Cataloging and Classification

Library Resources and Technical Services, 51(1), 2007

; the struggle to understand the ever-broadening concept of an "information entity"; steady developments in metadata-encoding standards; and the globalization of information systems, including multilinguistic challenges.

2000

Abstract The increasing demand for access to library holdings in many libraries via the catalogue (traditional card catalogue or the Online Public Access catalogue (OPAC) has added to catalogers’ workload in regards to information dissemination. The internet is democratizing information, empowering the masses and allowing the users access to a vast array of resources. It is significantly altering the work of catalogers. This paper discusses approaches to utilize various online library catalogues to facilitate cataloguing processes for bibliographic benefits. References will be made to the Baptist College of Theology Library, Oyo where success has been recorded as a result of use of various online catalogues to complement the tools used in classifying library materials.

2015

In this issue we have articles which discuss various aspects of classification. Ranging from the practical to the theoretical, they provide many insights into classification practices and also the impact on the library user. We have two fascinating articles, one from the London Library and the other from the University of Birmingham, both providing a history of the classification practice at each institution and commentary on present day challenges. Michael Gorman writes about faceted classification, specifically discussing ideas around Dr Ranganathan's theory of the "Principle of Inversion". We have two articles which discuss the limitations of a generalist classification scheme. Ray Ward provides a useful critique of specific areas of Dewey; and Philip Starks discusses the limitations of Dewey to homeopathy and outlines how this was overcome at his institution. We also have a substantial article from Amy Staniforth, who was awarded a CIG sponsored place at the CILIP ...

Elaine Svenonius, for many years professor of Cataloguing at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is now professor emerita at the Department of Information Studies of that University. She one of Seymour Lubetzky's closest associates and in 2001 co-edited, with Dorothy McGarry, his collected works under the title Seymour Lubetzky: writings on the classical art of cataloging. In The intellectual foundation of information organization (Svenonius 2000) the author sums up her thoughts and lifelong studies on the procedures needed to link the documents held by libraries to the users by means of an ad hoc bibliographic language complete with its own syntax, grammar and vocabulary. The work focuses on the research and then on the presentation of the framework and theoretical base (the intellectual foundation in the title) underlying the organization and retrieval of information (the information organization). Cataloguing, being a technique mediating between cataloguer, documentary resources and user, is greatly influenced, maybe even determined, by technological developments, while its principles and objectives Svenonius advocates-remain the same: « The and practical skill of information organization is a function of changing technology, whereas its intellectual foun

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the use of ICT by cataloguers at a private university library in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – A description of the procedures and processes undertaken is given. Findings – The description of the processes involved in the use of ICT by cataloguers reveals the effectiveness and efficiency of online searches for the purpose of cataloguing and classification. A few were identified. The study shows the potential offered by the use of ICT, which libraries in developing nations – and indeed Nigeria – have not fully embraced. The paper reveals the low level of ICT literacy in libraries in Nigeria and concludes that this is a result of the deficiency in the practical training of librarians in the use of ICT in Nigerian library schools. Practical implications – The conclusion is that there is an urgent need for librarians in developing nations to gain proficiency in the use of ICT as a tool in libraries. Originality/value – The paper provides information on the level of ICT use for cataloguing and classification in a private university library in Nigeria. This experience shows the importance of why libraries in developing countries should address the desired level of ICT literacy among their librarians.

Information concerning the creation of tools and bibliographic description standards of library material are referred. Detailed reference to their development and adjustment to the data created so as to reflect the new conditions and needs, the way these are formed in the contemporary environment, is made. We present the efforts made by the bibliographic agencies to develop new and to improve the traditional/conventional tools for the description of the conventional documents as well as the electronic resources available in the World Wide Web.

2014

Metadata standards existing today range from very complex to very simple. Relative simplicity or complexity of metadata standards depends in large part on the resources for which they were created and the depth of description that is deemed necessary to make these resources accessible. This paper reviews the differences between metadata standards and current cataloging practices, and discusses how the various metadata standards are applied in libraries. In addressing these issues, the authors introduce definitions of key concepts of metadata and cataloging standards and provide an overview of the most common metadata schemes. The discussion of current cataloging practices includes an overview of the most commonly used cataloging practices and standards, the impact of metadata on library practice and the role of librarians related to metadata. The authors will discuss the OHIOLINK Electronic Thesis and Dissertations (ETD) as an example of how Anglo-American Cataloging Rules 2nd (AACR...

2017

Historically catalogs of library resources have taken different forms, the bibliographic data included in a library catalog entry has increasingly been enhanced, and the way a user is interacting with the catalog and its bibliographic data has also changed, especially since the end of the last century. Bibliographic data include information that describes and represents a resource. Throughout their history, library catalogs have served a variety of purposes. The majority of the literature on the purposes of the catalog focuses on the finding and selecting functions. Cutter, in his Rules for a Dictionary Catalog , identifies three catalog objectives: to find a resource, to show (collocate) what resources a library has, and to assist in the choice of a resource (Cutter, 1876). Theories of bibliographic control identify five main catalog functions, find, collocate, identify, select, and obtain, with the additional function of navigation included in fewer works (Svenonius, 2000). More ...

Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 2009

This article discusses the changes that are occurring in the world of cataloging. It argues that these changes need to be coordinated. It also discusses the feature of current OPACs, FRBR, the Paris Principles and its proposed replacement (ICP), AACR2 and its proposed replacement (RDA), ISBD, and the relationships between and among these standards. It argues that the syntax of ISBD is an essential component of RDA and all future international and national cataloging codes.