What is CatalogingThe Big Question

Are we FRBRizing?Or getting “FRADdled”?

Or is it RDA?

LIB 630 Classification and CatalogingSpring 2011

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What is Cataloging?

• cataloging – The process of creating entries for a catalog.

In libraries, this usually includes bibliographic description, subject analysis, assignment of classification notation, and activities involved in physically preparing the item for the shelf, tasks usually performed under the supervision of a librarian trained as a cataloger. British spelling is cataloguing. See also: cataloging agency, Cataloging and Classification Section, cataloging-in-publication, centralized cataloging, cooperative cataloging, copy cataloging, descriptive cataloging, encoding level, and recataloging.

• Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science, ODLIS

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2 kinds of cataloging

• Original cataloging

• Copy cataloging

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What is original cataloging?

• original cataloging – Preparation of a bibliographic record

from scratch, without the aid of a pre-existing catalog record for the same edition, more time-consuming for the cataloger than copy cataloging.

– i.e.: Do-it-yourself cataloging!

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Copy cataloging?• copy cataloging

– Adaptation of a pre-existing bibliographic record (usually found in OCLC, RLIN, NUC, or some other bibliographic database) to fit the characteristics of the item in hand, with modifications to correct obvious errors and minor adjustments to reflect locally accepted cataloging practice, as distinct from original cataloging (creating a completely new record from scratch). Synonymous with derived cataloging.

– i.e. Copy from others cataloging!

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But what are we actually doing when we catalog a book or whatever?

• We’re entering information about the book into the library’s catalog, so that when patrons are searching, they can find what they’re looking for, or, at least, something that will help them find an answer to their question.

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What is a card catalog?

• card catalog – A list of the holdings of a library, printed, typed,

or handwritten on catalog cards, each representing a single bibliographic item in the collection. Catalog cards are normally filed in a single alphabetical sequence (dictionary catalog), or in separate sections by author, title, and subject (divided catalog), in the long narrow drawers of a specially designed filing cabinet, usually constructed of wood (see this example). Most large- and medium-sized libraries in the United States have converted their card catalogs to machine-readable format. Also spelled card catalogue. Compare with online catalog.

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Online catalog?

• online catalog– A library catalog consisting of a collection of

bibliographic records in machine-readable format, maintained on a dedicated computer that provides uninterrupted interactive access via terminals or workstations in direct, continuous communication with the central computer. Although the software used in online catalogs is proprietary and not standardized, most online catalogs are searchable by author, title, subject heading, and keywords, and most public and academic libraries in the United States provide free public access, usually through a Web-based graphical user interface. Click here to log on to the online catalog of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Synonymous with OPAC.

– OPAC=online public access catalog

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Why make this distinction?

• There are those who call an online catalog the “online card catalog” or something similar.

• There are no cards on the computer, so that calling the online computer the “card” catalog is a misnomer

• “Card” refers only to the medium the catalog appears on–PLEASE DON’T DO IT!

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Elements of cataloging

• From ODLIS definition:

1. bibliographic description

2. subject analysis

3. assignment of classification notation (meaning the symbols used by the classification system)

4. activities involved in physically preparing the item for the shelf

11What information do you put into the catalog, then?

• Basic bibliographic information (AKA bibliographic description):– Author, title, publisher, date– Edition

• Basic physical information (AKA physical description):– Size, no. of pages, whether illustrated, if it

has a bibliography and/or index– Format (book, recording, electronic, etc.)

• Subject information (AKA subject analysis)

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What is bibliographic description?

• The official international definition:– “. . . lists all the elements which are

required to describe and identify all types of material which are likely to appear in library collections, . . .”• ISBD(G): General International Standard Bibliog

raphic Description 1992http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/pubs/isbdg0.htm

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Wait, there’s more, though!

• International Standard Bibliographic Description – “. . . assigns an order to the elements of

description, and specifies a system of punctuation for the description.”• ISBD(G): General International Standard Bibliog

raphic Description 1992http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/pubs/isbdg0.htm

14What is the prescribed order?– 1: title and statement of responsibility area, with the contents of [4]

• 1.1 Title proper• 1.2 General material designation• 1.3 Parallel title• 1.4 Other title information• 1.5 Statements of responsibility

– 2: edition area– 3: material or type of resource specific area (for example, the

scale of a map or the numbering of a periodical)– 4: publication, production, distribution, etc., area– 5: physical description area (for example: number of pages in a

book or number of CDs issued as a unit)– 6: series area– 7: notes area– 8: resource identifier (e.g. ISBN, ISSN) and terms of availability

area

– Structure of an ISBD record • International Standard Bibliographic Description

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Bibliographic_Description

April 12, 2023What is cataloging?

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Slide from presentation Introduction to Description: History of Cataloging Codes

What is the punctuation?

Spaces before and after the special punctuation (shown in red)!

GMD=General material designation. New rules: [ ] not ( )

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An Example

Slide from presentation Introduction to Description: History of Cataloging Codes

Notice the spaces!

Title

AuthorEditionAuthor

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What do the punctuation symbols mean?

[. . .] usually means that what’s included within the [ ] is General Material Designation, i.e. physical or electronic or other format

: usually means that what comes first is the main title and what comes after is the subtitle (if there are spaces before and after) OR what comes first is the place of publication and what comes after is the publisher

/ means that what follows is the “statement of responsibility”, i.e. author, editor, etc

18What’s the advantage of having everything so standardized?

• You can recognize and read a bibliographic record, no matter what language or script it’s written in

• You can tell what’s being described, no matter what kind of material it is

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An example in English

Main title

GMD—formatrealia=real-life object

Subtitle

Statement of responsibility

Publication info

Physical description Series info

Slide 18 from CATALOGING: Ticket to the Past, the Present, and the Future © Arlene G. Taylor

Edition

Standard number Cost of item

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An example in GermanTitle GMD=General Material Designation

(in this case: electronic resource)Subtitle

Statement of responsibility

Publication area

Series information

Standard Number

Physical Description

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An example in Bulgarian Author

Title

Subtitle (or possibly GMD?)

Statement of responsibility

Edition area

Publication area

Physical description

Standard numberClassification number

Dewey Decimal

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ISBD in an online catalog/ shows statement of responsibility, i.e. author, follows

GeneralMaterial Designation

Spaces before and after punctuation to separate sections

23What does AACR2 have to do with this?

• Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR) – A detailed set of standardized rules for

cataloging various types of library materials . . . which is divided into two parts: rules for creating the bibliographic description of an item of any type and rules governing the choice and form of entry of headings (access points) in the catalog.

Click here to read a brief history of AACR2 up to the 2002 revision, courtesy of the JSC.

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Do we need to learn all these rules?

• If you plan on specializing as a cataloger, especially in a large research library, where you will be doing a lot of original cataloging, then you will need to learn the rules.

• As an LMS, most of your cataloging will be copy cataloging, so that a general awareness of the rules will be all you need—plus knowing where to look them up!

In any case—the times, they are a-changin’!

Will there be an AACR3?• Yes and no (actually, no)—FRBR is

coming!

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What is FRBR?• Functional Requirements for

Bibliographic Records• Either F-R-B-R or “Ferber”• A report in 7 languages (soon to

add simplified and traditional Chinese)

• A “conceptual model”– entities– attributes– Relationships

This comes from the Powerpoint presentation below:

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Goal of cataloging • FRBR• To enable a

person to:– Find– Identify– Select– Obtain

• Cutter (19th century cataloging pioneer)

• To enable a person to find a book of which either – the author – the title – the subject

...is known

• To show what the library has – by a given author – on a given subject – in a given kind of literature

• To assist in the choice of a book – as to its edition (bibliographically) – as to its character (literary or topical)

Adapted from FRBR; or, How I learned to stop worrying and love the model

Do we need FRBR?

April 12, 2023What is cataloging?

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There’s also FRAD• FRAD?

– Functional Requirements for Authority Data• Authority data?

– This is part of what librarians call “authority control”

» Authority control enables librarians to create standardized catalog entries to avoid confusion

» e.g. to differentiate between authors or artists who have the same or similar names

» John Willams the composer and conductor vs. John Williams the classical guitarist

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If you’re not “frbred” or “fraddled” enough:

• RDA is coming!– RDA: Resource Description & Access– Designed for the digital world and an

expanding universe of metadata users, RDA: Resource Description and Access is the new, unified cataloging standard—an evolution of the cataloging principles from AACR2, with rules carried over or adapted to the RDA model.• Introduction, RDA Toolkit

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RDA builds on FRBR & FRAD

• FRBR and FRAD are conceptual models

• RDA puts them into practice

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Does a humble school librarian have to worry about all this gobbledygook?

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