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Alphabet Soup for Cataloging Students The Alphabet Soup for Cataloging Students (ASC) is an outgrowth of my current course on Cataloging and Classification for the MLIS distance learning program at Rutgers University. The text of the definitions below come primarily from Wikipedia, but the links are drawn from a number of sources. This site comprises the beginning of what I hope becomes a much more comprehensive project that encompasses various areas of information science and includes other student contributors. See the ABOUT section below for more detail.
Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition. It is published jointly by the American Library Association, the Canadian Library Association, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. AACR2 is designed for use in the construction of catalogues and other lists in general libraries of all sizes. The rules cover the description of, and the provision of access points for, all library materials commonly collected at the present time. Despite the claim to be 'Anglo-American', the first edition of AACR was published in 1967 in somewhat distinct North American and British texts. The second edition of 1978 unified the two sets of rules (adopting the British spelling 'cataloguing') and brought them in line with the International Standard Bibliographic Description. Libraries wishing to migrate from the previous North American text were obliged to implement 'desuperimposition', a substantial change in the form of headings for corporate bodies. Principles of AACR include cataloguing from the item 'in hand' rather than inferring information from external sources and the concept of the 'chief source of information' which is preferred where conflicts exist. As well as occasional minor amendments, a broader revision is under way with a view to a new edition in which the rules are more consistent and coherent, informed by the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. This 'AACR3' has the working title 'Resource Description and Access'. The Dublin Core metadata element set is a standard (NISO Standard Z39.85-2001) for cross-domain information resource description. In other words, it provides a simple and standardised set of conventions for describing things online in ways that make them easier to find. Dublin Core is widely used to describe digital materials such as video, sound, image, text and composite media like web pages. Implementations of Dublin Core are typically XML and Resource Description Framework based. The term "Dublin Core" has no connection with Dublin, Ireland; rather, it is a basic but expandable "core" list of descriptors that were developed with the support of OCLC, a library consortium which is based in Dublin, Ohio, USA. The semantics of Dublin Core were established and are maintained by an international, cross-disciplinary group of professionals from librarianship, computer science, text encoding, the museum community, and other related fields of scholarship and practice. The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an organization providing an open forum for the development of interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad range of purposes and business models. DCMI's activities include consensus-driven working groups, global conferences and workshops, standards liaison, and educational efforts to promote widespread acceptance of metadata standards and practices. The Dublin Core standard includes two levels: Simple and Qualified. Simple Dublin Core comprises fifteen elements; Qualified Dublin Core includes three additional elements (Audience, Provenance and RightsHolder), as well as a group of element refinements (also called qualifiers) that refine the semantics of the elements in ways that may be useful in resource discovery.
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System) is a proprietary system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876, and since greatly modified and expanded in the course of the twenty-two major revisions, the most recent in 2004. The DDC attempts to organize all knowledge into ten main classes that, excluding the first class (000 Computers, information and general reference), proceed from the divine (philosophy and religion) to the mundane (history and geography). The ten main classes are then further subdivided. Each main class has ten divisions and each division has ten sections. Hence the system can be neatly summarized in 10 main classes, 100 divisions and 1000 sections. DDC's cleverness is in choosing decimals for its categories; this allows it to be both purely numerical and infinitely hierarchical. It also is a faceted classification, combining elements from different parts of the structure to construct a number representing the subject content (often combining two subject elements with linking numbers and geographical and temporal elements) and form of an item rather than drawing upon a list containing each class and its meaning. Except for general works and fiction, works are classified principally by subject, with extensions for subject relationships, place, time or type of material, producing classification numbers of not less than three digits but otherwise of indeterminate length with a decimal point before the fourth digit, where present (e.g. 330 for economics + 94 for Europe = 330.94 European economy; 973 for United States + 005 form division for periodicals = 973.005, periodicals concerning the United States generally). Books are placed on the shelf in increasing numerical order; the whole number to the left of the decimal is in counting order, while the digits to the right of the decimal are compared one digit at a time, with a blank coming before zero. (Example: 050, 220, 330.973, 331 etc.) When two books have the same subject, and therefore the same classification number, the second line of the call number, which usually has the first letter or first several letters of the author's last name (or the title if there is no identifiable author), are placed in alphabetical order.
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Description (FRBR) Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Description or FRBR is a conceptual entity-relationship model developed by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) that relates user tasks of retrieval and access in online library catalogues and bibliographic databases from a user’s perspective. It represents a more holistic approach to retrieval and access as the relationships between the entities provide links to navigate through the hierarchy of relationships. The model is significant because it is separate from specific cataloguing standards such as AACR2 or International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD).
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is a worldwide organization created to provide librarians around the world with a forum for exchanging ideas, and promoting international cooperation, research and development in all fields of library activity. Founded in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1927, IFLA has over 1,700 Members in 155 countries around the world. IFLA was registered in the Netherlands in 1971 and is headquartered in The Royal Library in The Hague.
International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) The International Standard Bibliographic Description or ISBD is a set of rules produced by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) to describe a wide range of library materials, within the context of a catalog. These rules organize the bibliographic description of an item in the following areas:
The ISBD standard is rigorously sequential, but some pieces can be dropped, as long as the sequence of the remainder is respected. The title must always come first, the author or some other statement of responsibility (as to who is responsible for authoring or editing a document) must always come after, and so on. By respecting this sequence and the standard ISBD punctuation it makes it possible to offer the bibliographical information in a very small and flexible space.
International Standard Book Number (ISBN) International Standard Book Number, or ISBN (sometimes pronounced "is-ben"), is a unique identifier for books, intended to be used commercially. The ISBN system was created in the United Kingdom in 1966 by the booksellers and stationers W H Smith and originally called Standard Book Numbering or SBN (still used in 1974). It was adopted as international standard ISO 2108 in 1970. A similar identifier, the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), is used for periodical publications such as magazines. From January 2007, ISBNs will be 13 digits long.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) International Standard Serial Number, is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic periodical publication. The ISSN system was adopted as international standard ISO 3297 in 1975.
Library of Congress Classification (LCC) The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress. It is used by most research and university libraries in the U.S. and several other countries — most public libraries continue to use the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). It is not to be confused with the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The classification was originally developed by Herbert Putnam with the advice of Charles Ammi Cutter in 1897 before he assumed the librarianship of Congress. It was influenced by Cutter Expansive Classification, DDC, and was designed for the use by the Library of Congress. The new system replaced a fixed location system developed by Thomas Jefferson. By the time of Putnam's departure from his post in 1939 all the classes except K (Law) and parts of B (Philosophy and Religion) were well developed. It has been criticized as lacking a sound theoretical basis; many of the classification decisions were driven by the particular practical needs of that library, rather than considerations of epistemological elegance. Although it divides subjects into broad categories, it is essentially enumerative in nature.
Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) Library of Congress Control Number or LCCN is a serially based system of numbering books in the Library of Congress in the United States. This numbering system has been in use since 1898. It has nothing to do with the contents of any book, and should not be confused with Library of Congress Classification. In its most elementary form the number includes a year and a serial number. The year has two digits for 1898 to 2000, and four digits beginning in 2001. The three ambiguous years are distinguished by the size of the serial number. There are also some peculiarities in numbers beginning with a "7" because of an unsuccessful experiment applied between 1969 and 1972. Serial numbers are six digits long and should include leading zeros. The hyphen that is often seen separating the year and serial number is optional. More recently, the Library of Congress has instructed publishers not to include a hyphen. Librarians all over the world use this unique identifier in the process of cataloging most books which have been published in the United States. It helps them reach the correct cataloging data (known as a cataloging record), which the Library of Congress and third parties make available on the Web and through other media.
Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC21) MARC is an acronym for MAchine-Readable Cataloging. It is a 'communications standard [for] exchanging bibliographic, holdings, and other data between libraries. It defines a bibliographic data format that emerged from a United States Library of Congress-led initiative that began in the 1970s. It provides the protocol by which computers exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information. Its data elements make up the foundation of most library catalogs used today. The MARC Standards Office is part of the Library of Congress. The record structure of MARC is an implementation of ISO 2709, also known as ANSI/NISO Z39.2. The future of the MARC formats is a matter of some debate in the worldwide library science community. On the one hand, the formats are quite complex and are based on outdated technology. On the other, there is no alternative bibliographic format with an equivalent degree of granularity.
Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) OCLC Online Computer Library Center was founded in 1967 and originally named the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC). It is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose of furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs. More than 53,500 libraries in 96 countries and territories around the world use OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials
The Research Libraries Group (RLG) The Research Libraries Group (RLG) is the U.S. library consortium that developed the Eureka interlibrary search engine. Based in Mountain View, California, RLG was founded by a group of major research libraries and museums in 1974, 2 years after another library consortium, OCLC, was founded. A major motivation for RLG’s establishment was dissatisfaction among research institutions with OCLC’s record keeping. RLG's online database, RLIN (Research Library Information Network) evolved from Stanford Library’s computerized processing system in 1978, but it was generally only for use by library specialists. In 1993, RLG developed Eureka as a user-friendly interface for use by non-librarians. In May 2006, RLG announced that it will merge with OCLC; its catalog will become part of OCLC's WorldCat, and its current programs will become a new OCLC division, to be operated out of the existing Mountain View office. WorldCat is the world's largest bibliographic database, built and maintained collectively by libraries that participate in the OCLC global cooperative. Created in 1971, WorldCat catalogs the content of more than 50,000 libraries in 90-plus countries. As of April 2006, it contains more than 63 million records referencing physical and digital items in more than 360 languages. WorldCat itself is not directly purchased by libraries, but serves as the foundation for many other fee-based OCLC services (such as resource sharing and collection management).
NEW -- The 9 Most Recent Addtions
ABOUT: Starting out with ten terms appropriate to our course of study. Most of the text comes verbatim from Wikipedia.org, but the links are drawn from a variety of sources. Although I created this primarily as a learning tool for myself I also envision the possibility of a program-wide student effort that could encompass number of subjects (cataloging, human information behavior, multimedia, searching, etc.) in a format that could take advantage of technologies including but not limited to blogs, html, and wiki. My initial announcement of the idea was met with thundering silence. I'll keep adding things to the page for my own amusement and edification, with the understanding that few people either share my vision or have the time/inclination to see it through. Still, anyone interested in conceptualizing and/or developing this resource should please feel free to contact me at the address below.
For those in the program who have not met me I'm in the initial cohort of students in the
online MLIS program in the Rutgers
School of Communication, Information, and Library Science. I'm the assistant director
for academic technology at The William Paterson
University of New Jersey in Wayne, a job that entails running the student technology program,
administering academic software (vis, the virtual learning environment),
and generally helping the university community integrate technology with teaching and learning. My academic
background is in US social and labor history, and I am interested in working with digital libraries and
archives.
Maintained by RA Harris
© RA Harris, 2006 |