Evaluating Bibliographic Resources

National Union Catalog

NUC’s Beginning

In 1901, the Library of Congress attempted to put together a catalog of all the important books in American libraries

Over 11 million catalog cards were copied & distributed to libraries across the country

Eventually, these cards were reproduced and issued serially in printed volumes with the name “National Union Catalog”

NUC’s Evolution To simplify this huge task and massive

bibliography, all pre-1956 American & Canadian imprints were alphabetized by author and printed into 754 volumes

These volumes total over 528,000 pages, take up 130 feet of shelf space, and weigh over 3 tons

They can be found in over 1100 libraries in America & Canada

Pros & Cons

Very thorough record of pre-1956 books before digital cataloging databases

Massive size makes this bibliography difficult to use

Evaluation of NUC

Accuracy: it is an accurate representation – it began as a reproduction of catalog cards that were sent to libraries across the country so that anyone could find bibliographic information on virtually every book

Evaluation of NUC

Authority: It is an authoritative source of bibliographic information as it is a direct reproduction of Library of Congress catalog cards of books in American & Canadian libraries

Evaluation of NUC

Scope: It has a wide scope – it includes virtually all books cataloged before 1956.

Evaluation of NUC

Arrangement: Due to its massive size and weight, it is not a very efficient way find bibliographic information. Since 1983, it has been produced on microfiche to cut down on its physical size.

Evaluation of NUC

Methodology: It began as actual photocopies of catalog cards that were reproduced and printed serially quarterly to be distributed across the country to libraries

Evaluation of NUC

Bibliographic Content: It is a massive bibliography alphabetized by author – everything is verifiable

Evaluation of NUC

Currency: This bibliography includes almost everything published prior to 1956. Due to the huge amount of materials, it is still incomplete, but it does include many items that cannot be found on a digital catalog database.

Images of NUC

Sources Cited

Library of Congress, Information for Researchershttp://www.loc.gov/rr/main/inforeas/union.html

Wikipedia, National Union Catalog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Union_Catalog#References

Facebook, National Union Cataloghttp://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Union-Catalog/110937278958996

Cornell University, Olin Libraryhttp://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/renovation/nuc.htm