Resource Description and Access

About: Resource Description and Access is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1859 publications have been published within this topic receiving 10957 citations. The topic is also known as: RDA & Resource Description & Access.

Integrating Electronic Resources into the Library Catalog: A Collaborative Approach

Abstract: The growing number of electronic resources, along with the desire for a more streamlined virtual presence, was the motivation behind the University of Mississippi Libraries' project to catalog purchased electronic resources. Having completed this project, access to electronic resources is now available only via the web-based library catalog. Success of the project was due, in part, to collaboration between cataloging and systems personnel. Outcomes include a catalog that more accurately reflects library subscriptions, centralization of electronic resource maintenance, and heightened user awareness. B efore discussing the unique set of problems that electronic resources present to catalogers, we must first define "electronic resource." For purposes of this article, the term electronic resource refers to a subscription product available via the Internet. The idea of using the catalog to manage resources over which the library has no physical control is daunting. However, as the nature of library collections changes, so too does the role of the library catalog. From the user standpoint, students and teachers expect to find more and more of the materials they need online and in an easily accessible format. Current literature shows that the issue of access versus ownership of resources is not a new problem. An informal sampling of several academic library web pages and web-based catalogs indicates that, in an attempt to address this issue, they are developing many different ways of providing access to electronic resources. This paper presents how one library changed the role of its web-based catalog from an inventory of materials on the shelves to a more accurate representation of all materials to which the library has access, regardless of physical location. Early methods in offering access to electronic

Outsourcing Cataloging, Authority Work, and Physical Processing: A Checklist of Considerations

Abstract: Library managers are increasingly outsourcing many of their library's technical services operations to contractors. This text guides librarians through the outsourcing process for cataloguing, physical processing and authority work.

Integrating Metadata Creation into Catalog Workflow

Abstract: The University of Oklahoma Libraries recently undertook a project designed to integrate digital library metadata creation into the workflow of the Cataloging Department. This article examines the conditions and factors that led to the project's genesis, the proposed and revised workflows that were developed, the staff training efforts that accompanied implementation of the project, and the results and benefits obtained through the project's implementation. The project presented several challenges but resulted in an improved workflow, greater use of Cataloging Department resources, and more accurate and useful metadata while increasing the Library's capacity to support digitization efforts in a timely fashion.

A regional medical library network.

Abstract: The raison d'etre for cooperative networks is discussed, and the development of the SUNY Biomedical Communication Network is traced briefly; a description of the system and its products is given. The cooperative cataloging program engaged in with the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine is described, as are the efforts of the Network in the production of regional and state-wide union lists of serials.