Yesterday a question came up about what content type to use for a blank book that one of our catalogers was cataloging. The resource is an artist's book consisting of a volume of blank pages. There is no text.
In the RDA content type value vocabulary, there does not seem to be an appropriate term to record for content type that is essentially no content. The only possible term found there is three-dimensional form, but the resource is not sculptural in nature. The definition of "three-dimensional form" is "A content type that consists of content expressed through a form or forms intended to be perceived visually in three-dimensions." The blank book is not intended to be viewed as an object the way a sculpture would be.
In the MARC content type list, two other terms could possibly be appropriate: other and unspecified. We decided that other was probably the best choice to use for the blank book, but it isn't totally satisfactory either, because it implies content other than any of the other terms listed. What really might be needed is a term denoting no intellectual or artistic content at all. The same could be used if one were cataloging a blank audiocassette or any other carrier that contains no content.
Should RDA or MARC contain a content type for no content? Or do you think other from the MARC list is the most appropriate term to use in this situation?
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Adam Schiff
Principal Cataloger
University of Washington Libraries
He/Him/His
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