Genre Theory Applied: Genre and Form Terms in the National Library of Poland Catalogue

Genre Theory Applied: Genre and Form Terms in the National Library of Poland Catalogue

The paper is an attempt to consider the possible uses of genre and form terms in a library catalogue on the basis of a new solution introduced by the National Library of Poland in January 2017. The overview begins with a brief look at the modern use of genre and form terms in catalogues, some definitional problems, and some reasons behind the need for genre access in libraries. On this background, the paper presents the previous model of genre/form access in the National Library of Poland – where genre/form terms were used only to a limited extent and in not a very intuitive way, as well as the new model, in which: genre terms are applied not only to publications about genres, but also to publications which belong to specific genres; the designations of a cultural area and of an intended audience are separated from genre terms; some of the genre terms (‘major forms’) are separated from others and combined with form/physical characteristic terms. The elements of the new ‘Form and type’ facet are compared to the FRBR model. Finally, some practical aspects of the new system are considered: ‘universal’ genres which can be combined with more than one genre/form, problems with creating new genre terms, and the relationship between genres and subjects in literary fiction.