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Cataloging for School Librarians —It Matters!

Margaret MaurerHead, Catalog and Metadata

Kent State University Libraries and Media Services

2006 ILF Annual Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana

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Why would I want to catalog?

• It’s not my primary responsibility.

• It’s not why I became a librarian.

• It’s not my boss’ first priority.

• I have waaaaaay too much to do directly serving students and teachers to spend time in the back cataloging.

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Adopting consistent cataloging practices

• The library catalog is only as good as the information put into it.

• The more places you acquire catalog records from, the more they differ in style and emphasis from each other.

• The more variation there is in record emphasis, the more you need to interpret how these records will integrate into the database – this takes knowledge and experience.

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What about cataloging standards?

• Standards enable copy cataloging.

• Standards enable many efficiencies.

• They carry you into the future.

• Yes, they cost more to follow, but they cost less than not having them.

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Information literacy and library catalogs

• By information literacy we do not mean library skills.

• The library catalog supports information literacy only when the catalog is clean, consistent and predictable.

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The challenges of how young children search

• They rely more on visual and auditory information.

• They can’t read or type well.• They have trouble with abstract

concepts.• They are not good at classifying objects

or understanding hierarchical structures.• They use natural language and prefer

browse searching.• They have under-developed recall

memory.

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Helping child searchers through good cataloging

• Use familiar language.

• Include summaries and other enhancements.

• Apply headings consistently.

• How would they search for this?

• Be aware of indexing.

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Anglo American Cataloguing Rules - AACR2

• In loose-leaf.

• Via Cataloger’s Desktop.

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MARC 21

• MARC 21 – in print and on the web.

• MARC 21 Concise format.

• MARC code lists.

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MARC 21 LITE Bibliographic Format

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Understanding MARC Bibliographic

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Dewey Decimal Classification

• WebDewey.

• Abridged WebDewey.

• DDC 22.

• Abridged DDC 14th.

• RSS feeds / Blogs.

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Thank goodness for cataloging Copy!

• Adopting match criteria standards.

• Finding / purchasing cataloging copy.

• Copy cataloging editing.

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Searching for matching records

• Exact matches are so important.

• On-line users can not check the shelf.

• Resource sharing with other libraries.

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Adopting and sticking to copy cataloging match criteria

• OCLC Bib Formats and Standards

• Cataloging with AACR2 and MARC21

• Differences Between, Changes Within

• Local standards

• Be consistent!

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OCLC Bib Formats and Standards

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What should you check when you copy catalog?

• The accuracy of the information about the work – establishing a good match.

• The overall quality of the record.• Information in the record that provides

access.• The consistency of the information in the

record that links it to other records in your catalog.

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Record sources: vendors

• Material vendors.

• Automation system vendors.

• Bibliographic record vendors.

• Contract catalogers.

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Outsourcing as copy cataloging

• Outsourcing is a form of copy cataloging – Not original cataloging.

• Record review is recommended.

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Record Sources: OCLC

• WorldCat.

• TechPro.

• Cataloging Partners.

• PromptCat.

• Subscription services – CatExpress.

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Record sources: consortia

• Group purchasing power.

• Centralized cataloging.

• Cooperative collection development.

• INFOhio.

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Record sources: Z39.50

• LC maintained.

• International standard that specifies a protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote databases.

• Allows you to bring in a copy of a bibliographic record from another Z39.50 compliant library database.

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Caveats about Z39.50

• Congestion at popular library sites.

• Sharing implies reciprocity.

• Who owns your records?

• Establish a policy.

• Lack of consistency among vendor implementations.

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Record sources: CIP

• Created to provide useful data for the local cataloging record.

• It is often based on pre-publication data and must be checked.

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Editing cataloging copy

• Myth #1 – LC Copy is always perfect.

• Myth #2 – You don’t need to examine most cataloging copy.

• Be efficient about this – check what will impact your service.

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Understanding MARC Authority Records

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Sources of authority records & headings

• OCLC.

• Authority control vendors.

• Manually by re-keying Library of Congress Records.

• Other libraries.

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Library of Congress Subject Headings

• In print - 29th ed.

• Classification Web.

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LCSH headings via the Web

• Free from the Library of Congress.

• LC does not support Z39.50 access to authority records.

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LC’s annotated card program

• Appropriate terms for children.

• Adding --Juvenile fiction, --Juvenile literature to LCSH terms.

• Terms conflict between AC / LCSH.

• Indexing AC terms separately.

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Sears List of Subject Headings

By Minnie Earl Sears.

Edited by Joseph Miller.

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“Be consistent,

Be predictable,

And proceed until apprehended!”-- Jane Gilchrist,

Library of Congress