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Content Form And Media Type Area Encoding Scheme

Element Reference​

Definition
Syntax Encoding Scheme for the content form and media type area (Area 0).
Scope note
Domain
Range
URI
https://www.iflastandards.info/ISBDM/elements/CC2003
Type
owl:Class
Status
Published

Definition​

This area (Area 0) serves to indicate the fundamental form or forms in which the content of a resource is expressed, the method and plan of fixation of this content in a carrier, and the type or types of carrier used to convey that content. Its purpose is to assist catalogue users in identifying and selecting resources, facilitate the exchange of cataloguing records within cooperative networks, and enable interoperability with other metadata standards. This area was a new addition to the 2011 Consolidated Edition of ISBD.

Required Elements​

  • Content form (Mandatory): Categories reflecting the fundamental forms of content (e.g., dataset, music, image, text). For mixed content, all applicable terms are recorded alphabetically, or "multiple content forms" if three or more apply. Non-predominant content forms may be omitted.
  • Content qualification (Mandatory if applicable): Sub-categories that expand on the content form, specifying type (e.g., cartographic, notated, performed), presence or absence of motion, dimensionality (e.g., 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional), and sensory nature (e.g., visual, tactile, audible).
  • Production process (Optional): Categories reflecting both how content is fixed (e.g., writing, printing, magnetic recording) and the industrial or artisanal method used (e.g., handwriting, daguerreotype). It can be further qualified by "Production process qualification" terms (e.g., published, unpublished).
  • Media type (Mandatory): Categories recording the type of carrier used to convey content (e.g., audio, electronic, unmediated, video). These reflect the format of the storage medium and housing, combined with the intermediation device needed. For mixed media, all applicable terms are recorded, or "multiple media" if three or more apply. If no mediation device is required, "unmediated" is used.

Punctuation Rules​

  • Content qualification terms are enclosed in parentheses ( ) immediately following the content form term.
  • Subsequent content qualification terms are preceded by ;.
  • The production process term is preceded by :.
  • Production process qualification terms are enclosed in parentheses ( ) immediately following the production process term.
  • The media type term is preceded by ; unless it's the first element and no production process term is given.
  • When different content forms are contained in one media type, each content form term after the first is preceded by ..
  • When a resource consists of different media types and contains different content forms and production processes, each subsequent statement is preceded by +.

Relationship to ISBD Standards​

This area is identified as Area 0 in the ISBD specification, making it a foundational element for description within the standard. Its full information aids in universal bibliographic control.

Relationship to Other SES​

  • It contains core elements such as "Content Form And Media Type Statement Encoding Scheme" (which combines Content Form, Production Process, and Media Type).
  • The "Production process" element was introduced to extend ISBD coverage to unpublished resources.
  • Notes on this area provide additional details and insights, and are given in the Note Area (Area 7).

Examples​

. — Dataset : electronic

. — Text (visual) : handwriting (unpublished) ; unmediated

. — Image (cartographic ; moving ; 2-dimensional) : video

. — Text (visual) : unmediated + Text (visual) : microform

This content was automatically generated from the ISBD PDF documentation using Gemini AI analysis.