Cataloging

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

The academic paraprofessional cataloger : underappreciated?

Abstract: The changing role of paraprofessional catalogers in academic libraries is described vis-a-vis their counterparts, the professional catalogers. Today paraprofessional catalogers are getting involved in what used to be considered "professional work." The issues of educational requirements, cataloging duties, training, and lack of acknowledgement are brought forward. The barriers encountered by paraprofessionals are presented and the changing dynamics within cataloging departments are explored.

"Wholly Visionary": the American Library Association, the Library of Congress, and the Card Distribution Program

Abstract: This paper offers a historical review of the events and institutional influences in the nineteenth century that led to the development of the Library of Congress (LC) card distribution program as the American version of a national bibliography at the beginning of the twentieth century. It includes a discussion of the standardizing effect the card distribution program had on the cataloging rules and practices of American libraries. It concludes with the author's thoughts about how this history might be placed in the context of the present reexamination of the LC's role as primary cataloging agency for the nation's libraries.

AACR2 and Metadata: Library Opportunities in the Global Semantic Web

Abstract: SUMMARY Explores the opportunities for libraries to contribute to the proposed global “Semantic Web.” Library name and subject authority files, including work that IFLA has done related to a new view of “Universal Bibliographic Control” in the Internet environment and the work underway in the U.S. and Europe, are making a reality of the virtual international authority file on the Web. The bibliographic and authority records created according to AACR2 reflect standards for metadata that libraries have provided for years. New opportunities for using these records in the digital world are described (interoperability), including mapping with Dublin Core metadata. AACR2 recently updated Chapter 9 on Electronic Resources. That process and highlights of the changes are described, including Library of Congress' rule interpretations.

The Evolution of Bibliographic Systems in the United States, 1876-1945.

Abstract: THIS PAPER IS an attempt to describe the structure of the mechanisms and problems in the distribution and utilization of bibliographic data in USlibraries in the period from 1876 to 1945, or from the founding of the American Library Association to the close of the precomputer age In this paper, a bibliographic system is defined as the compilation and nationwide dissemination of bibliographic information, either cooperatively or from a central source agency, to independent libraries For the period under consideration it is appropriate to speak of the evolution rather than the development of such systems The purpose of a national bibliographic system is obscured by the terminology of the times In the voluminous literature on economy in cataloging, for example, librarians did not project a national bibliographic system but wrote in terms of specific topics They wanted better catalogs with less expenditure of time and money and tended to omit stating the obvious-namely, that the savings would result in better service to library users The system could release staff time and energy for more direct service to users or for expanded services It would also provide higher quality bibliographic data, expand subject access to library materials, include more efficient access to a greater number of bibliographic entities, and furnish location information for a particular item needed but not available in the user’s local library A comprehensive universal bibliographic system remains a dream of librarians Two aspects of the system, bibliographic data from a central source and access to the item by interlibrary lending, had been part of Jewett’s dream for the Smithsonian Institution His ill-fated

Authority Control in Mississippi Public and Academic Libraries

Abstract: Authority control, while important to the efficacy of online catalogs, is very costly and time-consuming. Because it is an esoteric process that is largely invisible to patrons, it is an easy target for postponement, particularly in a time of reduced staffing in technical services and claims that keyword searching in OPACS can “do it all.” A survey was designed to explore the status of authority control in public, community college, four-year college, and university libraries in Mississippi. Participants were asked about their automation status; whether they perform authority work; types of headings verified in new cataloging and upgraded in existing records; whether they use vendor services for authority control; and levels of staffing. Finally, respondents were invited to express their thoughts on improving authority work in their libraries. Sixty-three of the 102 recipients responded (a return rate of 62 percent). Almost 80 percent of the respondents performed some sort of authority work; most...