Module 1 Activity:
Discovering and retrieving the text: Utopia, by Sir Thomas More
Elements and attributes useful in discovering and retrieving the book, Utopia, by Sir Thomas More:
First, I began by looking at the FRBR four levels of items, manifestations, expressions and works. I was looking for an individual item, the book Utopia, the translated and edited edition. The manifestation was the second edition by Norton; the expression was the translation by Robert M. Adams and the works is Utopia, by Sir Thomas More
The task of finding this particular book involved first, knowing what I was looking for. Then identifying the assigned name of the book, i.e. Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, second edition, Translated and edited by Robert M. Adams.
In selecting the book, I need to consider certain attributes such as content, date of publication, form – in book form. Also, I may like to consider some other attributes such as authorship, credibility, difficulty – will this translation be easy to understand and is it faithful to the original version? Another attribute might be level of condensation – how much has the expression of the original work been changed through the translation.
I searched through both library catalogues and online bookstores and found the most comprehensive bibliographic information to be on www.bookdepositry.com :
· Full bibliographic data for Utopia
Title
Utopia
Authors and contributors
By (author) Sir Thomas More, Volume editor Robert M. Adams
Physical properties
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 272
Width: 130 mm
Height: 211 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight: 282 g
Audience
College/higher education
General/trade
Language
ISBN
ISBN 13: 9780393961454
ISBN 10: 0393961451
Classifications
BISAC category code: PHI012000
Dewey: 335.2
LC classification: HX810.5.E5
Nielsen BookScan Product Class: F1.1
BISAC category code: POL005000
Edition
2, Revised
Edition statement
2nd Revised edition
Publisher
Imprint name
Publication date
06 March 1992
Publication City/Country
New York/US
Main description
“Backgrounds” is designed to assist student readers in an appreciation ofUtopia by shedding light on the different points of view contemporarywith More’s work. Included are new selections from Saint Benedict and Tasso, as well as amedieval satire on the land of Cockayne. “The Humanist Circle”, a carefully chosen selection of letters, includesanother important contribution by Erasmus. “Criticism” includes five new thought-provoking essays by Alistair Fox,Edward L. Surtz, G. R. Elton, Northrop Frye, and Robert M. Adams. Also new are selections from two modern anti-utopias orquasi-utopias—Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and B. F. Skinner’sWalden Two—plus a selection from Edward Bellamy’s once futuristic butnow almost contemporary Looking Backward, which may be compared andcontrasted with More’s masterpiece. An updated Selected Bibliography is also included
FRBR four levels:
- Items – an individual object – has a physical form
- Manifestations – a version such as a particular printing – could be a single copy or thousands of copies depending on the printing.
- Expressions – how the work is expressed, e.g. different languages in translation
- Works – consists of content such as a novel, or could be an anthology – a series of works.
FRBR user tasks:
- Find
- Identify – sometimes a uniquely assigned number, assigned names
- Select – need to consider particular attributes; sometimes these are considered when searching but not always; content is also a consideration, i.e. the currency of content, a date; the amount of content – how many words; the form of a work, i.e. a map, website, book, film etc.
- Obtain
- Navigate
Relevance criteria are the attributes used to select resources (Hider, p. 27, 2012):
- Aboutness
- Accuracy
- Aesthetic value
- Authorship
- Credibility
- Difficulty
- Diversity of content
- Importance
- Informativeness
- Interesting content
- Level of condensation
- Logical relevance
- Novelty
- Pertinence
A lot of new vocabulary and concepts to learn and understand!
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