The established form of a geographical place name should be used, whether as a geographic qualifier
(additions to corporate and conference names) or as a subject, and cataloguers and indexers are expected
to submit new names to the Authority Coordinator for review.
DHL used to maintain a separate list of geographical place names indicating the form and spelling to
use in UNBIS records. These names are now incorporated into the Thesaurus and the records are maintained there,
but they are not treated as Thesaurus terms--they are not translated or incorporated into the Thesaurus structure,
nor do they appear in the public version on the Web. A «List of Geographic Names», extracted from the Thesaurus database,
is sent periodically to other libraries in the UN system which use the Thesaurus.
The form of the name and appropriate cross-references are chosen in consultation with the Map Librarian.
Normally the English conventional form of a name is preferred (e.g., Vienna, not Wien), but attention also
is paid to the spelling on UN maps.
When a geographical place name is a subject, it is expressed in upper case, just as Thesaurus terms are.
Also, the country name is added to city, state and province names but not to geographic features, such islands, mountains, rivers, etc., if they are shared by two or more countries or other jurisdictional bodies. It may be necessary to distinguish a city and another jurisdictional entity with the same name (Québec, for example; it is the name of both a city and a province).
Examples:
QUEBEC (CANADA : PROVINCE)
ZAMBEZI NATIONAL PARK (ZIMBABWE)
YUKON TERRITORY (CANADA)
WINDWARD ISLANDS
RED SEA REGION
PYRENEES
PENNSYLVANIA (UNITED STATES)
PANAMA CANAL
ORLOVSKAIA OBLAST' (RUSSIAN FEDERATION)
NIGER RIVER BASIN
NABLUS (WEST BANK)
MEDINA (SAUDI ARABIA)
ESFAHAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN)
MACAO (CHINA : SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION)
LIPTAKO REGION (BURKINA FASO)
LITANI RIVER (LEBANON) [confined to Lebanon]
AMAZON RIVER
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (UNITED STATES)
LOS ANGELES (CALIF.)
LOS ANGELES COUNTY (CALIF.)
SCOTLAND (UNITED KINGDOM)
CLYDEBANK (SCOTLAND)
AZORES (PORTUGAL)
BALTIC STATES
BARENTS SEA
BEAGLE CHANNEL
CENTRAL EUROPE
CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO
CROZET ISLANDS (FRENCH SOUTHERN AND ANTARCTIC LANDS)
DAGESTAN (RUSSIAN FEDERATION)
EAST CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN REGION
FLANDERS (BELGIUM)
GAZA STRIP
GREAT LAKES REGION (AFRICA)
GREAT LAKES REGION (NORTH AMERICA)
GREENLAND
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE (CUBA)
GUAYANA SHIELD
GULF OF FONSECA
HAGUE (NETHERLANDS) [note: initial article suppressed]
JUBA VALLEY (SOMALIA)
HELMAND RIVER VALLEY
Note that the Thesaurus does include some geographical names-countries, of course, but also continents, some major geographic regions and a few island groups and bodies of water:
ADRIATIC SEA
AFRICA SOUTH OF THE SAHARA
ANDEAN REGION
ARAB COUNTRIES
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
EAST AFRICA
This is a legacy issue which becomes a problem when it would seem logical to create reciprocal cross-references
between two related headings, but one can't because one is a Thesaurus term and the other a geographical name that does not appear in the Thesaurus. For example,
FALKLAND ISLANDS (MALVINAS) and
FALKLAND ISLANDS (MALVINAS) DEPENDENCIES
The first is a Thesaurus term and the second (the pre-1985 designation) a "geographic name" term.
It is sometimes necessary to add an explanatory note, such as:
BALUCHISTAN
(Region, W. Asia, encompassing territory lying in E. Iran and SW. Pakistan)
CZECH REPUBLIC
(For works published or which cover the period prior to 31 Dec. 1992, use Czechoslovakia as an added descriptor)
DEMOCRATIC YEMEN
(Used through 21 May 1990; as of 22 May 1990 use YEMEN)
Name changes - see AACR2 23.3A
When the name of a country changes, if there is no jurisdictional change, the Thesaurus term changes to the latest form
of the name, but only when there has been confirmation in a memo from the UN Office of Protocol. The Head Librarian,
as well as the division's Director, receives this memo. Check UNTERM
for the short form of the name, which is used in UNBIS, e.g. "Iran (Islamic Republic of)" and "Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)".
Likewise, when the name of a country changes and there is no jurisdictional change,
the country name used as a qualifier in a subject heading must also be updated. Thus,
On the other hand, if there is a jurisdictional change, both old and new forms of the name are retained,
linked by reciprocal cross-references. For example:
Thesaurus terms:
CAMEROON
CAMEROONS UNDER BRITISH ADMINISTRATION
CAMEROONS UNDER FRENCH ADMINISTRATION
Corporate name headings:
(Note: # = Blank)
110 2#$aDemocratic Kampuchea
510 2#$aCambodia
Country codes
UNBIS uses the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes, three-letter country codes in the ISO 3166-1 standard to represent
countries and dependent areas. The Authority Control Coordinator must be alert for changes in the codes,
which are to be expected when a country changes names. New codes will not be adopted immediately, as they are decided
by an international committee. The code lists can be consulted on the
ISO 3166 website, and approved updates will appear in
its newsletter.
The changes should be reported to the UNBIS database manager and the Map Librarian. The UN Statistics Division
and the Map Library also post the alpha-3 codes on their sites.
