1. Patricia M. Dragon
January 11, 2004
The Online Catalog
Another Source of Frustration, or An Opportunity for Collaboration?
ALCTS Role of the Professional …
ALA Midwinter Meeting
San Diego, January 11, 2004
Patricia M. Dragon
East Carolina University
ALCTS Role of the Professional in Academic Technical Services

2. Cataloging or Display? Author Adler, David J.
Title Cam Jansen and the mystery of the Babe Ruth baseball / David A. Adler ; illustrated by Susanna Natti.
Imprint New York : Puffin Books, 1991.
Description 57 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
Notes Cam uses her photographic memory to identify the person who stole a valuable autographed baseball.
Subjects Detective and mystery stories. Baseball – Juvenile fiction.
January

3. What is “Cataloging”?
“I have observed that it is a commonly held misconception inside and outside the profession that catalogers create records; instead, I think we would be much better off if we all conceived of the task of the cataloger as being that of creating a catalog.”
Martha Yee, to AUTOCAT, 1999
January

4. The Card Catalog Prescribed format Certain limited number of cards
Prescribed places in drawers
Predictable functioning
January

5. The Online Catalog Prescribed format (but plenty of space)
Many indexes
Browse access and keyword access
Navigation
Customizable
January

6. Customizing Questions
Kinds of searches?
What are you searching?
Display of results?
Methods of navigation?
Display of individual records?
January

7. The Whole Picture
MARC record
User needs
January

8. Example: Electronic Resources
Computer File Characteristics
Type of Computer File or Data
Additional Physical Form Available
System Details
Electronic Location and Access
January

9. Cataloger Concerns
Public display not reflecting developing cataloging practice
Public is not getting the information
Wasted cataloger time
January

10. Public Services Concerns
Length of record
Complexity of description
Repetitive information
Outdated information
Misleading language
Don’t see a need for extensive description
Electronic text and image data.
Text and image (PDF).
Also available on microfiche.
January

11. Advantages of Collaboration
Realize we have the same goal
Users get benefit of two areas of expertise
Each group does its job better
January

12. Need to Change “What we do”
“To the informed librarian, cataloging is seen to be at the heart of librarianship; the central core of everything librarians do. A reference librarian without an understanding of bibliographic control cannot function.”
Michael Gorman. “The Corruption of Cataloging.” Library Journal 120, no (Sept. 15, 1995):
January

13. An Opportunity for Collaboration
“The rift between catalogers and reference librarians (technical and public services) has been one of the more damaging aspects of modern librarianship. The time has come for mutual respect and mutual recognition of interdependence.”
Ibid.
January

14. Patricia M. Dragon East Carolina University dragonp@mail.ecu.edu
Thank You
Patricia M. Dragon
East Carolina University