University libraries, the world over, are continually striving to ensure timely information access and retrieval. Those at the centre of making this mission possible are the…
Abstract
University libraries, the world over, are continually striving to ensure timely information access and retrieval. Those at the centre of making this mission possible are the cataloguers. However, because of the nature of the work of cataloguers, very few librarians these days ever aspire to this role. What leads them to become a cataloguer is intriguing. This survey attempts to unravel the mystery about the personal characteristics of head cataloguers of Ghana’s state‐owned university libraries, their continuing professional development and use of information technologies.
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Bridgit Siddall and Chern Li Liew
The purpose of this paper is to explore the frequency with which Internet-based social media (namely, wikis, blogs, forums and electronic mailing lists) are used by cataloguers to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the frequency with which Internet-based social media (namely, wikis, blogs, forums and electronic mailing lists) are used by cataloguers to seek what Judith Hopkins (2002) defines as “specific (and immediate) current awareness” and “general current awareness”. The aim is to provide some insight into whether social media play a part in day-to-day practice and on-the-job learning of cataloguers.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey research was conducted. An online questionnaire was made available to self-selecting respondents via electronic mailing lists (AUTOCAT, CatSIG listserv, NZLibs listserv) and 176 responses were received.
Findings
The study found that general current awareness information was more frequently sought via Internet-based social media than specific (and immediate) current awareness. A statistically significant, weak positive correlation was found between the variables of “number of cataloguers working in an organization” and “frequency of accessing social media to seek out cataloguing-specific information”. A weak positive correlation was also found within the sample between the variables of “number of cataloguers working in an organization” and “frequency of accessing social media to seek general current awareness information”. Qualitative data were also gathered concerning the reasons respondents sought both specific and general current awareness information.
Originality/value
This research examines the assumption that cataloguers use social media tools to access what Hopkins has dubbed a “community of cataloguers” as one means of accessing informal continuing education.
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This study presents an overview of the quality of 232 OCLC rare book cataloging records. Of the 232 records, 31 that needed subject headings were not provided with any. A total of…
Abstract
This study presents an overview of the quality of 232 OCLC rare book cataloging records. Of the 232 records, 31 that needed subject headings were not provided with any. A total of 791 headings, including main headings (428) and subdivision headings (363), were examined and 69 discrepancies were found. The discrepancies were mainly obsolete headings. The error rate was 9 per cent. Only one typographical error was found. Moreover, 95 per cent (191) of the 201 records had been replaced at least once but the discrepancy rate remained very high at 8 per cent. Since the records examined were not randomly selected and the sample size was small, the result of this study cannot be generalized. However, the overall results indicate that the quality of OCLC rare book records need attention as much as, if not more than, other records.
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An empirical study has shown that the real process of subject cataloging does not correspond entirely to theoretical descriptions in textbooks and international standards. The…
Abstract
Purpose
An empirical study has shown that the real process of subject cataloging does not correspond entirely to theoretical descriptions in textbooks and international standards. The purpose of this is paper is to address the issue of whether it be possible for catalogers who have not received formal training to perform subject cataloging in a different way to their trained colleagues.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study was conducted in 2001 among five Slovenian public library catalogers. The resulting model is compared to previous findings.
Findings
First, all catalogers attempted to determine what the book was about. While the American catalogers tried to understand the topic and the author's intent, the Slovenian catalogers appeared to focus on the topic only. Slovenian and American academic library catalogers did not demonstrate any anticipation of possible uses that users might have of the book, while this was important for American public library catalogers. All catalogers used existing records to build new ones and/or to search for subject headings. The verification of subject representation with the indexing language was the last step in the subject cataloging process of American catalogers, often skipped by Slovenian catalogers.
Research limitations/implications
The small and convenient sample limits the findings.
Practical implications
Comparison of subject cataloging processes of Slovenian and American catalogers, two different groups, is important because they both contribute to OCLC's WorldCat database. If the cataloging community is building a universal catalog and approaches to subject description are different, then the resulting subject representations might also be different.
Originality/value
This is one of the very few empirical studies of subject cataloging and indexing.
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Rajinder Garcha and Lois Buttlar
How have the roles of cataloguers evolved over the past decade due to the impact of automation When cataloguers in academic libraries in England were surveyed it was found that 97…
Abstract
How have the roles of cataloguers evolved over the past decade due to the impact of automation When cataloguers in academic libraries in England were surveyed it was found that 97 per cent work with a fully automatic online public access catalogue; all catalogue online, and share records with some bibliographic utility, of which RLIN and BLCMP are the most popular. Professional staff size had decreased at 50 per cent of the institutions with means of 4.5 professionals and 4.8 support staff members. The average percentage of professional cataloguers per library was about 53 per cent. Roles that were greatly expanded included cataloguing of digital documents and Internet resources, authority control, and database management. Of the respondents, 65 per cent are now involved in e‐mail discussion groups where ten years ago none were. Administrative functions have also increased as 50 per cent of the cataloguers are now heads of bibliographic access departments.
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Caryl McAllister and A. Stratton McAllister
This paper discusses some of the characteristics of online cataloging systems. Two basic types of interaction with a cataloging system are distinguished:
Explores the confusion between main entry and main entry heading and attempts to finally lay the ghost to rest by shifting the emphasis onto the problem of work authority – the…
Abstract
Explores the confusion between main entry and main entry heading and attempts to finally lay the ghost to rest by shifting the emphasis onto the problem of work authority – the problem with which the theory of main entry is actually concerned. Concentrating on the second function of the catalogue as defined in the “Paris principles” of 1961, the paper examines various contributions on main entry including those delivered at the Toronto conference on AACR in 1997. Proposes the establishment of a global work authority file in which each individual work is primarily identified by a modified version of the uniform title, a departure which would restore the title (as opposed to the author) as principal identifier of the work.
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The objective is to describe the cataloguing component of a digitization project conducted by the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective is to describe the cataloguing component of a digitization project conducted by the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a case study review of the planning and implementation phases of this project.
Findings
The account demonstrates that planning and continuous assessments are necessary elements for successful project completion.
Research limitations/implications
The paper highlights the need to adapt planning guidelines to fit a specific environment.
Practical implications
The paper puts forward a model for managing the cataloguing aspect of a digitization project. It also provides MARC 21 fields that can be used in coding digital records.
Originality/value
The paper emphasizes the value of team work, planning and assessment for managing cataloguing project.