ICC and the PSs

I'm slowly working my way through the 11th edition of Introduction to Cataloging and Classification (ICC).

The authors explicitly state that reading this textbook is not a substitute for reading RDA (Resource Description and Access), but in my opinion, using this book plus a couple of other good books on RDA (Maxwell's Handbook for RDA and Mering's The RDA workbook), a cataloger is pretty well equipt to catalog most library materials according to RDA guidelines.

RDA defines different metadata elements for describing resources. Some of these elements are "core" which means they are required. Others are "optional". Using only the core elements results in a pretty minimal record, though enough to identify the resource.

LC (the Library of Congress) and the PCC (Program for Cooperative Cataloging) Libraries who do much of the cataloging we see, have issued Policy Statements (PSs) giving their explanations or preferences for using specific areas of RDA. Both LC and PSS recommend more of the RDA metadata elements as "core".

One of the things I really like about ICC is that the authors have issued their own PSs. These are their recommendations that may differ from RDA and/or LC. Here's an example from page 215:

ICC11 PS for Optional Omission for RDA 2.4.1.4 Recording Statements of Responsibility: Although abridgement is not generally recommended, use, judiciously and thoughtfully, the option that allows catalogers to abridge SORs when needed. This may prove to be useful if a statement of responsibility is cluttered with extraneous data. Be careful not to remove essential identifying information.

See why I'm finding this book so useful?

Jumping to J

How did I manage to get to the letter J so quickly? Only a couple of weeks ago, I was still on F.

I have a helper. She is a Library Science student who wants to be a cataloger. She's also a Mass Library System employee. Depending on the time of year, her workload is sometimes light and she asked if she could help out with MassCat to get some cataloging experience.

While merging records is not exactly cataloging, this is great experience for her to look at bib records and see what kinds of problems arise. Since I work with an alphabetized list of potential duplicate titles, she has taken the later end of the letter F through the letter I.

I began with "Jazz" and have so far made my way through "Jewel", "Jewels", and "Jewelry". I've started "Jewish" which will keep me busy for a while. When I did a single word keyword search on "Jewish", I received a list of over 5,000 titles. The first 60 or so were in Hebrew, which I don't read, so I skipped past them and hoped they were accurate enough for Hebrew readers to find what they are looking for.

I'm still reading Introduction to Cataloging and Classification, and will be for a while. It's been a great reminder of the entire purpose of cataloging. While working, it's so easy for me to get involved in the specifics of the process - that whole "losing sight of the forest for the trees" thing. As I read through the textbook, the importance of describing the resource "uniquely" (to distinguish it from similar resources) and "unambiguously" (so that the patron knows exactly what he/she is getting) is repeated regularly.

To get a break from cataloging, I've been watching the third season of Hill Street Blues. Back in the 1980s, I watched the series pretty regularly and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I learned that it was out on DVD, I began requesting the seasons (in order, of course) from the library. Every few months, I take several evenings to become thoroughly absorbed in the adventures of the Hill Street station regulars. The stories are funny, sad, and always thought-provoking. The characters are multi-dimensional. The "good guys" have faults; the "bad guys" are sometimes kind.

I think what's most fascinating is the overall culture. No one has cell phones or computers. The cars are big (gasoline was just over $1.00/gallon). People wore aviator glasses. Come to think of it, so did I.

Cataloging and RDA

In preparation for RDA workshops I'll be giving, I've been reading the latest (11th) edition of Introduction to Cataloging and Classification.

I first began using this book as a reference tool - perhaps the 7th or maybe the 8th edition - when Bohdan Wynar's name was at the top of the title page. Then it was Arlene Taylor's name. Now Daniel Joudrey is the lead author.

A lot has happened in cataloging since those days. The size of this new book is at least 50% larger than the 10th edition which focused on the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

I've just begun chapter 4. This is not a book that one can read for long periods of time. Dense is an appropriate adjective. (Not for me, but for the book.) I find that an hour (maybe less) is all I can absorb at a time. Then I have to let that material settle into my brain.

For all you catalogers out there looking to learn RDA, I highly recommend this book. I already know a lot about FRBR and RDA, but the detail included here is really helping me put the myriad concepts together logically. And chapter 4 begins the specifics of RDA itself, as opposed to background information which is what I've been wading through the last week or so.

I have about 5 weeks to the workshop. I'll feel a lot more confident giving this one than I have in the past. Danny Joudrey was extremely helpful to me when I began teaching Information Organization for Simmons College School of Library and Information Science. I plan to send him an email letting him know how helpful he's been yet again.

Thanks, Danny.

Little Pads of Paper

It seems that every time I go to a conference, every time I go to a volunteer appreciation dinner, and every time that I go to a board meeting, there is a little pad of paper waiting for me to jot down notes. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. After all, someone is there taking minutes which will be sent to me later. What I always do, however, is take that little pad of paper home.

Guess what? I now have big piles of little pads of paper.

I have a pile of little pads of paper in the kitchen along with many of the pens I received at the same time. I use them to write shopping lists which I stick to the refrigerator with magnets. As I run low on something, or run out of something, it can be added to the little piece of paper which will accompany me to the market. This piece of paper is better than making a list in a smart phone. First, I don't have a smart phone and second, M. can also add things to the list if he takes the last one.

Little pads of paper are good for "to do" lists. Right now I have one sitting on the kitchen counter with all of the things I had hoped to do yesterday. A few of them are actually crossed off. Crossing things off is so much fun, it's actually worth doing them!

But even with all the shopping lists and "to do" lists, that pile of little pads of paper keeps getting bigger! It's sort of fun to look through them once in a while and see the places I've been. There was that conference in 2003 and that dinner in 2007.

The Hatfield Council on Aging just had its volunteer recognition dinner. I received a certificate of appreciation, a tote bag (something else I have lots of), a water bottle, a small container of chocolate and other candies (already consumed), and not one but TWO little pads of paper.