The Effectiveness of Copy Cataloging at Eliminating Typographical Errors in Shared Bibliographic Records
Jeffrey Beall and Karen Kafadar
Typographical errors in bibliographic records can cause retrieval problems in online catalogs. This study examined one hundred typographical errors in records in the OCLC WorldCat database. The local catalogs of five libraries holding the items described by the bibliographic records with typographical errors were searched to determine whether each library had corrected the errors. The study found that only 35.8 percent of the errors had been corrected. Knowledge of copy cataloging error rates can help underscore the importance of quality data in bibliographic utilities and, further, can serve as an indication to libraries whether they need to pay more attention to correcting typos in the copy cataloging process.
Citation Analysis of Education Dissertations for Collection Development
Laurel A. Haycock
The reference lists of forty-three education dissertations on curriculum and instruction completed at the University of Minnesota during the calendar years 2000–2002 were analyzed to inform collection development. As one measure of use of the academic library collection, the citation analysis yielded data to guide journal selection, retention, and cancellation decisions. The project aimed to ensure that the most frequently cited journals were retained on subscription. The serial monograph ratio for citation also was evaluated in comparison with other studies and explored in the context of funding ratios. Results of citation studies can provide a basis for liaison conversations with faculty in addition to guiding selection decisions. This research project can serve as a model for similar projects in other libraries that look at literature in education as well as other fields.
Cataloging Practices and Access Methods for Videos at ARL and Public Libraries in the United States
Jeannette Ho
Libraries may vary in the level and fullness of cataloging they give to video recordings and in the methods they use to provide access to them. This paper reports the results of a survey exploring the level of cataloging and access methods applied to videos, the degree to which catalogers view screen credits, and how often various credit information is included and used to create access points in catalog records in selected U.S. public and Association of Research Libraries member libraries. Resources for cataloging videos also were examined. Results showed that most libraries cataloged videos at the full level and provided access points to similar types of information in catalog records. Academic librarians reported viewing videos and providing access points to certain information to a greater extent than public librarians did. This study offers a general picture of the credit information libraries include or omit in video catalog records.
The Contracting World of Cutter’s Expansive Classification
R. Conrad Winke
At the centenary of Charles Ammi Cutter’s death, his Expansive Classification (EC) is still the primary scheme used in four libraries, while twenty-three others continue to maintain some portion of their collections in EC. In this study, fifty-seven libraries in the United States, Canada, and England have been identified as past or present EC users. Dates of their adoption and, if applicable, abandonment of the scheme are provided. Of the libraries where EC is a legacy scheme, the reasons for abandonment were sought, as well as determining the type of classification to which the library had moved to and whether EC was still employed for certain materials, or whether reclassification had been completed. Librarians at the four libraries still using EC as their primary scheme were interviewed about how revisions are made to the schedules and the practicality of remaining an EC institution.
Mapping MARC 21 Linking Entry Fields to FRBR and Tillett’s Taxonomy of Bibliographic Relationships
Pat Riva
Bibliographic relationships have taken on even greater importance in the context of ongoing efforts to integrate concepts from the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) into cataloging codes and database structures. In MARC 21, the linking entry fields are a major mechanism for expressing relationships between bibliographic records. Taxonomies of bibliographic relationships have been proposed by Tillett, with an extension by Smiraglia, and in FRBR itself. The present exercise is to provide a detailed bidirectional mapping of the MARC 21 linking fields to these two schemes. The correspondence of the Tillett taxonomic divisions to the MARC categorization of the linking fields as chronological, horizontal, or vertical is examined as well. Application of the findings to MARC format development and system functionality is discussed.
Notes on Operations
Art in a Medium-Sized University Library: Acquisition, Cataloging, and Access Issues: Challenges and Opportunities
Susannah Benedetti, Annie Wu, and Sherman Hayes
In 2001, the William Madison Randall Library at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington found itself with a substantial collection of art, acquired over time through gifts and purchases to augment existing collections of faculty scholarship and regional materials. What had been tracked in a simple administrative database had become a collection deserving improved access. This paper outlines the acquisition, cataloging, and access issues that shaped the evolution of the art works from their status first as decoration on the library walls, then as fully cataloged library materials in the online catalog, then as digitized images available in a searchable Web tour. Explored are the reasons behind the collection development push and the methods of acquisition, how and why the collection outgrew its original inventory database, and why the university librarian turned to catalog librarians for solutions to improve access by utilizing and linking data existing in separate databases. The paper offers implications and lessons learned that could assist other libraries that may face such a challenge, as well as a literature review of the issues faced in art documentation. Randall Library’s experience illustrates how a decision to invest in cataloging an unusual medium can go beyond the basics of author and subject access to create an unusually valuable foundation for promotional, curricular, and Web-based ventures.