Competency G ~
Understand the system of standards and methods used to control and create information structures and apply basic principles involved in the organization and representation of knowledge.
Statement
"Cataloging is a form of order-making; it is a set of practices which quite literally put a library's collections in order and provide access through a set of systematically organized surrogates; and it is therefore a crucial part of the system by which books and other materials are maintained and made available to readers throughout the world. The work is ever going, not just because new items are constantly being acquired, but because a collection will crumble - like old barns one sees in the countryside - unless it is continually maintained."
(David M. Levy, n.d.)
As library and information professionals, one of our ethical responsibilities is to "influence or control the selection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information" (ALA, 2008) to people around the world. In order to do this efficiently, information professionals must adhere to a set of standards created specifically to control the way information is organized and presented. Effective organization will create accessible collections which will in turn facilitate the strategies librarians and users develop to obtain information. ALA has adopted a set of standards called AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules) that guides information professionals in the proper cataloging of library materials to promote efficient organization of library collections. Because AACR2 is designed to be used as the standard to guide and inform, it allows libraries to share bibliographic information with ease through programs like OCLC, a global network of library management and user-facing services built upon cooperatively maintained databases of bibliographic and institutional metadata, and WorldCat, a union catalog considered to be the world's largest bibliographic database. Another benefit of the standardization of cataloging practices is the development of transferrable cataloging skills throughout the profession. This allows information professionals to move from institution to institution without having to update their skill-set which saves time and money.
Another important component of this competency is the recognition of the tools information professionals use along with AACR2 to classify and organize knowledge. Tools for classification such as the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) and the Library of Congress Classification system (LCC) are built on "sound principles that make [them] ideal as general knowledge organization tool[s]: meaningful notation in universally recognized Arabic numbers, well-defined categories, well-developed hierarchies, and a rich network of relationships among topics" (OCLC, n.d.). In the DDC, basic classes are organized by disciplines or fields of study. In the broadest sense, the system is divided into ten main classes which together cover the entire world of knowledge.
MARC or MAchine Readable Cataloging is another tool used by information professionals to control how bibliographic information is organized and presented. The information from a card catalog cannot simply be typed into a computer to produce an automated record; the computer needs a means of interpreting the information and that means is MARC. Using the MARC21 format prevents duplication of work and allows libraries to better share bibliographic data. The primary purpose of the MARC21 cataloging standard is to foster industry-wide communication of information. Using the MARC 21 format also enables libraries to make use of commercially available systems to manage library operations.
Evidence
I have chosen to present one piece of evidence that demonstrates my understanding of this competency through the application of bibliographic control. The assigment is a course project I completed with two classmates for LIBR 248 Beginning Cataloging and Classification instructed by Dr. Robert Ellett. The assignment required us to perform original cataloging for a collection of predetermined items using course content, AACR2, and the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations as our guides. We created a shelflist of the items that we cataloged; we performed descriptive cataloging to create a MARC record for each item; we chose access points and assigned the proper form of heading for all entries; and we assigned LLC and DDC call numbers (including cutter numbers) to each bibliographic record. This assignment demonstrates my abilit to successfully perform descriptive cataloging, subject analysis, and authority control for the purpose of creating a MARC record to facilitate retrieval of information.
Conclusion
The standards and methods described above are necessary to guide the universal processes of bibliographic control. The successful retrieval of information is dependent on it having first been organized, which is an ethical responsibility of information professionals. I have applied my understanding of these standards and methods to effectively create catalog and metadata records for resources in a variety of formats. I have demonstrated that I can effectively use and interpret existing systems for information organization including the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, MARC21 format, Library of Congress Subject Headings, Dewey Decimal Classification, and Library of Congress Classification. With the skills I have acquired I can perform professional cataloging duties as a librarian in whatever type of information institution I find myself employed with.
References
ALA. (2008). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ifmanual.org/codeethics.
Levy, D.M. (n.d.). Cataloging in the digital order. Retrieved from
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/DL95/papers/levy/levy.html.
OCLC. (n.d.). Introduction to Dewey decimal classification. Retrieved from
http://oclc.org/dewey/versions/ddc22print/intro.pdf.
Evidentiary Material
"Cataloging is a form of order-making; it is a set of practices which quite literally put a library's collections in order and provide access through a set of systematically organized surrogates; and it is therefore a crucial part of the system by which books and other materials are maintained and made available to readers throughout the world. The work is ever going, not just because new items are constantly being acquired, but because a collection will crumble - like old barns one sees in the countryside - unless it is continually maintained."
(David M. Levy, n.d.)
As library and information professionals, one of our ethical responsibilities is to "influence or control the selection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information" (ALA, 2008) to people around the world. In order to do this efficiently, information professionals must adhere to a set of standards created specifically to control the way information is organized and presented. Effective organization will create accessible collections which will in turn facilitate the strategies librarians and users develop to obtain information. ALA has adopted a set of standards called AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules) that guides information professionals in the proper cataloging of library materials to promote efficient organization of library collections. Because AACR2 is designed to be used as the standard to guide and inform, it allows libraries to share bibliographic information with ease through programs like OCLC, a global network of library management and user-facing services built upon cooperatively maintained databases of bibliographic and institutional metadata, and WorldCat, a union catalog considered to be the world's largest bibliographic database. Another benefit of the standardization of cataloging practices is the development of transferrable cataloging skills throughout the profession. This allows information professionals to move from institution to institution without having to update their skill-set which saves time and money.
Another important component of this competency is the recognition of the tools information professionals use along with AACR2 to classify and organize knowledge. Tools for classification such as the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) and the Library of Congress Classification system (LCC) are built on "sound principles that make [them] ideal as general knowledge organization tool[s]: meaningful notation in universally recognized Arabic numbers, well-defined categories, well-developed hierarchies, and a rich network of relationships among topics" (OCLC, n.d.). In the DDC, basic classes are organized by disciplines or fields of study. In the broadest sense, the system is divided into ten main classes which together cover the entire world of knowledge.
MARC or MAchine Readable Cataloging is another tool used by information professionals to control how bibliographic information is organized and presented. The information from a card catalog cannot simply be typed into a computer to produce an automated record; the computer needs a means of interpreting the information and that means is MARC. Using the MARC21 format prevents duplication of work and allows libraries to better share bibliographic data. The primary purpose of the MARC21 cataloging standard is to foster industry-wide communication of information. Using the MARC 21 format also enables libraries to make use of commercially available systems to manage library operations.
Evidence
I have chosen to present one piece of evidence that demonstrates my understanding of this competency through the application of bibliographic control. The assigment is a course project I completed with two classmates for LIBR 248 Beginning Cataloging and Classification instructed by Dr. Robert Ellett. The assignment required us to perform original cataloging for a collection of predetermined items using course content, AACR2, and the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations as our guides. We created a shelflist of the items that we cataloged; we performed descriptive cataloging to create a MARC record for each item; we chose access points and assigned the proper form of heading for all entries; and we assigned LLC and DDC call numbers (including cutter numbers) to each bibliographic record. This assignment demonstrates my abilit to successfully perform descriptive cataloging, subject analysis, and authority control for the purpose of creating a MARC record to facilitate retrieval of information.
Conclusion
The standards and methods described above are necessary to guide the universal processes of bibliographic control. The successful retrieval of information is dependent on it having first been organized, which is an ethical responsibility of information professionals. I have applied my understanding of these standards and methods to effectively create catalog and metadata records for resources in a variety of formats. I have demonstrated that I can effectively use and interpret existing systems for information organization including the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, MARC21 format, Library of Congress Subject Headings, Dewey Decimal Classification, and Library of Congress Classification. With the skills I have acquired I can perform professional cataloging duties as a librarian in whatever type of information institution I find myself employed with.
References
ALA. (2008). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ifmanual.org/codeethics.
Levy, D.M. (n.d.). Cataloging in the digital order. Retrieved from
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/DL95/papers/levy/levy.html.
OCLC. (n.d.). Introduction to Dewey decimal classification. Retrieved from
http://oclc.org/dewey/versions/ddc22print/intro.pdf.
Evidentiary Material
courseproject_libr248.pdf | |
File Size: | 279 kb |
File Type: |