Competency G
“Understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge.”
Introduction
According to Arlene G. Taylor (2008), "Cataloging involves creating a description of the item; choosing certain names and titles to serve as access points for finding the description in the catalog; doing authority work on those names and titles; analyzing the subject matter of the work; choosing subject headings and classification notations to represent subject content; and, for physical items, creating call numbers (location devices), usually by adding a Cutter number to the classification notation to make a unique set of letters and numbers to identify the particular physical item" (p. 102).
All of these tasks are used to make library collections accessible to library patrons. Some patrons may be interested to discover how many books written by James Patterson are owned by the local library. The catalog can tell patrons that Patterson, James, 1947- has X amount of titles available. Still others may be interested in looking for books on the Spanish-American War. An appropriate subject heading is Spanish-American War, 1898. A subject search using this heading would include all of the titles which are also classed under Spanish-American War, 1898.
For those librarians working in technical services, knowledge and application of cataloging rules, such as the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition (AACR2) and the up and coming Resource Description and Access (RDA) guidelines, and how to form subject headings, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), is crucial to be able to provide records of the library’s materials in the online public access catalog (OPAC).
While not all librarians will become catalogers, having a basic understanding of cataloging rules and how to
form subject headings can be very valuable outside of technical services departments, such as in potential reference interactions not unlike those mentioned above.
Evidence
Although cataloging courses do not form part of the core coursework for San José State University’s Masters in Library and InformationScience program, I took both LIBR 248 Beginning Cataloging and Classification and LIBR 249 Advanced Cataloging and Organization of Information. LIBR 248 introduced the basic concepts of cataloging, the Anglo- American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition (AACR2), Library of Congress Subject Headings, and the Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) format. In class, the assignments focused on learning to catalog monographs (books). In LIBR 249, using the background from LIBR 248, the class assignments focused on learning to catalog serials, integrating resources, and audio-visual materials in both AACR2 and Resource Description and Access (RDA), which is the next phase in cataloging rules. To complete the assignments in LIBR 248 and LIBR 249, students were required to use the Cutter-Sanborn program, Classification Web, OCLC Connexion, and the RDA Toolkit in order to do actual cataloging work.
As evidence for meeting competency G, I am including cataloging assignments from both LIBR 248 and LIBR 249. The assignments were mostly done through a group effort. Rather than assign each person in the group a number of cataloging problems, in each class my classmates and I decided it was best for each person to try their hand at each problem and then come together to discuss differences via email or Google Talk. Often, we had a number of differences, but through discussion of cataloging rules and careful analysis of readings, catalog record examples, and class notes, we would come to a consensus and make appropriate changes. The process was often tedious, but we were able to learn much more about cataloging through our discussions.
LIBR 248: Final Project (Directions and title and other preliminary pages included)
For the final assignment in LIBR 248, my classmates and I were given the title pages and other preliminary pages and information of eight different book titles. Using this information, we were asked to create complete MARC records, including fixed fields. Each record needed to include the eight areas of descriptive cataloging information, including title and statement of responsibility, edition statement if applicable, material specific details, publication data, physical description, series area if applicable, notes areas, and standard number and terms of availability; access points, such as authority name records, and Library of Congress Subject Headings; and Dewey Decimal Classification and Library of Congress Classification numbers. We also attached a short essay noting why we made certain cataloging choices.
LIBR 249: RDA Cataloging Training Guide for DVDs (Feedback included)
In LIBR 249, one of our assignments was to develop a training guide to teach other catalogers how to catalog an audio-visual item using either AACR2 or RDA. The assignment also needed to include sample records and examples. Although RDA, at this point, was still in its test phase, our group chose to develop a guide to aid those cataloging DVDs using the RDA guidelines. In June 2011, a month after LIBR 249 ended, the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee issued a statement indicating that the three national libraries, the Library of Congress, the National Agricultural Library, and the National Library of Medicine, will begin cataloging using the RDA guidelines in January 2013 (U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee, 2011, p. 2). Being able to understand both cataloging rules is very important now that librarians will have to work with records in both formats. Although there were some problems with our training guide, such as a few unintenionally omitted MARC fields, this assignment shows my ability to move from AACR2 to RDA.
LIBR 210: Cataloging and Reference Discussion Post
As mentioned in the introduction to this competency, having knowledge of cataloging can also help librarians doing reference work. In LIBR 210 Reference and Information Services, one of the lessons focused on reference in relation to cataloging. One of the points the lesson made was that librarians need to know about uniform titles (official titles which can be found in MARC field 130) to be able to find a particular version of a religious work, such as the Bible, or a musical composition that goes by a number of different names. Donlan’s (2007) article, “An Unfortunate Event for Series, or, LC Outsourced You Back,” describes how having a knowledge of series statements can aid librarians in helping patrons retrieve records for items belonging to a series. As evidence of my knowledge that cataloging can be useful in reference work, I am provided a discussion post in which I explain that understanding how subject headings are arranged can be very helpful when helping patrons find books on a specific topic. For example, while a patron might describe a book as being about seniors, the established vocabulary for seniors in the Library of Congress Subject Headings is “older people.” Even if I do not become a cataloger in my career as a librarian, cataloging is very useful tool in other aspects of the library profession.
References
Donlan, R. (2007). An unfortunate event for series, or, LC outsourced you back. Reference Librarian, 47(2),
95-99.
Taylor, A.G. (2008). Organization and representation of information/knowledge. In K. Haycock & B.E. Sheldon (Eds.),The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts(98-111). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee. (2011). Executive summary: Report and recommendations of the U.S. RDA
Test Coordinating Committee. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/rda/rda-execsummary-public 13june11.pdf
According to Arlene G. Taylor (2008), "Cataloging involves creating a description of the item; choosing certain names and titles to serve as access points for finding the description in the catalog; doing authority work on those names and titles; analyzing the subject matter of the work; choosing subject headings and classification notations to represent subject content; and, for physical items, creating call numbers (location devices), usually by adding a Cutter number to the classification notation to make a unique set of letters and numbers to identify the particular physical item" (p. 102).
All of these tasks are used to make library collections accessible to library patrons. Some patrons may be interested to discover how many books written by James Patterson are owned by the local library. The catalog can tell patrons that Patterson, James, 1947- has X amount of titles available. Still others may be interested in looking for books on the Spanish-American War. An appropriate subject heading is Spanish-American War, 1898. A subject search using this heading would include all of the titles which are also classed under Spanish-American War, 1898.
For those librarians working in technical services, knowledge and application of cataloging rules, such as the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition (AACR2) and the up and coming Resource Description and Access (RDA) guidelines, and how to form subject headings, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), is crucial to be able to provide records of the library’s materials in the online public access catalog (OPAC).
While not all librarians will become catalogers, having a basic understanding of cataloging rules and how to
form subject headings can be very valuable outside of technical services departments, such as in potential reference interactions not unlike those mentioned above.
Evidence
Although cataloging courses do not form part of the core coursework for San José State University’s Masters in Library and InformationScience program, I took both LIBR 248 Beginning Cataloging and Classification and LIBR 249 Advanced Cataloging and Organization of Information. LIBR 248 introduced the basic concepts of cataloging, the Anglo- American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition (AACR2), Library of Congress Subject Headings, and the Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) format. In class, the assignments focused on learning to catalog monographs (books). In LIBR 249, using the background from LIBR 248, the class assignments focused on learning to catalog serials, integrating resources, and audio-visual materials in both AACR2 and Resource Description and Access (RDA), which is the next phase in cataloging rules. To complete the assignments in LIBR 248 and LIBR 249, students were required to use the Cutter-Sanborn program, Classification Web, OCLC Connexion, and the RDA Toolkit in order to do actual cataloging work.
As evidence for meeting competency G, I am including cataloging assignments from both LIBR 248 and LIBR 249. The assignments were mostly done through a group effort. Rather than assign each person in the group a number of cataloging problems, in each class my classmates and I decided it was best for each person to try their hand at each problem and then come together to discuss differences via email or Google Talk. Often, we had a number of differences, but through discussion of cataloging rules and careful analysis of readings, catalog record examples, and class notes, we would come to a consensus and make appropriate changes. The process was often tedious, but we were able to learn much more about cataloging through our discussions.
LIBR 248: Final Project (Directions and title and other preliminary pages included)
For the final assignment in LIBR 248, my classmates and I were given the title pages and other preliminary pages and information of eight different book titles. Using this information, we were asked to create complete MARC records, including fixed fields. Each record needed to include the eight areas of descriptive cataloging information, including title and statement of responsibility, edition statement if applicable, material specific details, publication data, physical description, series area if applicable, notes areas, and standard number and terms of availability; access points, such as authority name records, and Library of Congress Subject Headings; and Dewey Decimal Classification and Library of Congress Classification numbers. We also attached a short essay noting why we made certain cataloging choices.
LIBR 249: RDA Cataloging Training Guide for DVDs (Feedback included)
In LIBR 249, one of our assignments was to develop a training guide to teach other catalogers how to catalog an audio-visual item using either AACR2 or RDA. The assignment also needed to include sample records and examples. Although RDA, at this point, was still in its test phase, our group chose to develop a guide to aid those cataloging DVDs using the RDA guidelines. In June 2011, a month after LIBR 249 ended, the U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee issued a statement indicating that the three national libraries, the Library of Congress, the National Agricultural Library, and the National Library of Medicine, will begin cataloging using the RDA guidelines in January 2013 (U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee, 2011, p. 2). Being able to understand both cataloging rules is very important now that librarians will have to work with records in both formats. Although there were some problems with our training guide, such as a few unintenionally omitted MARC fields, this assignment shows my ability to move from AACR2 to RDA.
LIBR 210: Cataloging and Reference Discussion Post
As mentioned in the introduction to this competency, having knowledge of cataloging can also help librarians doing reference work. In LIBR 210 Reference and Information Services, one of the lessons focused on reference in relation to cataloging. One of the points the lesson made was that librarians need to know about uniform titles (official titles which can be found in MARC field 130) to be able to find a particular version of a religious work, such as the Bible, or a musical composition that goes by a number of different names. Donlan’s (2007) article, “An Unfortunate Event for Series, or, LC Outsourced You Back,” describes how having a knowledge of series statements can aid librarians in helping patrons retrieve records for items belonging to a series. As evidence of my knowledge that cataloging can be useful in reference work, I am provided a discussion post in which I explain that understanding how subject headings are arranged can be very helpful when helping patrons find books on a specific topic. For example, while a patron might describe a book as being about seniors, the established vocabulary for seniors in the Library of Congress Subject Headings is “older people.” Even if I do not become a cataloger in my career as a librarian, cataloging is very useful tool in other aspects of the library profession.
References
Donlan, R. (2007). An unfortunate event for series, or, LC outsourced you back. Reference Librarian, 47(2),
95-99.
Taylor, A.G. (2008). Organization and representation of information/knowledge. In K. Haycock & B.E. Sheldon (Eds.),The portable MLIS: Insights from the experts(98-111). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
U.S. RDA Test Coordinating Committee. (2011). Executive summary: Report and recommendations of the U.S. RDA
Test Coordinating Committee. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/rda/rda-execsummary-public 13june11.pdf
Files
Below are the files to my pieces of evidence.
LIBR 248_instructions and title pages for final project | |
File Size: | 222 kb |
File Type: |
LIBR_248_final_project.pdf | |
File Size: | 715 kb |
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LIBR_249_rda_dvd_guide.pdf | |
File Size: | 875 kb |
File Type: |
LIBR_249_feedback_rda_dvd_guide.pdf | |
File Size: | 512 kb |
File Type: |
LIBR_210_cataloging_and_reference.pdf | |
File Size: | 190 kb |
File Type: |