OLAC Best Practice for category of work

Prerecording

Record when feasible.

Recording

Recording an unstructured description

Cataloger's judgment: Provide an unstructured description if a controlled vocabulary term is not available or adequate.

Recording a structured description

Option

Apply the option. Provide a high-level (broad) term for the form of work if readily ascertainable. Take the term from a controlled vocabulary, capitalizing the first word of the term.

Recording an identifier

Recording an IRI

View in Context Example

Document Date: 2026/02/06
Document: https://access.rdatoolkit.org/en-US_ala-6dd4dc0d-6fde-36a3-9afe-00dc651483a2