Showing papers in "Cataloging & Classification Quarterly in 2008"
TL;DR: The author endeavors to describe how processes of evaluation and transformation might be established and sustained to support metadata quality improvement.
Abstract: The conversation about metadata quality has developed slowly in libraries, hindered by unexamined assumptions about metadata carrying over from experience in the MARC environment. In the wider world, discussions about functionality must drive discussions about how quality might be determined and ensured. Because the quality-enforcing structures present in the MARC world–mature standards, common documentation, and bibliographic utilities–are lacking in the metadata world, metadata practitioners desiring to improve the quality of metadata used in their libraries must develop and proliferate their own processes of evaluation and transformation to support essential interoperability. In this article, the author endeavors to describe how those processes might be established and sustained to support metadata quality improvement.
43 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that although LIS programs are continuing to offer and require introductory courses in cataloging and bibliographic control, they are relying more heavily on these introductory courses to provide the bulk of cataloging education.
Abstract: In recent years a number of surveys of cataloging education have been conducted, and each of those surveys has suggested changes in library education. This survey reviews the current state of cataloging education by evaluating courses taught by 47 ALA accredited programs and compares the results to previous studies. This study examined the types of cataloging courses offered in LIS programs to determine if the type of course taught has changed over time. Additionally, this study examined course offering frequencies to determine if LIS programs are making the kind of courses needed to train cataloging librarians available to their students. It is concluded that although LIS programs are continuing to offer and require introductory courses in cataloging and bibliographic control, they are relying more heavily on these introductory courses to provide the bulk of cataloging education.
29 citations
TL;DR: An online survey was distributed to entry-level catalogers with less than ten years of experience and who were currently employed at an Association of Research Libraries member institution, and the majority of respondents felt the practicum was a valuable experience that should be formally required within the library science curriculum.
Abstract: The issue of integrating both theory and practice into the graduate cataloging curriculum has been widely recognized as a longstanding obstacle for educators and practitioners alike. One way students can gain practical cataloging experience is through a practicum. In order to gauge cataloger attitudes about practica, an online survey was distributed to entry-level catalogers with less than ten years of experience and who were currently employed at an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institution. Although the experiences ranged widely, the majority of respondents felt the practicum was a valuable experience that should be formally required within the library science curriculum.
25 citations
TL;DR: This paper examines the usage of “the perfect record” in the library literature, finding that its predominant use is as a rhetorical strategy for reducing the complex and context-dependent issue of quality to an absurdity, thus permitting the author to ignore or dismiss all issues of quality.
Abstract: Discussions of quality in library catalogs and bibliographic databases often refer to “the perfect record.” This paper examines the usage of that phrase in the library literature, finding that its predominant use is as a rhetorical strategy for reducing the complex and context-dependent issue of quality to an absurdity, thus permitting the author to ignore or dismiss all issues of quality. Five documents in which the phrase is not used in this fashion are examined and their value for understanding the inextricably intertwined values of quantity and quality are discussed. The author recommends rejecting both the rhetoric of “the perfect record” and satisfaction with “the imperfect record.”
21 citations
TL;DR: The second installment of a longitudinal study that began in 2000 to examine the state of cataloging education, contains a snapshot of this component of LIS education from the 2005-2006 academic year.
Abstract: Education for library cataloging and the organization of information (OI) continues to evolve. The current condition of graduate courses in these areas is examined through a review of the curricula of the 56 ALA-accredited graduate schools of library and information sciences (LIS) in the United States and Canada. This article, the second installment of a longitudinal study that began in 2000 to examine the state of cataloging education, contains a snapshot of this component of LIS education from the 2005–2006 academic year. It examines the types of OI courses being offered, the number of these courses actually being taught, and current trends and developments in cataloging education based on comparisons with earlier studies.
19 citations
TL;DR: How the concept and treatment of “uniform title” has evolved within Anglo-American cataloging codes, and is changing within RDA: Resource Description and Access is explored.
Abstract: Even before John Fiske (1878) reminded catalogers of their “duty” to correctly identify authors with the same name, uniform headings had assumed a place and purpose in nineteenth-century catalogs. Rules for names of persons, families, corporate bodies, and places have been developed to ensure consistency of both structure and application. Catalogers agree on the importance of form when creating either uniform headings or uniform titles. Paths diverge at the point of application. Effective collocation by means of uniform titles is entirely dependent on whether or not the option to establish them is exercised. In this article, we explore how the concept and treatment of “uniform title” has evolved within Anglo-American cataloging codes, and is changing within RDA: Resource Description and Access.
18 citations
TL;DR: The stereotype of the cataloger as an isolated, back-room practitioner has persisted among many in the profession, despite years of evidence to the contrary as discussed by the authors, despite the fact that many catalogers have long played roles within their institutions and outside of technical services.
Abstract: The stereotype of the cataloger as an isolated, back-room practitioner has persisted among many in the profession, despite years of evidence to the contrary. This paper examines some roles that catalog librarians have long played within their institutions and outside of technical services. The example of the various roles catalogers have assumed at Cornell University Library is used to illustrate some of the possible ways catalogers contribute to the research and teaching missions of the institution that extend beyond their traditional roles. The paper also touches briefly on possible future opportunities for catalogers to participate in the intellectual community of the university.
17 citations
TL;DR: As catalog use may in many cases be insufficiently uniform across libraries to allow for generic evaluation criteria, it is proposed that cataloging managers construct their own set by studying the impact that record quality has on the particular use of their own catalogs.
Abstract: Approaches to the measurement of catalog record quality are discussed. The systematic application of specific evaluation criteria may be more reliable than expert opinion, if not necessarily more accurate, and the construction of an error weightings table based on empirical investigation into catalog use is described. Although this process proved to be complex, and involved significant methodological problems, it was shown to be readily achievable. As catalog use may in many cases be insufficiently uniform across libraries to allow for generic evaluation criteria, it is proposed that cataloging managers construct their own set by studying the impact that record quality has on the particular use of their own catalogs. Thus more empirical research into catalog use is advocated, in order to supplement expert opinion and to build toward a practice of evidence-based cataloging.
17 citations
TL;DR: The authors conducted four empirical studies using a content analysis methodology specifically designed to identify the skills and competencies that catalogers and technical services librarians in the twenty-first century must possess.
Abstract: Field-based studies conducted during the last decade reinforce the importance of continued collaboration between employers and library and information science educators in order to close the gap between the classroom and workplace. A library educator, the researcher conducted four empirical studies using a content analysis methodology specifically designed to identify the skills and competencies that catalogers and technical services librarians in the twenty-first century must possess. The analysis of 355 position descriptions and 289 survey responses enabled the researcher to identify five domains common across library types. Employers' expectations for catalogers and technical services librarians fell into these areas: education, theoretical knowledge, cataloging competencies, communication skills, and interpersonal skills (including supervision and training).
17 citations
TL;DR: The authors presented the results of a survey that addressed the experiences of newly-graduated cataloging librarians, focusing on qualitative rather than quantitative data, and gathered information about their position responsibilities, what new catalogers liked and disliked about their jobs, the need for on-the-job training, whether they felt prepared to take on their responsibilities, whether their preconceptions about what a cataloging job would be like, and whether their experiences confirmed those preconceptions.
Abstract: This study presents the results of a survey that addressed the experiences of newly-graduated cataloging librarians. Focusing on qualitative rather than quantitative data, the survey gathered information about their position responsibilities, what new catalogers liked and disliked about their jobs, the need for on-the-job training, whether they felt prepared to take on their responsibilities, whether they had any preconceptions about what a cataloging job would be like, and whether their experiences confirmed those preconceptions.
16 citations
TL;DR: Research is reported that investigates the extent to which records that are members of a particular work set may be automatically identified as such.
Abstract: In current cataloging practice, the identification of an item as a member of a particular work set is accomplished by assigning a main entry heading, or main entry citation, in the bibliographic record representing that item. The main entry citation is normally comprised of a primary author name and the uniform title associated with the work. However, the quality of bibliographic records varies, and this means of identification is not universally used by catalogers. Thus, consistent identification and retrieval of records representing editions of works is not guaranteed. Research is reported that investigates the extent to which records that are members of a particular work set may be automatically identified as such.
TL;DR: This paper is based on comments by the Subject Analysis Committee Subcommittee on FAST, which reviewed a sample of 5,000 bibliographic records with both LCSH and FAST headings and provides the library community with some understanding of FAST.
Abstract: The Subject Analysis Committee Subcommittee on FAST of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) was established in the fall of 2004 to explore issues related to the implementation of the Faceted Application of Subject Terminology (FAST) subject heading schema. FAST is being developed at the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and is derived from the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) with a simplified syntax. This paper is based on comments by the Subject Analysis Committee Subcommittee on FAST, which reviewed a sample of 5,000 bibliographic records with both LCSH and FAST headings. It provides the library community with some understanding of FAST, a new system of subject cataloging and metadata.
TL;DR: The first formalized list of “general material designations” (gmds) was published in 1978 in the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, and since their introduction they have been controversial, as this investigation of the evolution ofmaterial designations explores.
Abstract: While directions for the use of “germane terms for the physical medium of the work” appeared in the 1964 Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress: Phonorecords, most libraries choosing to integrate nonbook materials in their collections, either colour-coded their catalogue cards, or added two-digit media codes to call numbers. The first formalized list of “general material designations” (gmds)-placed immediately following the title proper as an early warning device-was published in 1978 in the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. Since their introduction they have been controversial, as this investigation of the evolution of material designations explores.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a course designed to lend excitement and professional judgment to the education of future catalogers and collection managers by conveying the notion that all documents are, in fact, cultural artifacts.
Abstract: Cataloging is at its most interesting when it is comprehended as part of a larger, meaningful, objective. Resource description is a complex task; but the essence of librarianship is curatorship of a collection, and that sense of curatorial responsibility is one of the things that makes resource description into cataloging-that is, professional responsibility is the difference between the task of transcription and the satisfaction of professional decisions well-made. Part of the essential difference is comprehension of the cultural milieu from which specific resources arise, and the modes of scholarship that might be used to nudge them to reveal their secrets for the advancement of knowledge. In this paper I describe a course designed to lend excitement and professional judgment to the education of future catalogers and collection managers by conveying the notion that all documents are, in fact, cultural artifacts. Part of a knowledge-sensitive curriculum for knowledge organization, the purpose of...
TL;DR: This article explores how and why shifts in “main entry” terminology to “primary access point,” and the elimination of the rule of three have occurred.
Abstract: In the ten years since the International Conference on the Principles and Future Development of AACR, long-standing debates have continued as to whether or not to have a “main entry,” and whether or not to exercise the rule of three to limit the number of headings or access points in certain cases. Recent proposals from the Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA have recommended a change in “main entry” terminology to “primary access point,” and the elimination of the rule of three. This article explores how and why these shifts have occurred.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore metadata quality issues in the creation and encoding of mappings or correlations of educational resources to K-12 achievement standards and the deployment of the metadata generated on the Semantic Web.
Abstract: This article explores metadata quality issues in the creation and encoding of mappings or correlations of educational resources to K-12 achievement standards and the deployment of the metadata generated on the Semantic Web. The discussion is framed in terms of quality indicia derived from empirical studies of metadata in the Web environment. A number of forces at work in determining the quality of correlations metadata are examined including the nature of the emerging Semantic Web metadata ecosystem itself, the reliance on string values in metadata to identify achievement standards, the growing complexity of the standards environment, and the misalignment in terms of granularity between resource and declared objectives.
TL;DR: A review of how management thought about database quality was developed may assist libraries to recognize which principles and circumstances remain valid and true, to assess which are no longer applicable, and to decide what actions to take.
Abstract: Management issues related to the quality of a library's catalog and its source databases reflect the continual evolution of both. As catalogs seem about to mutate rather than to continue to evolve gradually, a review of how management thought about database quality was developed may assist libraries to recognize which principles and circumstances remain valid and true, to assess which are no longer applicable, and to decide what actions to take. A persistent shortcoming in the decision-making process that needs to be addressed is the lack of serious research into user needs and benefits, and the actual impact on users of database quality decisions.
TL;DR: There is a need for significant changes in integrated library system interfaces and infrastructures as well as some changes in cataloging practice, including the value of descriptive vs. non-descriptive elements in the catalog record and some pros and cons of the MARC format.
Abstract: Intended to contribute to the current dialogue about how the emerging information environment is impacting cataloging issues, this survey paper covers a broad range of topics, such as how search engines compare with integrated library systems, and includes some thoughts on how cataloging processes may evolve to continue to remain relevant. The author suggests that there is a need for significant changes in integrated library system interfaces and infrastructures as well as some changes in cataloging practice. The value of descriptive vs. non-descriptive elements in the catalog record and some pros and cons of the MARC format are covered.
TL;DR: In this paper, an innovative approach to training non-traditional employees, particularly student workers, in a library's cataloging department is investigated. Butte et al. present guidelines and pedagogical aspects of designing e-learning courseware for basic cataloging training, reviews some challenges and difficulties encountered in the project, and introduces the content and structure of prototype 2 of the courseware.
Abstract: This article investigates an innovative approach to training non-traditional employees, particularly student workers, in a library's cataloging department. The author presents guidelines and pedagogical aspects of designing e-learning courseware for basic cataloging training, reviews some challenges and difficulties encountered in the project, and introduces the content and structure of prototype 2 of the courseware. This e-learning courseware for basic cataloging can be adapted to facilitate the training of other groups of new staff in the cataloging department.
TL;DR: The professional and intellectual appeals demonstrated by cataloging students are discussed, as well as some common misconceptions.
Abstract: This paper discusses the professional and intellectual appeals demonstrated by cataloging students, as well as some common misconceptions. Given the current digital environment and the “Amazoogle” effect, students face many challenges when striving to complete a basic course in descriptive and subject cataloging. In the process, they face issues of varieties of information objects, how to tame tools such as AACR2 and LCSH, and how MARC encoding fits into the overall process of cataloging. They also must learn to re-conceptualize their ideas of copy cataloging and learn to appreciate the authoritative power that comes with using and applying cataloger's judgment.
TL;DR: Examples of typical changes made by one cataloger to video recording records that were either enhanced or upgraded to full-level at TAMU during the last five years are presented.
Abstract: In 2002, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries obtained a National Level Enhance authorization for the OCLC visual materials format, allowing TAMU catalogers to upgrade records for video recordings in OCLC's WorldCat database at all encoding levels. This article presents examples of typical changes made by one cataloger to video recording records that were either enhanced or upgraded to full-level at TAMU during the last five years. Common changes included: correcting information in the title and statement of responsibility, correcting date information, adding or correcting information in notes, and creating access points. Issues encountered relating to enhancing and upgrading records in this format are also discussed.
TL;DR: A project utilizing the local form/genre heading, “property data,” and specific subheadings to help chemists, engineers, and those librarian assisting them to more easily locate library resources containing chemical and physical properties of substances is developed.
Abstract: We developed a project utilizing the local form/genre heading, “property data,” and specific subheadings to help chemists, engineers, and those librarians assisting them to more easily locate library resources containing chemical and physical properties of substances. This article describes the project and examines possibilities for improving access to physical sciences literature in relation to Library of Congress Subject Headings and ongoing developments in authority records for form/genre terms. It also introduces functionality of such headings in the new “next generation” catalogs.
TL;DR: The technical service processes are frequently either unknown or a mystery to students of library and information science as mentioned in this paper, and various methods can help instruct students about the technical services, including a mentoring component partnering students with librarians or archivists actively working in technical services related work.
Abstract: The technical service processes are frequently either unknown or a mystery to students of library and information science. Various methods can help instruct students about the technical services. Since 1995, Technical Services Functions, a graduate level course offered at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has included a mentoring component partnering students with librarians or archivists actively working in technical services related work. The processes, perceptions, outcomes, problems and successes of this experience are detailed.
TL;DR: A recent change in cataloging at the Library of Congress has made catalogers wonder about their future, and about what to expect from LC as discussed by the authors, and their historical relations with other libraries, the content of proposals for broad changes, the significance for cataloging of commercial content organizers such as Google, and expectations from a new Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, commissioned by LC to report in 2007.
Abstract: A recent change in cataloging at the Library of Congress, and the recent publication of reports calling for broader changes in cataloging generally, have made catalogers wonder about their future, and about what to expect from LC. This article examines LC's historical relations with other libraries, the content of proposals for broad changes in cataloging, the significance for cataloging of commercial “content organizers” such as Google, and expectations from a new Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, commissioned by LC to report in 2007.
TL;DR: The results of a survey of P-12 media specialists in Kentucky who identified their libraries as arranged by reading level provide information on the demographic characteristics of these libraries and media specialists' rationale for organizing their library collections in this way.
Abstract: A relatively new phenomenon in school libraries is the organization of books by the reading levels associated with reading incentive programs such as Accelerated Reader and Reading Counts. There is a body of research on the effects of reading incentive programs on variables related to reading ability and motivation, but currently there is no research on the characteristics of the school libraries that use reading levels as an alternative classification scheme for shelf arrangement. This article reports the results of a survey of P-12 media specialists in Kentucky who identified their libraries as arranged by reading level. Analysis of results provides information on the demographic characteristics of these libraries and media specialists' rationale for organizing their library collections in this way.
TL;DR: An entity relationship diagram for a bibliographical database and a model of a classified catalog with description as per the ISBD and access points derived on the basis of Ranganathan's rules of the Classified Catalogue Code are given.
Abstract: The article highlights the importance of cataloging as the basic prerequisite for all information retrieval processes, and therefore its relevance as a core in library and information science curriculum. The developments in information communication technology have brought sea changes in the universe of information resources as well as in customer requirements. This situation has caused a redefinition of the functions and format of the catalog and not made it redundant. Formulation of FRBR as a conceptual model for bibliographical databases is a landmark in this context. FRBR is in fact a manifestation of the theoretical frame that Ranganathan proposed for the universe of documents. The recent attempts to incorporate classification numbers to enable browsing resources on the Web and the approach of FRBR aimed at retrieval of the different manifestations and expressions of a work during a search, necessitate a coextensive class number as a key attribute for every work as an access point. Such an a...
TL;DR: The significant role of metadata in the CMS from the perspective of one of the site's architects and one of its content developers is focused on.
Abstract: After a review of the Kent State Libraries and Media Services Web site, a committee of librarians and staff gathered user feedback and developed a library-specific content management system (CMS) to make the move from a static HTML environment to database-driven design. This article focuses on the significant role of metadata in the CMS from the perspective of one of the site's architects and one of its content developers. This article includes figures and a biography for further reading. The work of the redesign was earlier described in a poster presentation for the 12th Annual ACRL conference.
TL;DR: The history of the creation of the database entitled Typographical Errors in Library Databases is recounted and the advances made in cooperative efforts to discover and fix typographical errors in bibliographic databases are described.
Abstract: This article recounts the history of the creation of the database entitled Typographical Errors in Library Databases and describes the advances made in cooperative efforts to discover and fix typographical errors in bibliographic databases.
TL;DR: The changes happening within the field of cataloging, both within and without, can at times be difficult to quantify as discussed by the authors, and much of the current climate was captured in the Library of Congress Working Gro...
Abstract: The changes happening within the field of cataloging, both within and without, can at times be difficult to quantify. Much of the current climate was captured in the Library of Congress Working Gro...
TL;DR: This paper examines the ways this reform affected cataloguing instruction at the Department of Library and Information Sciences at the Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek, Croatia.
Abstract: In 2005, Croatian higher education curricula underwent a significant reform in order to comply with the requirements of the Bologna Process. This paper examines the ways this reform affected cataloguing instruction at the Department of Library and Information Sciences at the Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek, Croatia.