March/April 2008
Professional Pages Book Review
Catalog It! …The "Betty Crocker Cookbook" of Cataloging for School Libraries
Tom Adamich
Kaplan, Allison and Riedling, Ann. 2006. Catalog it! a Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials (2nd ed.). Worthington, OH: Linworth Publishing, Inc. 212 p. ISBN-13: 9781586831976. $53.00
The second edition of Catalog it! A Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials, first published in 2002, continues the tradition of providing basic, practical cataloging theory and knowledge to teacher-librarians. Noted second edition features include cataloging electronic information as well as expanded coverage of classification, subject analysis, and cataloging tool comparisons.
For a comprehensive review of these MARC fields, please refer to the article "CE-MARC: the Educator's Library ‘Receipt'" found on KQ Web, vol. 35 no. 1.
Once again, authors Alison Kaplan and Ann Riedling preserve the primary scope of Catalog it! by examining metadata creation needs from an educator's perspective, taking time to focus in depth on those MARC metadata standard fields which apply specifically to describing materials for children. In addition, physical description and materials access information (including entry formats for ISBN numbers, and other classification-related numerical information) receive extensive treatment.
Speaking of classification, Catalog it! contains an in-depth analysis of the Dewey Decimal Classification, including sections on number building and hierarchical information. One of the greatest challenges of any teacher-librarian who catalogs is feeling good about the "subjective" nature of assigning classification numbers. The section entitled "It's ok to change a number" is mandatory reading for school library professionals – both young and "young at heart" – who need that extra boost of confidence when justifying classification decisions.
Another helpful "subjective-based" section of Catalog it! is chapter four – "Intellectual access – subject headings". Kaplan and Riedling do a fine job explaining the theory behind using a "controlled vocabulary" such as the Sears List of Subject Headings or the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Another "must-read" section is the chart on page 48 detailing the pros and cons of using Sears and LC with ordering and access information for each tool. With the release in January 2008 of the 19th Edition of the Sears List of Subject Headings librarians have an up-to-date cataloging tool. [A review of this important tool appears on KQWeb].
Since the first edition of Catalog it! was published in 2002, there have been several significant developments in the creation of metadata for electronic information (websites, electronic databases, etc.). Although metadata was viewed only as an emerging format in the first edition, the second edition of Catalog it! features website and electronic database cataloging information based on the major revisions and minor changes made for these formats in the 2002 edition of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR). Hopefully, future editions of the Kaplan/Riedling book will address the implications of the forthcoming issues and changes in cataloging:
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How Resource Description and Access (RDA) will affect website and electronic database cataloging
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Metadata other than the MARC standard
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Digital asset management using metadata
Catalog it! shines as an essential professional development resource for school library cataloging. References made to cataloging documentation and tools may assist the teacher-librarian, including free MARC record databases (LC, Access Pennsylvania, Sunlink, etc.), excellent cataloging programs such as Mitinet's MARC Wizard and online tools/forums such as LC's MARC Forum and AUTOCAT.
Once again, Catalog it! a Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials is a great "cookbook" for basic school library cataloging information. Professionals who need detailed K-12 cataloging questions should view works such as Cataloging with AACR2 & MARC21: for Books, Electronic Resources, Sound Recordings, and Videorecordings, and Serials and MARC21 for Everyone: A Practical Guide, both by Deborah A and Richard J. Fritz. (ALA publications). Or the 4th edition of Standard Cataloging for School and Public Libraries by Sheila S. Intner and Jean Weihs, published by Libraries Unlimited. These works feature K-12 cataloging examples and strategies in easy-to-understand formats. Finally, a few online listservs exist including LM_NET (Syracuse University) and ACAT (University of Buffalo) which may provide additional cataloging for children's information and resources – including input from knowledgeable professionals and access to useful tools and strategies.
Works Cited:
Adamich, Tom. September/October 2006. "CE-MARC: the Educator's Library ‘Receipt'". Knowledge Quest 35, 1, 64-68.
Fritz, Deborah A. 2004. Cataloging with AACR2 & MARC21: for Books, Electronic Resources, Sound Recordings, Videorecordings, and Serials. Chicago: American Library Association.
Fritz, Deborah A, and Richard J. Fritz. 2003. MARC21 for Everyone: A Practical Guide. Chicago: American Library Association.
Intner, Sheila S. and Weihs, Jean. 2007. Standard Cataloging for School and Public Libraries (4th ed.). Chicago: Libraries Unlimited.
Kaplan, Allison and Riedling, Ann. 2006. Catalog it! A Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials (2nd ed.). Worthington, OH: Linworth Publishing, Inc.
Miller, Joseph and Barbara A. Bristow, eds. 2007. Sears List of Subject Headings (19th ed.). New York: H.W. Wilson Co.
RDA: Resource Description and Access. http://www.rdaonline.org/index.html Accessed 14 March 2008.
Cataloging Resources:
Free Resources:
Access Pennsylvania is a useful cataloging resource available at http://www.accesspa.state.pa.us/ Accessed 14 March 2008.
Library of Congress Online Catalog available at http://catalog.loc.gov/ Accessed 14 March 2008.
Library of Congress Online Authorities Catalog available at http://authorities.loc.gov/ Accessed 14 March 2008.
Library of Congress. MARC 21 Forum: MARC Standards available at http://www.loc.gov/marc/ Accessed 14 March 2008.
Resources for a Fee:
Sunlink available at http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu/ Accessed 14 March 2008.
Mitinet Library Solutions http://www.mitinet.com/
Online Discussion Forums:
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ACAT Listserv (online). (Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Buffalo) [To subscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu with your name and the words "SUBSCRIBE AUTOCAT"].
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AutoCat Discussion list. Information available from http://www.cwu.edu/~dcc/Autocat-ToC-2007.html Accessed 14 March 2008.
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LM_NET Available at http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ Accessed 14 March 2008.
Tom Adamich has been a certified teacher-librarian since 2000 and a librarian since 1991. A graduate of the Kent State University (Ohio) School of Library/Information Science and KSU College of Education (School Library Media Certification), Tom has been a teacher-librarian and consultant for the Indian Valley Local Schools (Ohio) since 1999 and president of the Visiting Librarian Service, a contract librarian firm he has operated on a full or part-time basis since 1993. Currently, Tom also serves as the Cataloging Librarian at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been involved in K-12 cataloging research and its connection to critical thinking skill development and standards-based education since 1998.
