I’ve often wondered about the coding LC uses in some of their authority records. There is a or b coding as to whether the authority should be used as a main or added entry, a subject, or a series. With a meaning YES and b meaning NO.
If you see aaa then the authority can be used for all three. baa means it cannot be used as a main or added entry, but can be used as a subject or series. bab means it can only be used as a subject. bba means it can only be used as a series, etc. etc.
Why then do the authority records for airplanes, ships etc. have the coding aab? This denotes that the airplane CAN be a main or added entry. When is the last time you saw a work written by an airplane? Is there any instance when the authorities for airplanes, boats, ships, etc. should display in the author authority database?
Example: 001 n 2004029426
003 DLC
005 20040714143836.0
008 040714n| acannaabn |n ana
010 – |an 2004029426
040 – |aDLC|beng|cDLC
110 2- |aBuzzer (Airplane)
670 – |aYedlin, Benedict. Brother men who fly, 2002:|bp.
1-2 (The Buzzer; B-24 “H” model, serial no. 41-29307;
crashed in Italy Dec. 9, 1944)
In AACR terms, a work can be written by an aeroplane in just the same way as it can be written by a bank or any other organisation – by having corporate responsibility under 21.1B2. In practice, it’s quite unlikely for a plane, but I have seen the official newsletter of a Royal Navy ship done with main entry for the ship