Cataloging

About: Cataloging is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4770 publications have been published within this topic receiving 32489 citations.

The Impact of Subject Heading Assignment on Circulation of Dissertations at Virginia Tech

Abstract: Subject headings for bibliographic records for dissertations are no longer assigned at some academic libraries, but the impact this might have on dissertation use has not been evaluated. In this study, bibliographic and circulation records for a sample of 248 academic dissertations were examined to determine the effect of controlled subject headings in the records on circulation of the items. Titles with LC subject headings were compared to those without. Chi-square analysis showed significant differences in circulation for the total sample (p = .04), but not for individual areas of study. Discussion of sources of bias and suggestions for future research are included.

Gateways to the Internet: Finding quality information on the Internet

Abstract: Librarians have long sought to select, evaluate, and organize information on the Internet. Efforts began with individual librarians sharing bookmark files of favorite sites and progressed to increasingly large, collaboratively produced general and subject/discipline-specific gateway Web sites or megasites. Megasites list major resources usually in a particular subject area or discipline. Library portals that review, evaluate, and sometimes rate and rank resources grew from some of these Web sites. Both megasites and portals serve as gateways to the Internet. Many portals have developed from relatively small static files into large, dynamically generated databases providing descriptive annotations of selected resources and are increasingly overseen as global projects with formal policies and procedures. Portals now provide increasingly complex and sophisticated browse and search capabilities with a multitude of access points, often including call numbers and subject headings. These are described and compared. Future trends such as increased collaboration among portals; automated location, selection, and cataloging of resources; integration of multiple resource types; and increased access to full-content and virtual library services are also discussed.