Reference Librarian as Cataloger: Analytical Indexing as Front-End ReferenceAuthor(s): Janet StanleySource: Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 14,No. 4 (Winter 1995), pp. 7-9Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948784 .

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Art Documentation, Winter 1995 7

Reference Librarian as Cataloger:

Analytical Indexing as Front-End Reference

by Janet Stanley, National Museum of African Art

[

Paper presented at the ARLIS/NA annual conference, in Montreal, March 1995.

Reference librarians are responsible for guiding patrons to ap propriate bibliographic sources, and the library catalog is their primary tool. Reference librarians do not normally do cataloging, but they are the greatest end users of the library catalog and, as such, have a vested interest in its quality and utility For most

highly specialized subjects, conventional library subject catalog ing is limited, inadequate, and often does not reflect how research ers, or even casual inquirers, approach their subjects. Relying on whole-book cataloging is unsatisfactory for specialized searches, because it is so partial and indiscriminate. Clearly some front-end subject expertise is called for here to delve more thoroughly, sys tematically, and knowledgeably into the literature. Who is better placed to do this than the reference librarian?

Special libraries, in contrast to other types of libraries, have always focused more on content and information than on provi sion of books. Historically, special librarians have done analytical indexing, because this was both appropriate and necessary to their subject-content approach. But the winds of change within the li

brary profession over the last quarter century have obscured this practice.

The rise of MARC formats, library automation, and biblio graphic utilities has been driven by the large general libraries ?

the Library of Congress and the big universities. Special library practice, which viewed selective cataloging and analytic indexing as legitimate and worthy enterprises, got swept aside and left in the dust in the rush to automation. The focus of the profession shifted to building national databases, developing standards, and

mastering MARC. The sad result of this otherwise laudable (and inevitable) trajectory is that a whole generation (or two) of librar ians have come of age not knowing that analytical indexing is a

legitimate pursuit for individual libraries. This time-honored indexing tradition has also been obscured

by the rise of the commercial electronic databases and indexes, which seemed to open up breathtaking possibilities of access. Never mind that these came at a cost in user fees. Never mind that these new technologies were not user-friendly and required passwords. Never mind that they raised expectations about availability and increased interlibrary loans. Never mind that these databases did not necessarily provide better access to one's own collection.

There is a hoary debate within our library profession that pre dates the rise of DIALOG and the other megadatabases. It centers on the relative merits of subject catalogs and classification versus sub ject bibliographies.1 It is a debate that remains intellectually unre solved but was won by default and the weight of current practice by librarians who argued for the subject catalog rather than subject bib liographies for primary subject access to library collections.

]

Analytical indexing is essentially an enterprise of subject bib liography

? certainly in the way proposed here with a subject

content focus. Analytical indexing as subject bibliography is dis tinct from library cataloging. The latter is universal, rigid, indis criminate, at times unresponsive; the former is selective, flexible, intimate, and focused on need. Bibliographic enterprise has never been restricted to libraries; many scholarly bibliographies have been compiled by nonlibrarians, and still are. Whereas creating the subject catalog in libraries has been an exclusive concern of librarians. But in concentrating on whole-book cataloging, the li

brarian is dealing with "accidents of publication" rather than "the intellectual content of the library."2 Even the best subject catalog reveals only a small portion of the materials in the library and not

necessarily the best. Analytical indexing, like any good special bib

liographic enterprise, "brings together the useful materials on a

subject regardless of where, how, or in what relation they were

published."3 The new wrinkle in all this is that the artfully-crafted subject bibliography is to be integrated into the OPAC rather than

remaining apart as a separate publication on the reference shelves.

Commercial databases and periodical indexes?Art Index, etc.?are staples in the art library reference arsenal. And we have come to reply on them, rightly, because of their obvious biblio graphical role?and, wrongly, because we forget how much rel evant literature falls outside their scopes or that they otherwise miss. They may prove very limited because their disciplinary fo cus does not mirror that of the special library collection; or, even

when relevant materials are indexed, they may lack the access

points or specificity required. Searching these tools can be ineffi cient and often circuitious. Thus, while electronic databases cer

tainly have a critical role to play, they are not the answer to every special librarian's prayers for reasons having to do with coverage, mismatches with actual library holdings, depth of indexing, and

specificity.4 Any art library will have significant materials not cov ered by the commercial indexing sources. One could therefore ar

gue that art libraries, especially those with unique or unusual col lections, have a responsibility to engage in specialized indexing, particularly in areas of collection strengths and staff subject ex

pertise. Virtual libraries aside, our users ultimately want richer, deeper access to their existing collections, and they rightfully ex

pect more of the library online catalog. And why n?t? Why shouldn't users be able to search their OPACs and retrieve books and articles?

The difference between commercial indexes and local ana

lytical indexing centers on three considerations: (1) choice of ma terials to be indexed, what gets indexed, how exhaustively or se

lectively; (2) subject analysis and access; and (3) depth of index

ing. Librarians must develop realistic guidelines as to how much or how little can be indexed. Obviously, one wants to capture the most important and the most substantial materials, as any good

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8 Art Documentation, Winter 1995

subject bibliographer would do. There are two types of analytics: the contents note and the

"in" analytics.5 Creating a contents note is the simplest means of

analysis. This is most valid in cases where the various contents or

chapters are on very similar topics and would have the same pri mary subject headings, but where it would still be helpful to de lineate the individual contributions. An "in" analytic creates a sepa rate bibliographic record for a part of a larger work. And that is

mainly what is referred to here as analytical indexing.

Choice of Materials

The collection development policy, which spells out what are the core areas and collection strengths, should be the first and

major determinant in identifying topical priorities in local ana

lytical indexing. Some would argue that if it is important enough to acquire and important enough to catalog, then it is probably important enough to index?or at least review with an eye to in

dexing. This may be idealistic or impossible from the cataloger's point of view, but, for the subject bibliographer, it is not.

The editorial decision as to what shall be indexed should be driven by the library user, that is, with the user always looking over your shoulder, figuratively speaking. With the user in mind, the indexer can be nimble and quick in selecting what gets in dexed. An indexing policy driven by content and need?that is, indexing only relevant pieces or parts?is both intellectually wise and economically sound. Defining an indexing policy based on

type of materials, format, or similar document-based criteria?

e.g., all conference proceedings, or all special thematic issues of a

periodical, or all auction catalogues?may be satisfying to the cata

loging purist, but it imposes a rigidity and inflexibility on the pro cess that ultimately bogs it down. So, in developing indexing policy, consider always the content and the end user rather than prede termined categories of publications. One should be flexible enough and courageous enough to choose only that which meets the sub ject criteria. This may be one or two essays in a collected work, or it may be cover-to-cover analysis. Thus, when identifying and se

lecting documents for analytical indexing, focus on the core sub jects and not on more peripheral areas.

What types of candidate materials could be considered for analysis?

Collected works. Edited collections of essays, Festschriften, and conference proceedings are obvious candidates requiring careful

scrutiny, always with the core collection strengths kept in mind. Art exhibition catalogues may be another significant kind of "col lected" work, wherein single essays or even individual plates with captions may serve as the indexable bibliographic units. In this

regard, certain exhibition catalogues are bibliographic gold mines, providing authoritative data on individual art forms or object types. A typical publication format has a full-page color plate and, on the facing page, a mini-essay on that artwork, contributed by a

specialist. These double-page spreads could become the analyzed bibliographic unit and are indexed as a "contained in" record. Al

though this kind of in-depth analysis can only be done for a hand ful of exhibition catalogues, the payback for users is more than

gratifying. Catalogues so analyzed are in much heavier use simply because the readers are being pointed to them from many direc tions. Cataloged as whole books, they are lost. In other words, one is providing richer, fuller access to a volume on the shelves.

Monographs. A second type of candidate material for analyz ing is the monograph. One should examine all new books for indexable contents that will not be captured by whole-book cata

loging. One should keep sharp lookout for the bibliographic strays?the odd article, or chapter, or essay in a work not itself

falling within the core subject field. Selected periodicals may be indexed cover-to-cover or selec

tively. Identify periodicals in the library collection not covered in the commercial databases and indexes. Here are areas where

analytics can make a tangible contribution to the national data

bases. However, remember that certain journals, even if covered in commercial indexes, may merit the specialist's treatment and the trained eye of the subject bibliographer.

Special thematic issues of periodicals deserve scrutiny. It may be that a periodical to which a library does not subscribe has a

special issue on a relevant topic. Acquire it, and index it. One final category: Book reviews and exhibition reviews, espe

cially substantial ones, might be handled as analytical notes to the main catalog record for the book, or as a linked record, if one's OPAC software allows linking records. Thus, by searching the OPAC, a patron locates a book and in the same record, or a linked record, is alerted to reviews.

Similarly, exhibition catalogue bibliographic records can con tain reviews of the exhibition as well as reviews of the catalogue book. This clustering may seem a little unconventional from a

cataloging point of view, submerging bibliographic records in a

larger record. But for the researcher, it is highly logical: you are

intellectually linking the bibliographical material generated by and related to the original work. By embedding these secondary sources in one bib record, you avoid creating separate records, and there is a MARC field, the 581 tag, designed to accommodate just this

thing.

Subject Analysis Having identified documents, or bibliographic units, for ana

lyzing, what can be said about subject analysis? A key factor in

subject analysis is anticipating reference queries, based on past experience. One should be willing to slant the indexing focus to users' needs and interests. Conventional library catalogers ask:

What is this document about? What is its "aboutness?" What sub jects are related to it? Where does it fit in the classified library?

A reference librarian-bibliographer?by this is meant one who is a subject expert, who personally knows the user community,

who is attuned to the kinds of questions asked?asks a very differ ent question when analyzing a document, namely: What is there in this document that would be of interest to my readers? To what part or parts of this document will they want to be directed via the index? What information in this document is important? This sort of analysis brings to light hidden textual passages and allows the indexer to make informed, intelligent access points.

And how does one translate these concepts?this "aboutness"?into approved subject headings? Keeping the user

in mind allows a flexibility in selection of subject headings. What are scholars interested in? What new issues and trends are emerg

ing in the literature? How well are you, the indexer, responding to them? Are you able to stay ahead of the curve? Are you employing indexing vocabulary in creative, imaginative ways?

Here are some guidelines in choice of subject headings for

analytics.

Conceptual analysis might include: object types; abstract con

cepts (e.g., symbolism, innovation); social processes and activi ties; materials, processes, and techniques; names and places. Since

analytics focus more narrowly on people, places, and things than books do, it is highly likely that new, cutting-edge information and ideas will surface during analytical indexing. There is excel lent discussion of subject analysis and the translation of concepts into subject headings in the Art and Architecture Thesaurus' Guide to Indexing and Cataloging With the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (1994),6 which is enlightening to the novice and to seasoned li brarian alike.

Use of multiple thesaun. The use of multiple thesauri is really a topic for another paper?and one that is equally well addressed in the AAT's Guide. Let us note here simply the merit in the idea of

multiple thesauri in the library catalog. Why restrict the subject catalog to LCSH alone when librarians are all keenly aware of its limitations? The AAT in combination with LCSH offers a much

more elegant array of vocabulary options, yet library catalogers are conspicuous by their absence among the growing number of

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Art Documentation, Winter 1995 9

AAT users. Analytical indexing in the field of art history and art

practice requires the more specifically-tailored, narrowly-focused

terminology that the AAT provides. Using both is recommended. Title enrichment. We all know how notoriously uninforma

tive (even repellently cute) some titles can be, especially in the humanities literature. And it is worse with articles than with books. One means of backdoor indexing is to add enriching words or

phrases to the title to indicate the true contents. In an OPAC envi ronment, with tide keyword searching capability, this can be a cru cial access point, increasing precision of retrieval. This is espe cially useful when the keyword or phrase is not an established LCSH or AAT term. It also means that one has the flexibility to add certain non-English terms that researchers in the field know and may use as retrieval points.

Subject and name authorities. If the subject analysis turns up concepts not yet in the AAT, one can, of course, contribute candi

date terms to the AAT, and thereby contribute to that larger project. Another major contribution that the analytical enterprise makes is original name authority work, especially artists' names, archaeo

logical sites, and the like. This is because concepts, names, and so forth are dealt with at a more specific level with analytics than

with whole-book cataloging.

Depth of Indexing The concept of center-periphery means that the core subject

areas require more intense, dense indexing, while peripheral sub ject areas may be treated more generally or not at all. This is basic.

Slanted indexing. Search the text for the buried bibliographic nugget. Determine the relevance of the bibliographic unit to the

library's user community and to its collection strength. Then slant the subject headings to reflect the right facet of this bibliographic gem.

Double indexing. Keep a flexible definition of bibliographic unit. There may be multiple layers or levels that could be ana

lyzed within a single document. One could select a larger biblio

graphic unit for indexing and, simultaneously, select a smaller unit within that larger one. Thus, a kind of layered or double indexing is accomplished, based upon the indexer's evaluation of the im portance of the subject or its treatment. Thus, in practice, one

may catalog a book, index a chapter in that book, and also index a section or passage within that chapter.

In summation, the policy and budgetary arguments for em

barking on an analytical indexing program center on (1) maxi

mizing existing collections by providing richer, deeper access, es

pecially in these days of shrinking acquisition budgets; (2) comple menting or improving upon the coverage of commercial databases and indexes; and (3) contributing subject expertise to the larger library/scholarly community.

How much or how little analyzing is done at one's library can be a highly elastic clause in the cataloging policy. Perhaps only the occasional Festschrift or conference proceedings is analyzed; or one can adopt a more comprehensive bibliographic strategy; or it can fall somewhere in between. Whatever the library's specialty? American graphic design, Renaissance architecture, artists' books, or African art?let the reference librarian-bibliographer become the expert, the subject specialist, and develop the cataloging-in dexing-bibliographic enterprise accordingly.

What is being advocated here is the coming together of the conventional library catalog and subject bibliography. Instead of

having the two stand apart, disjointed?the OPAC/card catalog on one side and print indexes or specialized bibliographies on the

other?integrate them fully. Let the special librarians regain their

rightful places as subject authorities and information specialists in the post-modern world of librarianship.

Notes

1. Raymond C. Swank. "Subject Catalogs, Classification, or Bibliographies,"

Library Quarterly 14, no. 4 (October 1944): 316-32.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. CD. Needham. "Anayltical Cataloguing," in Organizing Knowledge in Li

braries: An Introduction to Classification and Cataloguing. (London: Andr?

Deutsch, 1964), 174-78.

5. "Analytics," in Anglo-American Cataloging Rules. 2nd edition. (Chicago: American Library Association, 1978), 270-73.

6. Guide to Indexing and Cataloging With, the Art & Architecture Thesaurus, edited by Toni Petersen and Patricia J. Barnett. (New York: Oxford Univer

sity Press, 1994).

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