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Cataloger Competences for Public LibrariesPresented By:

J. Randolph CallDirector for Technical Services

Detroit Public Library5201 Woodward Avenue

Detroit, MI 48202Telephone: (313) 833-4501

Fax: (313) 832-0877E-Mail: rcall@detroit.lib.mi.us

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Course Work Usually Seen on Transcripts of Prospective Catalogers

Required introductory course (one term in length).

Advanced cataloging and classification course (also one term in length).

Occasionally, one-term seminars on a facet of cataloging – technical services (for instance, serials or metadata).

Required, one-term Practicum working in a library.

A variety of classes in records management, indexing & abstracting, archival management, databases and information technology that can include useful concepts.

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Data elements in bibliographic description.

MARC structure and tags.

Limited exposure to AACR 2.

a) Introductory course is heavily book-oriented.

LCSH

A very high level overview of Technical Services workflow.

A brief exposure to variant edition issues.

Hopefully some cataloging experience during their practicum.

DDC and LC Call numbers

a) Briefly in introductory course.

Contents of these Courses

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What Do New Graduates Usually Know?(Assuming no cataloging experience outside the curriculum.)

Not enough cataloging practice, varieties of examples, and levels of detail allow a new graduate to be an independent cataloger upon hire.

New graduates I interview have been exposed to enough to realize how much more detail they need to know.

Concepts About How to Catalog

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Performed by paraprofessionals.

Librarians are expected to perform more sophisticated work.

Overwhelming Bulk of New Title Cataloging Is Not Professional Work

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Often shaky on understanding that how the local library system works may also modify what they learned.

Cataloging Is A Customer Service. It adapts as patron needs and/or wants change.

It is also one component in the larger workflow moving materials for the collections from order to shelf ready.

Local Policy and Procedure May Modify What They Learned

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What Do New Graduates Usually Not Understand?

My rule of thumb is three to six months on the job working one on one with a trainer to become routinely independent for copy cataloging Detroit Public Library’s monographic acquisitions.

Beyond that, roughly another 18 months under a trainer’s supervision to become routinely proficient solving any problem referred by a copy cataloger (including serials issues), and original cataloging for a variety of forms of material including manuscript and rare materials.

How Long It Takes to Become a Routinely Independent Professional Cataloger

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Volume expectations, goals, and even outright quotas.

Priorities, deadlines, and the technology used to accomplish both change often and radically as the Library adapts to changing patron wants and needs.

Overall expectation for the general collections is “good enough” for the patron to use, not as close to perfect as the cataloger can achieve.

Production Atmosphere

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Titles to be cataloged will already have bibliographic and item records in the database created by Acquisitions.

Because of audit trails involved, problem solving for database maintenance involves consulting with Acquisitions and can include Circulation staff.

Integrated Technical Services Workflow

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How Much Is Expected In Addition to Cataloging?

Degreed Librarians are expected to be leaders in an organization overwhelmingly composed of clerical, paraprofessional, and “other” staff.

Expectation leads to Library special assignments and projects that may or may not be cataloging related and do not change productivity expectations.

Active participation in professional activities, but without affecting productivity expectations.

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How Fast Change Happens

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Leave the Basic “Nuts and Bolts” Curriculum at the Concept Level.

As long as our local systems and databases are built on current practices and standards, training new catalogers for the complexity I see at a large institution will always be a partnership between professional education and on the job training.

How Could Library and Information Science Curricula Address These Issues?

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Time Management Training

a) Ideally, I would like to see every new graduate come to the job already familiar with and using some sort of a personal self-organizer; be it printed planner or software.

Project Planning and Management

a) Importance is having the discipline of identifying objectives, goals, steps, milestones, and the relative priorities and timeliness necessary to accomplish an overall objective.

Exposure to planning and managing budgets.

Training in what statistics can tell you and how to collect and analyze them.

Understand their own personal style of interacting with others (also called management style).

Add Equipping Graduates With a Suite of Management Tools