H 807 Islands

BACKGROUND: The treatment of islands in subject cataloging presents several unique and complex problems, especially with regard to geographic qualification and geographic subdivision practice. A large number of the world's islands are jurisdictional names, and as such are established as corporate headings and assigned in the same form as subject headings. Many islands, however, are by their nature merely geographic features and, as such, must be established as subject headings. This instruction sheet presents the general principles to be followed in establishing as subject headings non-jurisdictional islands and island groups and in assigning names of islands and island groups in geographic subdivision practice.

1. Establishing headings for individual islands or island groups.

Note: Ascertain that the island or island group in question does not have the status of a political jurisdiction before proceeding to establish it as a subject heading. If the island or island group is a jurisdiction, it should be established in the name authority file.

a. Choice of name. Follow the standard procedures for establishing geographic names described in H 690 with respect to creating the authority record, requesting BGN verification, doing authority research, selecting the substantive form of the name, etc.

b. Geographic qualification. Qualify those individual islands or island groups that lie near a land mass and are under its jurisdiction, as well as those individual islands that are part of a jurisdictional island cluster. Use the name of the jurisdiction as the geographic qualifier, following the normal rules for qualification at the country level or at the level of the first order political division for the six exceptional countries listed in H 810, sec. 1.a.(1). Examples:

151 ## $a Long Island (N.Y.)

151 ## $a Elizabeth Islands (Mass.)

151 ## $a Florida Keys (Fla.)

151 ## $a Admiralty Islands (Papua New Guinea)

151 ## $a Tortuga Island (Haiti)

151 ## $a Mindanao Island (Philippines)

151 ## $a Pohnpei Island (Micronesia)

151 ## $a Yoron Island (Japan)

151 ## $a Komodo Island (Indonesia)

When selecting the geographic qualifier, use the name of the island's controlling jurisdiction rather than the name of the island group of which it is a part, provided that it lies near the jurisdiction. Example:

151 ## $a Sea Island (Ga.)

[not 151 ## $a Sea Island (Golden Isles, Ga.)]

If an island does not lie near its controlling jurisdiction but is part of an island group, qualify by the name of the island group, for example, Madeira (Madeira Islands).

If it is necessary to distinguish two islands with the same name in the same jurisdiction, add to the qualifier the name of a smaller jurisdiction (county, department, province, etc.). Examples:

151 ## $a Mel Island (Paraná, Brazil)

151 ## $a Belle Isle (Saint Mary Parish, La.)

If it is necessary to distinguish the name of an island from another entity (usually a city) with the same name, generally incorporate the word Island or its vernacular equivalent, if appropriate, into the heading itself rather than following a colon within the qualifier. Example:

151 ## $a Mindanao Island (Philippines)

[not 151 ## $a Mindanao (Philippines : Island)]

If the resulting construction is redundant, however, place the word Island within the qualifier, separating it from the substantive portion of the qualifier with a space, a colon, and another space. Example:

151 ## $a Green Turtle Cay (Bahamas : Island)

[not 151 ## $a Green Turtle Cay Island (Bahamas)]

Do not qualify isolated islands or island groups not associated with a mainland country nor those islands that comprise more than one autonomous jurisdiction. Examples:

151 ## $a Bouvet Island

151 ## $a Antilles, Lesser

151 ## $a Borneo

151 ## $a Hispaniola

c. Islands of the [ . . . ] vs. Islands–[place]. Establish phrase headings of the type Islands of the [ . . . ] only for major bodies of water, that is, oceans or seas. For works that discuss collectively the islands of a smaller body of water, assign the heading Islands–[place], for example, Islands–Saint Lawrence River.

d. References. Add the following 451 fields for islands or island groups, as appropriate:

451 ## $a [alternate name(s)] ([qualifier])

451 ## $a [name in vernacular] ([qualifier])

451 ## $a [uninverted form of name] ([qualifier])

Note: For Japanese islands, add a 451 field from alternate name forms only of the type ... jima (Japan) and ... shima (Japan).

Add the following 5XX (broader term) fields, as appropriate:

551 ## $w g $a [name of group] ([qualifier])

(Make this reference if the island is part of a group; omit it if the name of the group is the same as the jurisdiction used in the next broader term field.)

and one of the following:

550 ## $w g $a Islands $z [country, or first order division]

551 ## $w g $a Islands of the [...]

(Make this reference if the island does not lie near its controlling jurisdiction.)

Note: The practice of adding broader term fields for specific types of islands, for example, Barrier islands or Coral reefs and islands, was discontinued in 1991.

Examples:

151 ## $a Sitkinak Island (Alaska)

550 ## $w g $a Islands $z Alaska

151 ## $a One Tree Island (Qld.)

550 ## $w g $a Islands $z Australia

551 ## $w g $a Great Barrier Reef (Qld.)

151 ## $a Carry Bow Cay (Belize)

451 ## $a Carrie Bow Cay (Belize)

550 ## $w g $a Islands $z Belize

151 ## $a Sapelo Island (Ga.)

551 ## $w g $a Golden Isles (Ga.)

550 ## $w g $a Islands $z Georgia

151 ## $a Easter Island

451 ## $a Isla de Pascua

451 ## $a Pascua Island

451 ## $a Rapa Nui

451 ## $a Rapanui

551 ## $w g $a Islands of the Pacific

151 ## $a Corregidor Island (Philippines)

550 ## $w g $a Islands $z Philippines

151 ## $a Macaronesia

451 ## $a Macaronesian Islands

551 ## $w g $a Islands of the Atlantic

2. Islands in geographic subdivision practice.

a. Individual islands. Whenever possible, follow the standard provisions for geographic subdivision described in H 830, when dividing a topic by the name of an island, that is, divide through the name of the country (or first order political division for the exceptional countries listed in H 830, sec. 5.a.) that has jurisdiction over the island, or, if the island is itself an autonomous jurisdiction, assign it directly after topics. Examples:

650 #0 $a Agriculture $z Italy $z Sicily.

650 #0 $a Housing $z New York (State) $z Long Island.

650 #0 $a Chinese Americans $z Hawaii $z Oahu.

650 #0 $a Regional planning $z Micronesia (Federated States) $z Pohnpei Island.

650 #0 $a Contracts $z Sri Lanka.

650 #0 $a Beaches $z Barbados.

If, however, an island is located some distance away from the jurisdiction that controls it, assign it directly after topics. If it is part of an island group and is generally associated with the group, divide it through the group. (The phrase "some distance away" should generally be interpreted as referring to the separation of an island from its controlling jurisdiction by so large a mass of land or expanse of water that the island is usually thought of as a separate entity rather than as associated with the country that has jurisdiction over it.) Examples:

650 #0 $a Crabs $z Easter Island.

650 #0 $a Trees $z Réunion.

650 #0 $a Water-supply $z Canary Islands $z Tenerife.

If an island comprises more than one autonomous jurisdiction, assign it directly after topics. Examples:

650 #0 $a Natural history $z Borneo.

650 #0 $a Reptiles $z Hispaniola.

If an individual island is part of an island group but is also located near its controlling jurisdiction, divide it through the controlling jurisdiction rather than through the island group. Example:

650 #0 $a Botany $z Papua New Guinea $z Bougainville Island.

[not 650 #0 $a Botany $z Solomon Islands $z Bougainville Island.]

For special provisions applying to individual Caribbean islands, see sec. 2.c., below.

b. Island groups. As a general rule, follow the same provisions for island groups as for individual islands. Divide an island group that is controlled in its entirety by a single jurisdiction through the controlling jurisdiction or, if the group itself is an autonomous jurisdiction, assign it directly after topics. Examples:

650 #0 $a Fur trade $z Alaska $z Aleutian Islands.

650 #0 $a Political parties $z Spain $z Balearic Islands.

650 #0 $a Acculturation $z Papua New Guinea $z Admiralty Islands.

650 #0 $a Law $z Philippines.

650 #0 $a Prime ministers $z Vanuatu.

650 #0 $a Labor supply $z Kiribati.

If the group is located some distance away from its controlling jurisdiction, as described above, assign it directly after topics. Examples:

650 #0 $a Meteorology $z Falkland Islands.

650 #0 $a Shipwrecks $z Bermuda Islands.

650 #0 $a Mollusks $z Galapagos Islands.

If an island group is controlled by more than one jurisdiction or comprises in itself more than a single autonomous jurisdiction, assign it directly after topics. Examples:

650 #0 $a Earthquakes $z West Indies.

650 #0 $a Legends $z Melanesia.

c. Islands of the Caribbean. Because most individual Caribbean islands can be associated with several different island groupings, and because most of these islands have achieved independence or are likely to do so relatively soon, apply the following special rule in assigning these islands after subjects: Assign all individual Caribbean islands south of the Virgin Islands directly after subjects regardless of their present political status. Do not divide the individual islands in this category through such groups as "West Indies," "Leeward Islands," "Netherlands Antilles," etc. Examples:

650 #0 $a Ethnology $z Grenada.

[not 650 #0 $a Ethnology $z West Indies $z Grenada.]

650 #0 $a Marine algae $z Bonaire.

[not 650 #0 $a Marine algae $z Netherlands Antilles $z Bonaire.]

650 #0 $a Elections $z Martinique.

[not 650 #0 $a Elections $z Windward Islands $z Martinique.]

Divide all other individual islands in the Caribbean area through the appropriate controlling jurisdiction or island group. Examples:

650 #0 $a Nautical charts $z Bahamas $z Eleuthera Island.

650 #0 $a Botany $z British Virgin Islands $z Virgin Gorda Island.

650 #0 $a Lawyers $z Virgin Islands of the United States $z Saint John.

d. Entities on islands. Follow the standard provisions for geographic subdivision described in H 830 when dividing a topic by the name of an entity on an island, that is, divide through the name of the country (or first order political division for the exceptional countries listed in H 830, sec. 5.a.) that has jurisdiction over the island, or if the island is itself an autonomous jurisdiction or is located some distance away from the jurisdiction that controls it, divide through the island. If the island is part of an island group and is generally associated with the group, divide entities on the island through the group.