Cataloguing without tears: managing knowledge in the information society

Paperback  235pp  ISBN 1843340437      £39.00

Hardback  235pp  ISBN 1843340445      £55.00

It is a practical and authoritative guide to cataloguing for librarians, information scientists and information managers. It is intended to be used in conjunction with an internationally recognised standard to show how, firstly, cataloguing underpins all the other activities of an information service and, secondly, how to apply best practice in a variety of different situations.

Key Features

• Relates theory to practice and is written in an easy-to-read style
• Includes guidance on subject cataloguing as well as descriptive cataloguing
• Covers the use of ISBD and Dublin Core in descriptive cataloguing, rather than being tied exclusively to using AACR
• Covers the principles of subject cataloguing, a topic which most non-librarians believe to be an integral part of cataloguing
• Not only does the book describe the hows of cataloguing but goes a stage further by explaining why one might want to catalogue a particular item in a certain way

The Author

Jane Read has over 13 years experience in academic libraries. She formerly worked as a rare books cataloguer at the University of Reading.

Readership

Librarians and informational professionals responsible for cataloguing materials (of any format). Knowledge managers will also find the book of interest.

Contents

Why bother to catalogue - what is a catalogue for, anticipating user needs, convincing your boss it is important

What to catalogue - writing a cataloguing policy, what a catalogue record contains, the politics of cataloguing

Who should catalogue - how long does it take to catalogue a book, skill sets needed, appropriate levels of staffing, organising time

How to catalogue and not reinvent the wheel - choosing a records management system, international standards (AACR/MARC, ISBD, Dublin Core), subject cataloguing, and authority control

Is it a book, is it a journal - distinguishing between formats, the 'awkward squad', loose-leaf files, websites and skeletons

What's a strange attractor? Cataloguing subjects you know nothing about - finding the right subject headings, verifying your information

Ici on ne lit pas le francais: unknown languages and how to deal with them - what language is it, transcribing non-Roman alphabets, understanding the subject

Special cases - rare books and archival collections, children's books, electronic media

Resources for cataloguers - reference books, online discussion lists, conferences, bibliography