Basic cataloguing for non-cataloguers

Instructor: Elisa Sze, Librarian (Collections & Public Services)

You will need to have access to the Internet for this workshop.

iSkills Workshop, Winter 2019

What is cataloguing?

A catalogue is:• An inventory of a collection• Represents the collection as a whole• Represents each resource in the collection• A tool that enables specific user tasksWhat are some examples of user tasks?

Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (2016)

“Convenience of the user” is the most important of the 13 general principles outlined by IFLA:

“Decisions taken in the making of descriptions and controlled forms of names for access should be made with the user in mind” (p. 5).

What steps are involved in cataloguing?

What is classification?

“The process of dividing objects or concepts into logically hierarchical classes… based on the characteristics they have in common and those that distinguish them” (ODLIS, n.d., “Classification”).

= Notational approach to describe what a resource is about

What are subject headings?= Verbal approach to describe what a resource is about

Controlled vocabularies often denote relationships between concepts and terms:

BT USE

NT UF

RT Scope

Excerpt from LCSH

Quaker cooking (Not Subd Geog) UF Cookery, Quaker [Former heading]

Friend cooking Quaker cookery [Former heading]

BT Cooking

Descriptive cataloguing

Descriptive records act as surrogates of actual resources in the collection.

Surrogates:• Represent the resource – via transcription

and description• Provide access points – via headings for

names, titles, place names, subjects

Examples of surrogate records

How to represent the resource

Decide what you are cataloguing:• Single unit or multipart? • Is it a serial or an integrating resource?• What type of content is it?• What is the medium?• What container (“carrier”) holds the content?• What relationship does the resource bear

with other entities? (e.g., agents, places, subjects, related resources)

How to represent the resource

Once you know what you are cataloguing, identify the data elements (= “attributes” or “properties”) that help to describe the resource.

Most descriptive standards will tell you what data elements need to be filled out for specific types of resources.

Example: Library of Congress on RDA elements -www.loc.gov/aba/rda/pdf/core_elements.pdf

Goals to meet

• Representation• Accuracy• Consistency• Ease of the user• Collocation• Access Access points

What are access points?Headings (fields) found in a bibliographic record that can be used to search for a resource:

• Agents = individuals, groups, and corporate bodies that played a significant role

• Places in so far as a work is about a place• Uniform title = most commonly known title• Subjects

Related concept: Authority control

What is authority control?= Establishment of consistent headings, which are used in the organization of bibliographic records

Authority control requires:• Consistency• Accurate identification • Disambiguation

Encoding (or structuring) the metadata• Key to cooperative cataloguing• Metadata is structured in a machine-readable

format that allows computer applications to parse the data

• Libraries set up their search and retrieval applications according to the Z39.50 data exchange protocol.

• Cross-walking enables record-sharing across an even broader array of institutions.

Understanding MARC tags and subfield codesLook up MARC21 Format for Bibliographic Data – www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic.Define each data element listed in your handout.

Exercise 1Identify the step in the cataloguer’s workflow

Exercise 2Identify the data element within a bibliographic description

Exercise 3Identify each data element in the authority record. Look up the MARC tags at www.loc.gov/marc/authority/.

Exercise 4Thought process for cataloguing a book

Exercise 5Group task

Remember to return all items + barcode cards to Elisa at the end of this exercise.

Thank you for your attentionBefore you go:• Return all your items + barcode cards to Elisa• Sign the attendance list

Further questions? Email: elisa.sze@utoronto.caIn person: Inforum, 4th floor (ask for me)