the online catalog
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The Online Catalog. Another Source of Frustration, or An Opportunity for Collaboration?. ALCTS Role of the Professional … ALA Midwinter Meeting San Diego, January 11, 2004. Patricia M. Dragon East Carolina University [email protected]. Cataloging or Display?. AuthorAdler, David J. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Online Catalog
Another Source of Frustration, or AnOpportunity for Collaboration?
Patricia M. DragonEast Carolina [email protected]
ALCTS Role of the Professional …ALA Midwinter MeetingSan Diego, January 11, 2004
January 11. 2004 2
Cataloging or Display?Author Adler, David J.
Title Cam Jansen and the mystery of the Babe Ruth baseball / David A. Adler ; illustrated by
Susanna Natti.
Imprint New York : Puffin Books, 1991.
Description 57 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
Notes Cam uses her photographic memory to identify the person who stole a valuable autographed
baseball.
Notes Cam uses her photographic memory to identify the person who stole a valuable autographed
baseball.
Subjects Detective and mystery stories.Baseball – Juvenile fiction.
January 11. 2004 3
What is “Cataloging”?
“I have observed that it is a commonly held misconception inside and outside the profession that catalogers create records; instead, I think we would be much better off if we all conceived of the task of the cataloger as being that of creating a catalog.”
Martha Yee, to AUTOCAT, 1999
January 11. 2004 4
The Card Catalog
Prescribed format Certain limited number of cards Prescribed places in drawers Predictable functioning
January 11. 2004 5
The Online Catalog
Prescribed format (but plenty of space) Many indexes Browse access and keyword access Navigation Customizable
January 11. 2004 6
Customizing Questions
Kinds of searches? What are you searching? Display of results? Methods of navigation? Display of individual records?
January 11. 2004 7
The Whole Picture
MARC record
User needs
January 11. 2004 8
Example: Electronic Resources 256 Computer File Characteristics 516 Type of Computer File or Data 530 Additional Physical Form Available 538 System Details 856 Electronic Location and Access
January 11. 2004 9
Cataloger Concerns
Public display not reflecting developing cataloging practice
Public is not getting the information Wasted cataloger time
January 11. 2004 10
Public Services Concerns
Length of record Complexity of description Repetitive information Outdated information Misleading language Don’t see a need for extensive description
256 Electronic text and image data.
516 Text and image (PDF). 530 Also available on microfiche.
January 11. 2004 11
Advantages of Collaboration
Realize we have the same goal Users get benefit of two areas of expertise Each group does its job better
January 11. 2004 12
Need to Change “What we do”“To the informed librarian, cataloging is seen to be at the heart of librarianship; the central core of everything librarians do. A reference librarian without an understanding of bibliographic control cannot function.”
Michael Gorman. “The Corruption of Cataloging.” Library Journal 120, no. 15
(Sept. 15, 1995): 32-34.
January 11. 2004 13
An Opportunity for Collaboration“The rift between catalogers and reference librarians (technical and public services) has been one of the more damaging aspects of modern librarianship. The time has come for mutual respect and mutual recognition of interdependence.”
Ibid.
