On Descriptive Cataloging
Jeeya S -
Hello fellow students! I decided to post a bit earlier this week because I might not have access to my computer next week. The three levels of cataloging are descriptive, classification, and subject analysis. Because there are a lot of components in descriptive cataloging, I will focus on that today and cover classification and subject analysis next time. Descriptive cataloging describes the item by notating the title, statement of responsibility (who was responsible for the intellectual content), edition information, publication information (who published the item, where it was published and the date of publication), various notes and access points. Descriptive cataloging is taking information from the item in hand (a physical item) or an online resource and describing it in such a way that the item can be identified and retrieved.
To maintain consistency in descriptive cataloging, a set of rules was developed. One version of these rules is AACR2R (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules). However, now many libraries have changed to RDA (Resource Description and Access). RDA was built on the foundation of AACR2R and implemented by the Library of Congress in 2013. However, libraries still create records following AACR2R or RDA or records that are a hybrid of the rules. The rules are constantly being reviewed and revised, but are extremely important to create a standard for descriptive cataloging and a reference / guide for what librarians are to do. Descriptive cataloging is important to add access points to bibliographic records. Access points can be the ISBN for a book, the publisher number for a DVD, call numbers, Titles, People associated with the item (the author and/or illustrator of a book, an actor in a movie, a musical group, the editor of a book, etc) and so on.
Now you all must be wondering, what does all this have to do with my senior research project? Well, my project focuses on managing the vast array of digital data (specifically MARC Records) in library catalogs. A component of managing MARC records is to understand what information is important to keep or delete or adjust. AACR2R and RDA are standardized guidelines for what information we need to keep and made available on record for the patrons and ourselves. It also standardizes the formatting of that information, which is important for innovation of automation in the future. When opening a MARC Record, all the information mentioned earlier in descriptive cataloging will be present.
(Also quick update: I have started the basics of how to physically import and edit MARC records myself! More on that later! )
Comments:
All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.