An updated guide to cataloging correctly for kids

CHICAGO — Cataloging library materials for children in the internet age has never been as challenging or as important. RDA: Resource Description and Access is now the descriptive standard, there are new ways to find materials using classifications, and subject heading access has been greatly enhanced by the keyword capabilities of today’s online catalogs. It’s the perfect moment to present the sixth edition of “Cataloging Correctly for Kids: An Introduction to the Tools and Practices,” published by ALA Editions, a completely overhauled update of this acclaimed bestseller. Edited by Michele Zwierski, Joanna F. Fountain, and Marilyn McCroskey, the new edition guides catalogers, children’s librarians, and LIS students in taking an effective approach towards materials intended for children and young adults. Informed by recent studies of how children search, this handbook’s top-to-bottom revisions address areas such as:

• how RDA applies to a variety of children’s materials, with examples provided;
• authority control, bibliographic description, subject access, and linked data;
• electronic resources and other non-book materials; and
• cataloging for non-English-speaking and preliterate children.

Zwierski is the manager of cataloging services for the Nassau Library System on Long Island, NY. She practiced as a cataloger specializing in nonprint materials at academic libraries in Virginia, Connecticut, and Texas before joining the Austin Public Library as a branch manager. She has taught cataloging courses at the University of Texas at Austin and at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at LIU Post. She presents workshops on a variety of library service topics and has contributed to several publications. She is currently chair of the Dewey Editorial Policy Committee. Fountain consults with librarians, especially those working with children’s and bilingual collections, and is an editor, contributor, and publisher of related publications. She has taught at several universities. Previously she directed technical services at the university and school-district levels, and also led Proyecto LEER at the Texas Woman’s University. She has compiled Subject Headings for School and Public Libraries, and co-authored editions of “Unlocking the Mysteries of Cataloging: A Workbook of Examples.” McCroskey retired in November 2020 from Meyer Library, Missouri State University (MSU), Springfield, where she served as professor and head of cataloging and regularly taught cataloging courses. Her own cataloging work has included children’s nonbook materials for MSU’s Greenwood Laboratory School and for the curriculum resource center used by the College of Education. Co-author of “Cataloging Nonbook Materials with AACR2 and MARC: A Guide for the School Library Media Specialist,” she has presented nonbook cataloging in-service sessions at conferences and school librarians’ meetings. She served on the Cataloging in Publication (CIP) Advisory Group for the Library of Congress 2000–2020.

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Related Links

"Cataloging Correctly for Kids: An Introduction to the Tools and Practices, Sixth Edition"

"Introducing RDA: A Guide to the Basics after 3R, Second Edition"

"Library Programming for Autistic Children and Teens, Second Edition"