitable record that has additional 650s with form subdivision |vBiography, look over the item you have in hand and see if they are applicable. The reason you should check this is because some individuals have varied careers, and thus some biographies may focus more on one part of an individual's career and possibly very little of another part. Add only those 650s that fit the item in hand. When in doubt, refer the item to an original cataloger.

Biographical subject headings in 610/611/650/651 fields tend to include a class of person and may include a place, organization, or event.

Examples:

650 _0 Engineers|zAustralia|vBiography.
650 _0 Football coaches|zUnited States|vBiography.
650 _0 Catalogers|zFinland|vBiography.
650 _0 African American air pilots|vBiography.
650 _0 Women legislators|zArgentina|vBiography.
650 _0 Refuse collectors|zNew York (State)|zNew York|vBiography.
610 10 United States.|bDept. of Agriculture|xOfficials and employees|vBiography.
610 20 Pennsylvania State University|xEmployees|vBiography.
650 _0 World War, 1939-1945|vBiography.
650 _0 Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945|vBiography.
651 _0 Ohio|vBiography.
651 _0 Warsaw (Poland)|vBiography.

If you cannot find a more recent and suitable record that contains appropriate biographical subject headings, refer the item to an original cataloger.

See also: Record Creation: 6XX
See also: OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards: 6XX