Showing papers on "Cataloging published in 1977"

System meets user: Problems in matching subject search terms

Abstract: Sixty-one undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, economics, and librarianship provided the subject terms they would use to search an academic library catalog in 30 hypothetical search instances. The subject indexing tested was that of the Library of Congress, which is used in most large libraries in the United States. The large number of responses on each search instance enabled an unusually detailed, systematic evaluation of various aspects of the LC approach. Results (including evidence of many inadequacies) were produced on see references, subject/place order, noun/adjective order, specific entry, direct entry, and a priori probability of subject term matching. It was found to be very difficult to develop a good strategy for searching a catalog using LC subject headings. The overriding conclusion was that the LC subject cataloging approach is badly in need of rationalization.

Assessing the impact of computer technology on the performance of interlibrary loan networks

Abstract: Performance of interlibrary loan networks in terms of probability of success and average time to satisfy a request is enhanced when location and availability information can be accessed. Existing computer technologies such as shared cataloging networks and automated circulation systems can be of use in obtaining this information. A procedure is presented for quantitative assessment of the impact of these technologies and their various combinations on interlibrary loan activities. As an example, the procedure is utilized for predicting the impact of these computer technologies on the Illinois Library and Information Network (ILLINET). Results show that the value of location information as obtained from a shared cataloging network or similar technology is highly dependent on the information being specific enough to free the lending library from searching their own main catalog. The value of availability information is shown to be related to the processing time that can be avoided by having prior information about the circulation status of the desired item. These results are dependent on the policies employed in Illinois. However, the assessment procedures presented here have general applicability to interlibrary loan networks.

Contemporary Issues in Bibliographic Control

Abstract: This is the fourth conference sponsored by the University of Chicago Graduate Library School relating primarily to issues in the field of bibliographic control. The first, held in 1950, had as its title Bibliographic Organization [1]. In 1956 and 1963 the conferences were entitled Toward a Better Cataloging Code [2] and Library Catalogs: Changing Dimensions [3]. The introductory statement in the program for this conference notes that ". . . some of the concepts for handling and generating bibliographic data are being subjected to intensive review and are rapidly changing," and ". . . a widespread sense of uncertainty exists within the library and bibliographic communities regarding the current state of, and future prospects for, bibliographic control." The desirability, or the inevitability, of change in our systems of bibliographic control is the single most pervasive theme in the Graduate Library School conferences just cited and in many other contemporary papers and conferences on this general subject. If there are to be major changes in these systems, it is important that there be a reasonably accurate assessment of the reasons for change if we are to avoid the risks of trying to solve the wrong problems. In this paper, our concern is centered on a variety of issues related to the effectiveness of current and future systems for bibliographic control of library resources and user access to those resources. These issues embrace, but certainly are not limited to, the current problems of the large-or small-library catalog [4]. The 1968 statement by Grose and Line on this matter is still timely: "To be stampeded, as we may well be, into the 'solution' of a problem we have not yet even defined would be disastrous" [5]. Swanson made a very similar observation in 1963 [6]. For the purposes of this paper, the term "bibliographic control" will be limited to that sector of the bibliographic apparatus that is created and maintained by libraries: (1) to assist the library user in identification of, and access to, potentially relevant materials, and (2) to support effectively those library operations and services that are related to bibliographic data.' Difficulties arise with this and similar definitions because these basic func-

The University of Chicago Library Data Management System

Abstract: The University of Chicago Library has built an on-line, interactive Library Data Management System that can store and process all of the data and files needed to automate the labor-intensive activities of a large research library. The system has been implemented in Library operations and is highly successful. The system is operated on the University's general-purpose IBM 370/168 computer. In the Library there are thirty (of an eventual sixty or so) terminals connected to a Varian 73 minicomputer that communicates through a high-speed line with the IBM 370/168. Automated systems supporting the bibliographic data base and Library technical-processing functions are now in operation--with the fullest possible use of LC/MARC data throughout. The Library functions that the system currently supports are Searching, Input/Update, LC/MARC Processing, Selection, Ordering and Receiving, Gift and Blanket Order Processing, Cataloging, and Binding and Labeling. Other systems that are currently in development are Circula...

Two Shared Cataloging Data Bases: A Comparison

Abstract: The Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) and Blackwell North America (BIN A) have data bases used by many libraries to produce catalog copy. These data bases are compared for availability of cataloging for English language books. Although OCLC provides cataloging for a larger p·ercentage of titles, the BIN A data base produces a high enough percentage of hits to be very valuable. The greater number of titles available through OCLC is attributable to the larger group of contributors, not necessarily to quality of the data base. The difference in cost between the two systems and the comparable peripheral services available make utilization of BIN A data base appealing.

The Search for Uniformity in Cataloging: Centralization and Standardization

Abstract: REGULARIZATION OF cataloging data has been a recognized goal of efforts toward bibliographical control of library materials for more than a century in the United States. Indeed, it could be successfully argued that ways to achieve consistency in cataloging have been of concern to at least some librarians since the days of the ancient collections in the Mesopotamian Valley and Egypt. Only recently, however, has the goal of one-time cataloging appeared to be attainable, and the effort to achieve it has produced certain reactions which sometimes retard the process. At the outset of any review of movements toward centralization and standardization of cataloging, it must be admitted that relatively little attention has been paid, at least in recent years, to those who maintain that standardization (and quite possibly centralization as well) are not desirable goals. The assumption has been that one-time cataloging is a good thing. Having come so close to accomplishing one-time cataloging, librarians can now afford to direct some serious questions to those who have almost blindly championed standardization as the utopia of bibliographic control. This review of efforts toward standardization and centralization will first summarize the history of American plans to achieve one-time cataloging. It will also attempt to relate this history to what has been happening in other countries, especially during the past decade, to attain similar goals. Finally, attention will be directed to the challenges issued to the proponents of one-time cataloging by those who question the value of the goal itself.

The Genesis of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules

Abstract: The roots of the code of cataloging rules now in use by libraries, the AngloAmerican Cataloging Rules of 1967, go deep, at least to 1841 and Anthony Panizzi's famed ninety-one rules for the cataloging of works at the British Museum. These rules furnished the foundation for the thirty-four Rules for Preparing Catalogues which Charles Coffin Jewett of the Smithsonian Institution set forth in 1852 äs a proposed national code for library cataloging. In 1858, Jewett became the first Superintendent of the Boston Public Library. His cataloging rules were followed in preparing the printed book catalogs of that Institution. Jewett died at the age of fifty-two, in 1868, while still Superintendent. Not long before his death he hired a young man, one Charles Ammi Cutter, who was at the time an assistant cataloger at the Harvard University Library, to prepare a catalog of a special collection in the Boston Library. Thus Cutter and Jewett came to know one another and the younger man had an opportunity to work closely with Jewett and with his code of cataloging rules. Simultaneously with his special project at the Boston Public Library, Cutter was assisting the librarian of the Harvard University Library, Ezra Abbot, on the recataloging of that library. Abbot's catalog was a public card catalog, rather than a manuscript or printed bound volume äs was more usual at the time. The catalog was divided into two parts: an author catalog and a classed catalog with the main classes arranged alphabetically; subdivisions under these main classes were also alphabetical. Eight years of close collaboration with Abbot (1860-1868) certainly left an indelible impression on Cutter äs he developed his own philosophies of library Service and the function of the catalog in the library. In December 1868, Charles Cutter was appointed Librarian of the Boston Athenaeum. One of his most pressing tasks was the compilation of a printed catalog of the collection. He teils us that it was \"the result of experience acquired in printing the first 1300 pages of [this] catalogue\" that crystallized his ideas into the first definite Statement of what he himself referred

Exchange of Bibliographic Information in Machine-readable Form

Abstract: tween agencies is not a new idea. It began with the earliest printed catalogs and became a well-established operation in the early part of the twentieth century with the sale of Library of Congress catalog cards. The need for standards to aid in the efficient transfer of bibliographic information became apparent early; the first such major standard may have been the specification for the 3 X 5 inch catalog card. The development of networks for the transfer of bibliographic information in machine-readable form from one agency to another in the 1970s is a change in form rather than in substance. The necessity to use complex electronic equipment and the desire to utilize bibliographic records without extensive manual modification have made standardization even more significant. In 1970, Wigington and Wood stated that if “a national program for information transfer has as its objectives the development of a coherent system for the efficient, effective, and economic transfer of information, then the need for a standardization program which is much more extensive than anything available to date becomes obvious.”’ Standards are created today at many different levels. Schmierer has noted five groups of institutions involved in the creation of standards.2 At the international level is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO),founded in 1946. IS0 works with national and regional standards organizations to develop recommendations and standards in all areas of technology. At the regional level are organizations such as the Pan American Standards Coordinating Committee (COPANT) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), Lucia J. Rather is Assistant Director (Cataloging), Processing Department, Library of Congress.

Libraries for Small Museums

Abstract: Presented are the very basic requirements for establishing a small special library operating under a limited budget. Physical plant organization, cataloging, book processing, circulation procedures, book selection and ordering and instructions for typists are covered. Although the practices discussed were established for a museum library, what is said will apply equally to any other type of small library. The principles of organizing a library are presented in sequential order, with text kept to a minimum; this is, in effect, a manual of procedure. The rules, in most cases, have been greatly simplified; individuals without formal library training will still be able to establish a satisfactory library. The purpose of this simplification is the idea that time equals money. The easier it is for the cataloger and typist to carry out their jobs, the more work will be done. In every case, however, provision has been made for the inclusion of all essential information. (Aithor/SJ) "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPY RIGHTED MATERIAL BY MICROFICHE ONLY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Mu .5eCi/V7 of. R r7l) ropa /ay TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S OFFICE OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PER. MISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.U.S. CEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION ta WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSDN OR ORGANIZATION DRIG INATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR DPINIDNS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU CATIDN POSITION OR POLICY. 12'/LIBRARIES FOR SMALL MUSEUMS

Toward a national information system for social science data files

Abstract: Despite a breakthrough in library cataloging of files of machine-readable social science data (directions are expected in the next Anglo-American Cataloging Rules), the U.S. system for delivering information about data files still needs strengthening. While descriptive cataloging of locally held files by research libraries should prove helpful, suppliers' restrictions on “rediffusion” of data reduce the value of a national union catalog. Subject cataloging is also a problem, although a new form heading for data files would improve the usefulness of the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The greatest improvement would be inclusion of abstracts and indexing of the files in a national bibliographic service with on-line search capability, especially one that could provide the codebooks required by those wanting to reuse others' data. With NTIS furnishing a prototype, ERIC is here proposed as a model of what is needed. ERIC has many desirable features as a “data information system” that would not disrupt present economic arrangements for delivering the files themselves.

Akers' Simple Library Cataloging

Abstract: Provides valuable guidance for librarians who work in small public, college, school, or special libraries and who have little formal training in the rudiments of cataloging.

Films in the library : a general catalog with film and broadcasting filmography of North Texas State University Library films

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to compile a catalog of two sections: (1) a comprehensive, alphabetic, annotated list of North Texas State University (NTSU) Library films (the general catalog); and (2) a classified and cross-referenced film and broadcasting filmography of NTSU Library films. The catalog represents all films available for distribution from the NTSU Library as of July, 1976. The cataloging and compilation process is described. An analysis is made of the NTSU Library film collection. The titles of 13 films are recommended for addition to the collection.

Some implications of code revision for serials librarians

Abstract: The Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR) will soon have a second edition now scheduled for publication in January 1978. Many changes will take place in the philosophy of the rules, the punctuation patterns developed for consistency, and in the organization of the text. The absence of a separate rule for serial entry, new rules for serial description, a change in what will be entered under corporate body, no form subdivisions, and no "dash" entries are among the aspects of the second edition which will have implications for serials librarians.

Collecting women's serials

Abstract: The serials collection of the Women's History Library describes an era of the women's movement that has not been documented elsewhere. The publication in April 1969 of SPAZM, the only national women's newsletter of its time, began a network that brought all the subsequent serials, and a great deal of other material on women, to the Library, and led to the creation of the library of record of the movement. New methods of collection development and cataloging were found to deal with this unorthodox material. When the Library stopped collecting, in 1974, microfilmed records were published of the serials (Herstory) and parts of the clipping file (Women and Health, Women and Law). Demand for the collections, and the lack of any other record of the formative period of the current women's movement, has placed the microfilms of them in over 200 libraries in seven countries.

NUCMC and the Local Repository

Abstract: Familiarly known as NUCMC, the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections was devised to provide information to the researcher about the location and character of manuscript collections in repositories throughout the United States. The eleventh volume in the series (1972) "brings the total number of collections described to date to 31,256, representing holdings in 883 repositories."1 This realization of a dream of historians, archivists, manuscript curators, and librarians, the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections had its beginnings with a grant of $200,000 from the Council on Library Resources in November 1958, and agreement by the Library of Congress to house the project.2 All of the earlier efforts to initiate a national register of manuscripts came to fruition. An essential element in the participation of the Library of Congress in this massive undertaking was the standardization of the information from all local repositories to make a truly national catalog. The Library of Congress made standardization a condition and then proceeded to make it a reality by publication of the Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress: Manuscripts (1954).3 Robert H. Land's article on the Catalog in 1954 described the development of these rules.4 Land ended his article pointing out that "even if nothing more should come of our efforts than adoption of dur rules by repositories, the Library will have made a contribution towards the creation of a union catalog of manuscript collections by providing, as the first step, the means for nationwide uniformity in describing manuscripts."5 Paul S. Dunkin, foremost critic and teacher of American cataloging practice, has pointed out that standardization and simplification of cataloging rules result from

Centralized automated cataloging of health science materials in the MLC/SUNY/OCLC shared cataloging service.

Abstract: Since February 1976, The Medical Library Center of New York, with the assistance of the SUNY/OCLC Network, has offered, on a subscription basis, a centralized automated cataloging service to health science libraries in the greater metropolitan New York area. By using workforms and prints of OCLC record (amended by the subscribing participants), technical services personnel at the center have fed cataloging data, via a CRT terminal, into the OCLC system, which provides (1) catalog cards, received in computer filing order; (2) book card, spine, and pocket labels; (3) accessions lists; and (4) data for eventual production of book catalogs and union catalogs. The experience of the center in the development, implementation, operation, and budgeting of its shared cataloging service is discussed.

Future library network automation

Abstract: This article suggests possible new directions towards solving some of the problems which detract from the current computerized cooperative library networks. The author deals with three main problems: varying levels of bibliographic needs; lack of integration of all library technical processing in automated systems; existing computer network architecture bottlenecks and costs. The ideas presented use distributed data and distributed computing to support the network and introduce a tiered system of bibliographic activity to optimize the benefits of cooperation.

Changes in Cataloging Codes: Rules for Description

Abstract: IN A SIMPLER era, an “international standard” was the considered opinion of a single intellect-preferably a6 opinion formed in the context of wise consultation and practical experience-which was subsequently adopted and/or adapted for use by individuals, institutions, or groups far from the sphere of the originator. Is not the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) still a prime example of an international standard in bibliographic control? The most restrictive definition of “international standard” today would presumably limit the term’s application to the official promulgations of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Although IS0 standards may be generated originally from a single mind, the burden of past practice and the complex structure of interrelated activities dependent on bibliographic standards now militate so strongly against any change that the proposals of any new Solomon (a latterday Charles Ammi Cutter, perhaps?) are perforce subjected to years of bureaucratic evaluation. Considering that scarcely ten years have passed since the first significant advance in more than one-half century toward internationalizing rules for descriptive cataloging,* it may be a miracle of efficiency that the first ISO-accepted standard in the field has been established. These ten years have produced the substantial advances which are the focus of this article, but the stir of activity has thus far only muddied the waters. The calmest pools are now perhaps near the point of settling