Principles & Standards of Describing Knowledge: Catalogs & Cataloging

LIS 653Spring 2014

Starr Hoffman

How it All Fits Together

Record(bibliographic information)

Code (rules:

AACR2, RDA)

Format (MARC, Dublin

Core)

Authority control (standardized author name: J. R. R. Tolkien)

Structure (ISBD, XML)

Subject headings (LCSH, Sears,

AAT)

Classification (shelving: LC,

Dewey)

Model (FRBR, trad.

model)

Record is displayed in an OPAC, online database, etc.

Catalogs & Info Retrieval (IR) Tools Library catalog / OPAC (access to items in a

specific library) Bibliography (works, not specific items) Pathfinder, aka subject guide (bibliography in

a defined setting) Archive finding aids / inventories (items

organized in smaller collections), some portals, some collection-level records in OPACS

Museum register (records at either individual level or collection level

Digital libraries / collections (born digital vs. digitized materials)

Internet search engines and portals Abstracts, indexes, & databases (access to

analyzed contents of info objects)

Considerations for Information Retrieval Tools

Recall vs. Precision Recall: # relevant records retrieved /

total #relevant records in catalog Precision: % of retrieved records that are

relevant

Which are relevant user tasks & bibliographic system objectives to be accomplished with this system?

Library Catalog Records: Purpose

Surrogates for information objects Back to user tasks & bibliographic system

objectives… Find (a specific work, works by a certain author, or on a

certain topic) Identify (find a specific edition of a work) Select (evaluate work to determine if it meets the user

need) Obtain/Access (find the object on the shelf) List (inventory all objects in the library)

Library Records & ISBD

International Standard Bibliographic Description

Determines element order Punctuation in record International standard, enhances readability

ISBD examples

ISBD examples

ISBD examples

ISBD examples

Cataloging Codes (rules) AACR2 RDA (based on FRBR model) Rules for describing bibliographic

characteristics Information from/about the item Does not include subject

Chief source of information How to format & standardize that

information

Levels of Description Short: minor items, minimum description Medium: standard items Full: full description; important or rare

items; research libraries

Level options: Single level of description for entire

library Guidelines for item types & levels

Cataloging Inputs, Activities

Record(surrogate for

information object)Code (rules: AACR2,

RDA)

Format (MARC, Dublin

Core)

Authority file index

(standardized names; NACO from LOC)

Chief Source of Information (bibliographic

information)

Chief Source of Info (content,

subject)

Structure (ISBD, XML)

Subject descriptio

n (LCSH, Sears, AAT)

Classification (shelving: LC,

Dewey)

Record is displayed in an OPAC, online database, etc.

Cataloging Considerations What cataloging level (short, medium, full) is

appropriate for 1) your institution/collection, 2) this specific info. object?

Chief information source? (non-book) Who is your primary user group? Secondary user

group(s)? What are their information needs? How do they search for information? What is their language/jargon/terminology? Keep in mind: each record is a surrogate Tasks: Find, Identify, Select, Obtain/Access, List

“Aboutness” (subject)

Cataloging Principles User Convenience

Common usage Representation & Accuracy

Comprehensiveness Proximity Persistence

Sufficiency & Necessity Significance

Standardization (common, existing rules) Integration (same rules across media/types)

Original vs. Copy Cataloging Original:

For important, rare, unique items Time-consuming Can produce quality results for specific audiences Can share records for future copy-cataloging (upload to

OCLC, OAI-PMH, etc.)

Copy: Obtain records from general source (OCLC, LOC, OAI-PMH,

etc.) Edit records for local use Import to local OPAC