Collection Strategy & Assessment Librarian
Course Texts
Organizing Knowledge by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9780754644316Publication Date: 2008-02-28Fourth edition incorporates extensive revisions reflecting the increasing shift towards a networked and digital information environment, and its impact on documents, information, knowledge, users and managers. Offers a broad-based overview of the approaches and tools used in the structuring and dissemination of knowledge.
The Concise AACR2 by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9780838935484Publication Date: 2004-10-01Fourth edition, fully revised and in concordance with AACR2, 2002 Revision 2004 Update. Explains the more generally applicable AACR2 rules for cataloging library materials in simplified terms that make the rules more accessible and practical for practitioners and students who are in less complex library and bibliographic environments. Clear, user-friendly "need to know" guidance. Includes a glossary of important cataloging terms used in the rules.
Information and Society by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9780262533386Publication Date: 2017-03-03A concise, informal account of the ways in which information and society are related and of our ever-increasing dependence on a complex multiplicity of messages, records, documents, and data. Explores the influence of information on what we know, the role of communication and recorded information in our daily lives, and the difficulty (or ease) of finding information.
Data Content Standards
Data content standards (cataloging rules and codes). These are guidelines for the format and syntax of the data values that are used to populate metadata elements.
Data Content Standards provide the rules on how data should be entered into the elements/fields.
- RDA: Resource Description and AccessA package of data elements, guidelines, and instructions for creating library and cultural heritage resource metadata that are well-formed according to international models for user-focused linked data applications.
The Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR) are designed for use in the construction of catalogues and other lists in general libraries of all sizes. The rules cover the description of, and the provision of access points for, all library materials commonly collected at the present time.
Part I deals with the provision of information describing the item being catalogued, and Part II deals with the determination and establishment of headings (access points) under which the descriptive information is to be presented to catalogue users, and with the making of references to those headings. In both parts the rules proceed from the general to the specific.
- Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR, AACR2, AACR2R)Information from the Librarianship Studies & Information Technology website.
- The Concise AACR2 by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9780838935484Publication Date: 2004-10-01Fourth edition, fully revised and in concordance with AACR2, 2002 Revision 2004 Update. Explains the more generally applicable AACR2 rules for cataloging library materials in simplified terms that make the rules more accessible and practical for practitioners and students who are in less complex library and bibliographic environments. Clear, user-friendly "need to know" guidance. Includes a glossary of important cataloging terms used in the rules.
Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO) is a manual to help you describe, document, and catalog cultural artifacts (like art and architecture) and visual media that represent them.
Use CCO to:
- Create sharable metadata
- Build common practice for museums, digital libraries, and archives
- Complement diverse data structure and value standards in any system
- Improve discovery and access of cultural works
Cataloging Cultural Objects by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9780838935644Publication Date: 2006-06-12A data content standard focused on cultural materials. This reference offers practical resources for cataloging and flexibility to meet the needs of a wide range of institutions--from libraries to museums to archives. Consistently following these guidelines for selecting, ordering, and formatting data used to populate metadata elements in cultural materials' catalog records: Promotes good descriptive cataloging and reduces redundancy Builds a foundation of shared documentation Creates data sharing opportunities Enhances end-user access across institutional boundaries Complements existing standards (AACR).
Data Structure Standards
Data Structure Standards (metadata element sets, schemas) define a record, what elements / fields are present and used, and the relationships between them. These are “categories” or “containers” of data that make up a record or other information object.
Metadata, literally "data about data" -- specifically, descriptive metadata -- is structured data about anything that can be named, such as Web pages, books, journal articles, images, songs, products, processes, people (and their activities), research data, concepts, and services. Now a mainstream concept, metadata first trended in 1995, closely following World Wide Web in 1994.
-- DCMI
Dublin Core metadata, or perhaps more accurately metadata "in the Dublin Core style", is metadata designed for interoperability on the basis of Semantic Web or Linked Data principles. Metadata in this style uses Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) as global identifiers both for the things described by the metadata and for the terms used to describe them (vocabularies).
- Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)An organization supporting innovation in metadata design and best practices across the metadata ecology.
- Generic Examples of Dublin Core MetadataFrom the Dublin Core website.
The METS schema is a standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium. The standard is maintained by the METS Board in collaboration with the Network Development and MARC Standards Office of the Library of Congress, and started as an initiative of the Digital Library Federation.
- Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard (METS)From the Library of Congress Standards.
Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) is a schema for a bibliographic element set that may be used for a variety of purposes, and particularly for library applications.
- Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS)From the Library of Congress Standards.
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is an XML standard for encoding archival finding aids, maintained by the Technical Subcommittee for Encoded Archival Standards of the Society of American Archivists, in partnership with the Library of Congress.
- Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Official SiteFrom the Library of Congress
The MARC formats are standards for the representation and communication of bibliographic and related information in machine-readable form.
- What is a Marc Record, and Why is it Important?An explanation of what a MARC record is, and the basic information needed to understand and evaluate a MARC record.
- MARC 21 Formats: Background and PrinciplesBackground and principles for content designation in the MARC 21 formats. Includes explanation of the fields.
- MARC StandardsResources from the Library of Congress Standards for Librarians and Archivists.
- BIBFRAME at the Library of CongressResources and training materials from the Library of Congress. Includes the BIBFRAME Manual.
- What Is FRBR?: A Conceptual Model for the Bibliographic UniverseAa brochure written by Dr. Barbara B. Tillett that describes the conceptual model applied to the functional requirements for bibliographic records.
- Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA)A set of guidelines for best practice in cataloging and describing works of art, architecture, other material culture, groups and collections of works, and related images.
Library Classification
Library Classification or Classification or Book Classification or Bibliographic Classification is the process of arranging, grouping, coding, and organizing books and other library materials (e.g. serials, sound recordings, moving images, cartographic materials, manuscripts, computer files, e-resources etc.) on shelves or entries of a catalog, bibliography, and index according to their subject in a systematic, logical, and helpful order by way of assigning them call numbers using a library classification system, so that users can find them as quickly and easily as possible. The call number serves a dual purpose: it determines the place of a book on the shelf and colocates books on the same topic next to each other.
-- Librarianship Studies and Information Technology
What is Classification?
- The use of a system of notations or symbols to categorize the contents of resources
- Used to provide logical shelf arrangement (i.e., call numbers), but also can be useful in searching the catalog
- Organized by disciplines, they begin with broad general topics which give way to more specific subtopics
Young, J.L. & Joudrey, D.N. (2016). Library of Congress Subject Headings: Online Training.
"The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress. It was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to organize and arrange the book collections of the Library of Congress. Over the course of the twentieth century, the system was adopted for use by other libraries as well, especially large academic libraries in the United States. It is currently one of the most widely used library classification systems in the world."
- Library of Congress ClassificationThis article describes the various aspects of the LCC and its suitability as a library classification system for classifying library resources. It begins with an introduction, recounting its history and development, leading up to an explanation of principles, structure, tables, and notation. This is followed by number building examples with MARC 21 coding for LCC numbers.
- Library of Congress Classification OutlineThe letters and titles of the main classes of the LCC. Click on any class to view an outline of its subclasses. Each class can be downloaded as a PDF file.
- Dewey Decimal System TutorialA slide presentation tutorial on the Dewey Decimal Classification System created by OCLC.
- Dewey SummariesA history and overview of the Dewey Summaries.
- Using the Cutter TableA short Cutter table taken from the Library of Congress's Classification and Shelflisting Manual instruction sheet G 63 for use as a guide.
- Cutter - Sanborn TableA free, online table of Cutter numbers arranged alphabetically.
Data Value Standards
Data value standards (controlled vocabularies, thesauri, controlled lists). These are the terms, names, and other values that are used to populate data structure standards or metadata element sets.
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is the list of headings produced from the subject authority file maintained by the United States Library of Congress for use in bibliographic records. It is popularly known by its abbreviation as LCSH and is sometimes used interchangeably with the phrase subject authority file. LCSH is a controlled vocabulary. -- Librarianship Studies & Information Technology
- Library of Congress Subject Headings, Name Authority File, and Thesaurus for Graphic MaterialsWebsite with interactive and machine access to commonly used ontologies, controlled vocabularies, and other lists for bibliographic description.
- Subject and Genre/Form HeadingsDownloadable PDF files for the Subject Heading Manual and the 44th Edition of the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). Data for the 44th edition was selected in May 2022.
- MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)A controlled and hierarchically-organized vocabulary produced by the National Library of Medicine. It is used for indexing, cataloging, and searching of biomedical and health-related information.
Authority control is a process that organizes bibliographic information in library catalogs by using a single, distinct spelling of a name (access point or heading) or a subject for each topic.
Haider, S. (2021, May 9). Glossary of Library & Information Science. Librarianship Studies & Information Technology.
- Library of Congress AuthoritiesBrowse and view authority headings for Subject, Name, Title and Name/Title combinations; and download authority records in MARC format for use in a local library system.
- VIAF: The Virtual International Authority FileCombines multiple name authority files into a single OCLC-hosted name authority service. This service allows researchers to identify names, locations, works, and expressions while preserving regional preferences for language, spelling, and script.
- Union List of Artist Names (ULAN - Getty Institute)Includes names, relationships, and biographical information for makers and other people and corporate bodies required for the documentation, collection, and discovery of information about art, architecture, and other material culture where the works are of the type collected by art museums and other repositories for visual cultural heritage, or that are architecture.
- Cultural Objects Name Authority & Iconography Authority (CONA & IA - Getty Institute)The scope of CONA may include many types of visual works, including architecture and movable works such as paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, manuscripts, photographs, textiles, basketry, ceramics, furniture, other visual media such as frescoes and architectural sculpture, performance art, archaeological artifacts, and various functional or ceremonial objects that are from the realm of material culture and of the type collected by museums.
The scope of IA includes proper names and other information for named events, themes and narratives from religion/mythology, legendary and fictional characters, themes from literature, works of literature and performing arts, and legendary and fictional places.
- Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT - Getty Institute)Includes generic terms, and associated dates, relationships, and other information about concepts related to or required to catalog, discover, and retrieve information about art, architecture, and other visual cultural heritage, including related disciplines dealing with visual works, such as archaeology and conservation, where the works are of the type collected by art museums and repositories for visual cultural heritage, or that are architecture.
- Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN - Getty Institute)The scope includes names, relationships, place types, dates, and coordinates for places required to catalog, discover, and retrieve information about art, architecture, and other visual cultural heritage, including related disciplines dealing with visual works, such as archaeology and conservation.
Cataloging
Cataloging
Definition:
Cataloging or Library Cataloging is the process of creating and maintaining bibliographic and authority records of the library catalog, the database of books, serials, sound recordings, moving images, cartographic materials, computer files, e-resources etc. that are owned by a library. The catalog may be in tangible form, such as a card catalog or in electronic form, such as online public access catalog (OPAC). The process of cataloging involves two major activities, viz. Descriptive Cataloging and Subject Cataloging. In Descriptive Cataloging, we describe details of library resources, such as the name of creator(s), contributor(s), titles, edition, publication, distribution, date, physical description, series etc. Two popular standards for Descriptive Cataloging are Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR) and its successor Resource Description and Access (RDA). Subject cataloging involves subject analysis of the resource and assignment of classification numbers using schemes such as Library of Congress Classification (LCC) or Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and providing subject headings using schemes such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).
Haider, S. (2021, May 9). Glossary of Library & Information Science. Librarianship Studies & Information Technology.
Image: From Card Catalog to the Book on the Shelf [Digitized Poster], by C. Booth, 2011, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/68103485@N05/6208388149/). CC BY 2.0.
Descriptive Cataloging
Definition:
That part of the indexing process which is concerned with identifying and describing a document by recording information such as title, author's name, edition, imprint details, collation, series details etc.
Keenan, S., & eBook Academic Collection - North America. (2000). Concise dictionary of library and information science (2nd;2; ed.). K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH & Company
Subject Cataloging
Definition:
Subject cataloging is the phase of the cataloging process which is concerned with determining and describing the intellectual or artistic content and the genre/form characteristics of a resource, and translating that understanding into subject headings and classification notations.
After the resource’s aboutness has been determined, as many subject headings as are appropriate are chosen from a standard list. There are many such lists, including: Library of Congress Subject Headings (known as LCSH), the LC Genre/Form Terms for Library and Archival Materials, Medical Subject Headings (which is often referred to as MeSH), the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, and so on.
In addition, a classification notation is chosen from whatever classification scheme is used by the library. In the United States, the most likely candidates are the Library of Congress Classification (often referred to as LCC) or the Dewey Decimal Classification (known as DDC).
Traditionally in the U.S., the classification serves as a means for bringing a resource into close proximity with other resources on the same or related subjects. In the case of tangible resources, the classification is the first element of the call number, which is a device used to identify and locate a particular resource on the shelves.
Young, J.L. and Joudrey, D.N. (2016). Library of Congress Subject Headings: Online Training.
Training & Tutorials
- Dewey Training CoursesMore than two dozen free, online training modules from OCLC.
- RDA TrainingFree online training from the Library of Congress.
- Library of Congress Classification: Online Training12 online training units on Library of Congress Classification (LCC). These were developed primarily to meet internal training needs, but are freely available online as a service to the library community.
- Library of Congress Subject Headings: Online Training8 online training units on Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). These were developed primarily to meet internal training needs, but are being made freely available online as a service to the library community.
- Learn about Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)Tutorials and webinars.
- Library of Congress Catalogers Learning WorkshopA full range of courses freely available online.
- Web Junction: Self-paced Online Cataloging CoursesThe Course Catalog has over 10 webinar recordings and self-paced courses that you can take at any time on topics including basic cataloging, the "accidental" cataloger and an introduction to RDA. Accounts are free and you receive a certification of completion after you complete the course.
Resources
- Cataloger's Reference ShelfSpecialized cataloging resources for MARC, LoC, and more.
- ISKO Encyclopedia of Knowledge Organization (IEKO)An online, open access, peer reviewed encyclopedia of knowledge organization.
Cataloging & Classification QuarterlyCall Number: [Electronic Journal]Journal of Library Metadata
Call Number: [Electronic Journal]Knowledge Organization
Call Number: [Electronic Journal]
Professional Associations, Organizations, & Web Resources
- ALA: Cataloging Tools and Resources"Providing complete cataloging for a library collection requires simultaneous use of four, sometimes five, different standards and guides. This LibGuide will explain the tools needed, along with information on the sources for them."
- Core, a Division of ALA: Guidelines and StandardsIncludes resources & tools for cataloging and specialized cataloging.
- NASIGuidesThe North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) publishes a series of Guides that includes Classifying Newspapers and MARC Coding for Serials.
- International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO)The official website for the premier international scholarly society devoted to the theory and practice of knowledge organization.
- American Society for IndexingA national association founded in 1968 to promote excellence in indexing and increase awareness of the value of well-written and well-designed indexes.
Ethical Issues
- Cataloging Ethics Steering CommitteeA Cataloguing Code of Ethics for LIS professionals that create, share, enrich and maintain metadata. This website provides case studies, a cataloging ethics bibliography, cataloging ethics definition, as well as information about committee members and goals.
- List of Statements on Bias in Library and Archives DescriptionA compilation of statements from libraries and archives on harmful or offensive language in description and bias in cataloging.
- Whose Knowledge?Most public knowledge online has so far been written by white men from Europe and North America. Whose Knowledge? works particularly with women, people of color, LGBTQI communities, indigenous peoples and others from the global South to build and represent more of all of their own knowledge online.
Critical & Radical Cataloging
Radical Cataloging by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9781476605128Publication Date: 2008-04-19This collection of critical and scholarly essays addresses the state of cataloging in the world of librarianship. The contributors, including Sanford Berman, Thomas Mann, and numerous front-line library workers, address topics ranging from criticisms of the state of the profession and traditional Library of Congress cataloging to methods of making cataloging more inclusive and helpful to library users. Other essay topics include historical overviews of cataloging practices and the literature they generate, first-person discussions of library workers' experiences with cataloging or metadata work, and the implications behind what materials get cataloged, who catalogs them, and how. Several essays provide a critical overview of innovative cataloging practices and the ways that such practices have been successfully integrated in many of the nation's leading libraries.
Prejudices and Antipathies by Call Number: [Electronic Book]ISBN: 9780786493524Publication Date: 2013-11-07First published in 1971 (by Scarecrow Press), Prejudices and Antipathies marked the opening salvo in the fight to rid the Library of Congress Subject Headings of bias. In the ensuing decades, many of its recommendations have been embraced. Progress has been made but problems persist.
