Geographic name changes: selected rules with examples

23.3A. If the name of a place changes, use as many of the names as are required by:
1) the rules on government names (24.3E)
2) the rules on additions to corporate names (24.4C4)

and conference names (24.7B4)
3) other relevant rules in chapter 24.

Example 1

RI23.4B. [Cf. RI24.4C4] When adding the name of a larger place as a qualifier, use the heading for the current name of the larger place. If the smaller place existed when the larger place had an earlier name, and the name in the item pertains to the earlier period, make a reference from the form that shows the earlier name of the larger place ...

Example 2

NOTE: Byelorussian S.S.R. and Belarus are established as separate earlier-later headings.

RI23.4D. [British Isles] When changing the qualifier on a heading that was coded for AACR2 before April 1988, trace a see reference from the previous AACR2 form ...

Example 3

24.4C4. [formerly 24.4C6] If the name of the local jurisdiction or geographic locality changes during the lifetime of the body, add the latest name in use in the lifetime of the body.

RI24.4C4. If a corporate body is qualified by a geographic name (place or jurisdiction) ... Change an established heading whenever the existing qualifier becomes inappropriate (as when the geographic name changes or the corporate body moves from one locale to another)

Example 4

Note, however, that the old form in the second 410 field would remain in effect if this body did not survive the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This is not the case if the qualifier were the name of a city, since the old form in the qualifier no longer exists as a separate heading (see Minsk example above).

Example 5

RI23.4F2. [City Sections] For city sections, add the established form for the name of the city. (Use the heading reflecting its current status for the entire period of the city section's existence (including any earlier independent existence it may have had), provided the name remains constant.) Make a reference from the name of the city section as a subheading of the name of the city.

Example 6

If the city section once had an independent existence but changed its name when it was absorbed into the larger place, establish a heading for each name.

Example 7

A separate heading should be established for "Weinstadt-Endersbach (Weinstadt, Germany)".

RI24.2C. For names of corporate bodies that are located in countries where orthographic reform has taken place (Indonesia and Maylaysia, the Netherlands, Soviet Union, etc.), if the first item received gives the name ... in the old orthography, establish the name in that form ... When, subsequently, the first item with the name in the reformed orthography is received, change the heading to reflect the reformed orthography.

[Example]

RI24.3A. [Language: for corporate bodies] If the form in the official language is not available from a reliable reference source, use the form that is available and mark the heading "provisional." Change the heading when the official language form becomes known. [The heading is also changed when there is a change in the official language, as from Russian to Ukrainian.]

Example 8

For different language forms used concurrently, the heading is established in the official language of the country; the other language forms are see references, including forms in ancient languages if the site has been occupied continuously.

Example 9

NOTE: If a body is entered subordinate to a jurisdiction, and the name of the jurisdiction changes, earlier-later headings are created, as for other corporate bodies, provided the earlier and later jurisdictions still exist as separate headings:

24.1C1. If the name of a corporate body has changed (including change from one language to another), establish a new heading under the new name for items appearing under that name ...

Example 10

The following rule for corporate body name changes is provided for comparison:
RI24.4C5. [formerly 24.4C7: Institutions] When adding the name of a higher or related corporate body to a corporate name, ... Use in the qualifier the body's current name [without any geographic qualifier] ... If the existing qualifier becomes inappropriate because the body used in the qualifier has changed its name or ... is no longer associated with the body being qualified, establish a separate heading for the body being qualified. Make earlier/later see also references to connect the headings.

Example 11

Example 12