Before I began cataloguing?
I always thought that catalouging was complex data entry. To be perfectly honest with you, I still relatively see it as the same thing now. You enter important information about an item which create a catalogue record for the intended user to find the item when they search for it. The more access points you can create e.g. the subject of the item, the more refined your searches become.
How do you catalogue?
Bowman's "Essential Cataloguing" book has really given me more insight into the world of cataloguing in the simplest way. Cataloguing involves a vast amount of strict rules all set out in book over 500 pages called the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2). These strict rules are inputted in a machine readable format called MARC which places all the data into a descriptive fields that the user can understand.
Last but not least, to ensure that any library that wants to use the same information, International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) is used to make sure the same punctuation is used in a standardised fashion.
What have I learnt since starting to catalogue?
Punctuation is paramount!! You always hear people say that librarians must possess attention to detail. Well, its even more important for a cataloguer, as one missed or misplaced punctuation creates an inaccurate catalogue record.
To demonstrate this I have created a powerpoint of a few things I have learnt about cataloguing the books for my "botanical books display".
Showing posts with label library books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label library books. Show all posts
12 February 2014
23 January 2014
Botanical Books Display
Usually fortnightly, me and colleague changes the books display with new books that we have catalogued. Focusing on a range of different botanical themes with range of different sizes we come up with eye-catching displays with highly scientific information.
As I have catalogued a few of the books on this display, I want to also demonstrate how I have been thought to catalogue books with SirsiDynix Symphony in a cute little presentation. So, look forward to my next post.
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