FRBR: an Opportunity for Map Collections and Map Users?

Abstract

Map librarians are not necessarily the primary cataloguing group to be affected by the introduction of such a theoretical concept as FRBR (Functional requirements for bibliographic records), developed by IFLA to add intellectual value to bibliographic records. This article describes the principles of FRBR with examples from the literature and then gives theoretical examples for its use with maps, accompanied by print screens from the integrated library system VIRTUA (VTLS) used at the UCL (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium). Finally, but by no means least, the impact of FRBR on map users is considered.