University of MysoreManasagangothri

DOS in Library and Information Science3rd Semester

Paper: Library Automation and NetworkingSeminar Topic on: Automated Cataloguing

System

Presented To,Dr. Chandrashekhara, M.

ProfessorDOS in MLISc

Automated

Cataloguing System

Introduction: Development of computerized cataloguing

subsystem is one of the most important and intense facets of library automation. In an automated cataloguing system the intellectual work of describing an item or document and analysis in its subject content has been done by the library staff, whereas machines have been used to generate a wide variety of products derived from such description and analysis. Automated cataloguing systems are useful to control the clerical and technical processes involved, and to promote the exchange and use of cataloguing data locally, regionally, nationally and globally.

Basic Requirements for Catalogue Module:

In view of the recent developments in ICT sector, a modern LMS should provide appropriate facilities on its catalogue module. The basic necessities of module for machine-readable cataloguing may be formulated with the following requirements:

• Bibliographic requirements should• Authority control requirements should• OPAC requirements should• Downloading requirements should• Reports and backup requirements should

1.Bibliographic requirements should:• support different types of classification

schemes and vocabulary control devices (e.g. subject heading lists or thesaurus and electronic resources);

• support standard bibliographic and authority record formats (e.g. MARC, CCF, etc.);

• enable a bibliographic record to be retrieved and modified at any time, after entering the data;

• support items like monograph, serial, government document or any other type of materials;

• support withdrawal of items, export and import of records.

2. Authority control requirements should:

• be capable to support and incorporate changes in the MARC authority format or other national/international standard formats;49

• generate various kinds of references from authority records;

• accommodate:– personal, corporate and topical name heading

in a name authority file;– title, uniform title, and series entries in a title

authority file;– subject headings in a subject authority file.

3. OPAC requirements should:• allow both simple and expert

searching;• support users to enter multiple words

or phrases to be searched in one, more than one or all fields;

• enable users to limit searches by: publication year, language, item type, item category, location and access;

• support multilingual features;

4. Downloading requirements should:

be Z39.50 complaint cataloguing system [ANSI/NISO Z39.50 (1995) or ISO 239.50 (1998)];50

enable to capture bibliographic and authority records from any Z39.50 server through Z39.50 client;

allow local manipulation of captured data.

5. Reports and backup requirements should:

• generate lists, statistics and counts of items added or tabulated by call number, item categories, item location etc.;

• produce a list of all citations with authority file violations;

• support backup of all cataloguing records in suitable media (magnetic, optical etc.) and easy recovery of records at the time of need.

Basic Concepts Related to Automated Cataloguing:

Some fundamental concepts related to database, standardization of data entry format, authority file, retrospective conversion, shared cataloguing and other relevant ideas. Let us look at them one by one.

• Data: A collection of raw facts that become information after proper organization or processing.

• Data element: A meaningful collection of related characters also called a field or data item. It is the smallest unit of the record that is explicitly identified.

• Data structure: A logically related set of data that can be decomposed into lower level data elements. It is a group of data elements handled as a unit.

• Database: A collection of data files integrated and organized into a single comprehensive file system, which is arranged to minimize duplication of data and to provide convenient access to information to satisfy a wide variety of user needs.

• Database management system: A software package used as a tool for building individual database systems. It is also used for the management, maintenance and retrieval of the data stored in a database.

• Record: A collection of information, in one or more fields, about an entity.

• Data field: In a record, a meaningful collection of one or more related characters are treated as a unit. In bibliographic records, these are variable length portion containing a particular category of data.

• Sub-field: A separately identified part of a data field containing a data element.

• Repeatable field: A data field, which may appear more than once in the same segment.

• Repeatable sub-field: A subfield, which may appear more than once in a single occurrence of the data field to which it belongs.

• Bibliographic record: A collection of specifically defined character strings, including a record label, a directory and bibliographic data describing one or more bibliographic items treated as one entity.

• Mandatory field: A data field, which should appear in the record when the relevant information appears on the item.

• Content designator: A code (i.e. tag, indicator, subfield identifier, occurrence identifier etc.) that describes some attribute of a data element or group of data elements.

• Entity: The object described in a record. This may be an institution, person, bibliographic items, research projects etc.

• Directory: A table of entries, each of which gives the tag, length, and location within the record, segment identifier and occurrence identifier of one data field.

• Tag: A three characters code appearing in the directory, associated with a data field and used to identify it.

• Sub-field identifier: Two characters immediately preceding and identifying a subfield. First character is called subfield flag and the second character is termed as subfield code.

• Indicator: The first two characters of each data field, supplying further information about the contents of the field.

Output of Automated Cataloguing system:

1. OPAC and Other Catalogue Forms2. Reports, Lists and Labels3. Information Products for User

Services

A) OPAC and Other Catalogue Forms:

OPAC: OPAC (Online Public Access

Catalogue) has been described as the shop window of a library. It is the interface between the catalogue database of all library materials and users. OPAC meets all the objectives of the library catalogue and allows rapid information retrieval. OPAC allows browsing and searching of the catalogue databases of all the library materials.

Other catalogue forms:In addition to online access to the catalogue

databases, most packages support the generation of hard copy catalogues. Hard copy can typically be produced in offline mode in the form of

• card catalogue (main entry and added entries);• printed book catalogue;• microform; and• computer output on microform.Off-line production of catalogue records also

utilizes magnetic (tape, disk etc.) and optical (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM etc.) media as mass storage devices to store and retrieve catalogue database.

B) Reports, Lists and Labels:The catalogue module of automation packages supports the

generation of various reports, lists and labels that are required for the management of catalogue section.

These are:• Reports with a count of all records added, modified or

edited by a specific operator or over a specific period of time;

• Reports that produce statistical account of items added and tabulated by call number, item categories, item location etc.;

• Lists of items catalogued by class number, subject heading, collection type, language etc.;

• Spine labels, shelf list, book cards etc.; and• List of authority file entries, and all citations with authority

fileviolations.

C) Information Products for User Services:

The catalogue module also generates information products that form on the basis of a number of user services like bibliographic service, current awareness service etc. These are:

• List of books received in the library:- during a particular period- on a particular subject- by a particular author- by a particular author on a particular subject in a

particular period.• Bibliographies of documents received by the library

in standard format or as per the format specified by users.

Advantages of Automated Cataloguing system:

• It reduces routine clerical operations required for maintenance of catalogue;

• It supports interchange of catalogue records and thereby ensures reduction in unit cost of cataloguing;

• It provides opportunities to take output in variety of forms and formats;

• It helps library staff to generate variety of information services.

Conclusion: In the cataloguing module, the

bibliographical data elements of documents are standardized through necessary addition and modification. The bibliographical data format is based on any internationally adopted content designator scheme to allow exchange of cataloguing data.

Presented By,Chethankumar, D.2nd Year MLISc