Southern Connecticut State University
Information Analysis and Organization, ILS 506-70
Assignment #2: Library of Congress Classification, Shelflisting and Subject Analysis
29 July 2001
Assignment #2:
Commentary on CONSULS Shelflisting Practices
This assignment has amply demonstrated three classes of cataloguing errors and conflicts which, while inevitable to some degree, can be taken into account by library administrators in developing cataloguing systems, with the result a more useful catalogue for researchers and casual users. Currently, the Connecticut public libraries are using a few consortium-based joint OPACs, which suffer similar problems.
Typographical errors are now easier to detect (thanks to spell-checkers) and easier to correct than in the days of manually prepared card catalogues. Unfortunately, given the prevalence of “copy cataloguing” and word-processing text copying, once created, these errors are prone to exponential replication. These errors include misspellings (which can cause an entry to be unlocatable by searchers); erroneous spacing and punctuation; and improper MARC coding (which can cause duplicate records or improperly identified data fields. When a second cataloguer can assist with proof-reading, more of these errors can be eliminated.
A number of errors that I noted in the “Böll” listing were cataloging errors resulting from the misapplication of rules for literary authors, translations, and criticism. Since some of these works are more than 30 years old, it is likely that the staff of the college libraries at that time were less specialized. Although Southern Connecticut University has had the resources of graduate level library science professionals, some cataloging work may have been performed by librarians-in-training. While the sort of proof-reading mentioned above would be labor-intensive and costly for experienced librarians, paired entry level workers might be feasible, particularly in a library school venue, and perhaps cooperatively with other college libraries in the consortium.
This last aspect is the most difficult one to address administratively. Databases developed independently by the various colleges must be merged and conflicts are inevitable. The selection of books becomes denser, and books are no longer “next to” each other in the catalogue. The cost of retro-cataloguing probably prohibitive, other than to recognize the issue, and perhaps to address the most recent (and thus, probably, most long-lifed) materials. Since these conflicts are most likely in classes with concentrated holdings, individual areas could be addressed as priorities. Library administrators need to be attuned to functional problems raised by users, students, researchers, and faculty alike.
Although it wasn’t hard for a novice cataloguer to spot errors in the CONSULS bibliographic records, it was certainly difficult to revise even this limited group of records. Ultimately, many issues cannot be resolved without a hands-on examination of the materials, with the benefit of subject-matter specialists’ knowledge. This sort of cooperation between information professionals and subject matter experts is more critical as the resources available (via international electronic databases) become so large that a slight “shift” in the cataloguing of an item may result in its being unfindable and unbrowsable.
Southern Connecticut State University
Information Analysis and Organization, ILS 506-70
Assignment #2: Library of Congress Classification, Shelflisting and Subject Analysis
29 July 2001
Assignment #2
Comments on CONSULS LC Subject Headings
Based on the bibliographic records reviewed in this assignment, the CONSULS libraries seldom include any subject headings for literary works. In my experience, the addition of “thematic” subject headings for literary works is a relatively new enhancement, but one that is valuable both to researchers and browsers.
Many pleasure readers look for works which concern a particular fact pattern. In Böll’s case, that was largely World War II. Historical settings, geographic settings (e.g. Hawaii), particular characters (e.g., James Bond, Superman, Napolean), time periods (e.g. Ancient Greece, Victorian Era), hold special appeal for some. In addition, sociological researchers and literary critics are also interested in identifying works of a particular genre.
In the case of Böll, one work (What must we do with the boy?) was identified in several places as autobiographical. A number of recent writers have crossed back and forth between fiction and non-fiction within a work (e.g. Dutch). For these reasons, cataloguers need to go beyond “copy cataloguing” and obtain sufficient familiarity with a work to include appropriate subject headings for literary works.
In the case of critical and biographical works, additional subject headings would be especially valuable in a university research library, to allow a user to locate materials that deal with particular aspects of a writer’s work. Without the materials in hand, we could only speculate and look for guidance from others’ cataloguing efforts.
With the advent of consortium catalogues and internet research, this sort of metadata becomes more vital daily. It is highly inefficient to obtain a critical book from ECSU, only to discover that its coverage is limited to a particular time period or aspect of a writer’s work. Material accessed via the internet can easily be so broad as to have little practical value. Good cataloguing will continue to be the key to the library’s obligation to organize and disseminate information.
Southern Connecticut State University
Information Analysis and Organization, ILS 506-70
Assignment #2: Library of Congress Classification, Shelflisting and Subject Analysis
29 July 2001
Conclusions Regarding CONSULS Cataloguing
I recommend that the SCSU Department of Information and Library Science offer consulting services to the CONSULS college libraries and to area public library consortiums to improve the data stream in the OPACs as they are developed. Such a project could be an excellent internship for MLS graduate students. In addition SCSU could expand on its success in online education by offering ongoing consulting and seminars for practicing librarians.
The cost for these improvements will probably preclude addressing much of the existing cataloguing, but librarians in the field need to be made aware of the conflicts that are arising as catalogues are merged and global searches become the rule rather than the exception. SCSU DILS can provide expertise and leadership, particularly for smaller libraries who are just entering the electronic information age. Standards for new cataloguing need to developed and applied in the field.