Cataloging new donations

Catalog numbers cd312 – cd337 are blank.  Rennie is cataloging new CD donations.  She is using these catalog numbers before progressing the in the series.  By June 21st, 2008 all catalog numbers for CDs (cd1 – cd420 will have been used.)

–cmw

Cataloging miniDV -> DVD transfers

Added notes to field 530 (Additional Physical Form) in FileMaker database.  Stopped at v195.  Need:

*CD case inserts for labels.  (Use template established for digitized CD-Rs.)

*New foil-backed labels for: v155 & v154 in pile returned to office.

v188 (1999 Bridge Walk) should be viewed & relabeled.

–CMW

Control Numbers

The IMAP cataloging template requires that you enter a unique control number for each record. We’ll use this convention to create a code for each item:

Year-of-publication[4-digit-year]

- [dash]

Type-of-material[capitalized]

- [dash]

Old-catalog-number[4-digits -- add 0s before the catalog number if it lacks 4 digits]

For example, tape number 1324, published in 1982 would be assigned the control number:

1982-T-1324

[hold over issue from previous iteration of Control Number convention, to be edited 05/07/2008]

Unfortunately, the template doesn’t seem to recognize the distinction between numbers and letters. It interprets “1982.T.0083″ and 1982.CD.0083″ as the same number. To get around this, I’ve added a decimal point and number after the control number’s “old catalog number” element. The number after this last decimal point is related to media type.

Thus:

Audio cassette & DAT: nothing

CD: .1

Reel-to-reels: .2

Multimedia (e.g. CD-ROM, computer diskette): .3

miniDV & VHS: .4

DVD: .5

NOTE: The control number convention for reel-to-reel tapes needs to be examined and revised.

–cmw

How to indicate dates for previously recorded material

The date of publication for the media carrier being cataloged should be indicated in the “Date of Publication” 260c field. The original date on which a recording was made should be indicated in the “Date/Time and Place of Event” 518 field.

Per “Organizing Audiovisual and Electronic Resources for Access” by Ingrid Hsieh-Yee:

The publication date of the edition in hand is the third element for Area 4 [MARC field 260] and is entered in subfield $c. If an item contains multiple dates, publication date is preferred to copyright date or printing date. If a publication date is not available, the cataloger will use the copyright date. AACR2r offers an option to include both the publication date and the copyright date if they are different. The Library of Congress decided in 1989 that it would not apply this option to monographs or print serials. (pg. 19)

Proper Nouns

QUESTION:

When cataloging titles, only the first word of a title and proper nouns within that title are capitalized. What qualify as proper nouns? Do the names of recurring festivals or events qualify (e.g. The Bridge Walk or Showcase)? Do the names of internal programs qualify (e.g. Poetry in The Branches)?

ANSWER:

Standardization

We need to standardize the authorities in our database; a search for “Eliot, T.S.” brings up two records, while one for “Eliot, Thomas Stearns” brings up another.

We need to edit all records in our database to reflect the name and subject headings given in the LC Authority files. This is a major project, but one which we should strive to complete by summer’s end.

If the title on the box reads “T.S. Eliot Reading ‘Four Quartets’,” how should we render that in the title field? (See record 1411.)

T.S. Eliot reading Four quartets.

Questions and Problems from Mike’s first day of Cataloging

What’s the best way to determine if an item is a duplicate?

Press the find button to call up a blank database page. Enter keywords into appropriate fields, e.g. “Pablo Neruda Reads” in the title field. Then hit enter. This should call up any related records. It may be necessary to do a couple of different kinds of finds to determine whether the item is already in the collection.

Do we catalog duplicates separately? (That is, do two copies of the same title get two separate records in the catalog?)

We do not catalog duplicates separately. Note the presence of an additional media carrier (and the type of media carrier) in the “Additional Copies” field and set aside.

If a title has more than one copyright date, which one do we use?

Use the copyright date related to the media carrier in-hand. If the recording is a reissue, note the earlier copyright date in the “General Note” field. (We should look into whether this is standard practice and possibly amend this.)

What’s the difference between a “Subject Added Entry” (600 field) and an “Added Entry” (700 field)?

Library cataloging systems are generally not capable of performing keyword searches across fields. Thus there is a certain amount of redundancy in cataloging — the cataloger must fill out fields related to particular search criteria. 600 fields contain subject information. According to OCLC’s cataloging handbook:

Use fields 700–730 to provide additional access to a bibliographic record from names and/or titles having various relationships to the item you are cataloging. Added entries are made for persons, corporate bodies and meetings having some form of responsibility for the creation of the work. This includes intellectual and publishing responsibilities.

Use fields 700–730 also for added entries for other titles under authority control related to the work for which the record is made (e.g., other editions). Added entries are assigned to records for persons, corporate bodies, meetings and titles which are not given access through subject or series entries.

How do I save a record?

FileMaker automatically saves your work. This means any change you make to a field is a permanent change, so be aware of accidental keystrokes.

Is it necessary to put a “Restricted Access” note, like “For library use only”?

Yes, going forward this will be a very important piece of information. As of now, all materials are “For library use only”.

Can more than one party be included in the “Main Credits”?

No. If more than one person is on a recording their names should be cataloged alphabetically in the 700 “Added Entry — Personal Name” field and the “Main Credits” field left blank.

What if there is no LC authority record for a personal or corporate author?

That means an LC authority record may not exist. Use your best judgment for cataloging the names of these entities. No birth or death date is necessary.

For the corporate author (710 field) and the “Name of the Production Company” (260b), should I use the name of the publisher (eg. HarperCollins) or of the imprint (eg. Caedmon)?

What do we do about copies of commercial recordings?

For preservation purposes we create duplicate copies of commercial recordings for which only one copy exists in the collection.