Lynne Sylvester of the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation in Florida has posed this question:
I have to catalog an Abstract of Title and do not know what the correct object name is. Can you please help me or provide guidance on where I could find the correct terms?
Paul Bourcier, editor of Nomenclature 4.0 and chair of the AASLH Nomenclature Task Force has answered Lynne:
In a general sense, an abstract of title is a summary, as is any abstract. However, Nomenclature 3.0 and 4.0 organize the term “Abstract” under Literary Works, suggesting that the context of a generic abstract is that of a creative work, and I don’t think that can be said for an abstract of title.
Although an abstract of title is not itself a legal document, it is a summary of legal documents and would best be organized in that sub-class, since Nomenclature’s hierarchy is based on functional context.
I would suggest the term “Abstract of Title,” organized as a new primary term under the sub-class “Legal Documents,” to be considered by the Nomenclature Task Force for the next edition.
I encourage you to please make this suggestion in our online submissions form at http://community.aaslh.org/nomenclature-submissions.
