EDITORIAL By Ruth Carter
Describing Remote Electronic documents in the Online Catalog: Current Issues.
By Kyle Banerjee, Cataloging Librarian, Oregon State University (banerjek@ucs.orst.edu /
http://ucs.orst.edu/~banerjek
ABSTRACT. The relationship between the library catalog and electronic resources is
different than that between the catalog and physical materials. Cataloging rules were
originally designed to help patrons use a manual card catalog to find physical works on a
shelf. However, these rules apply awkwardly to electronic resources because functionally
different electronic works raise special cataloging issues. This article discusses the
problems of describing remote electronic resources in the online catalog. It concludes
that descriptive information helps the user identify the work she needs, but that it is
practical to provide only minimal descriptive information for remote electronic resources
in the catalog record. To a limited extent, the access lost from less description can be
replaced with new cataloging techniques designed to stabilize the catalog record.
The Use of Facet Analysis in Information Retrieval Thesauri: An Examination of
Selected Guidelines for Thesaurus Construction. By Louise Spiteri
ABSTRACT. Facet analysis has been used in the construction of faceted thesauri since the
publication of the Information Retrieval Thesaurus of Education Terms in 1968. In spite of
the growth in the number of faceted thesauri since then, there appears to be little
consensus among thesaurus designers regarding how the principles of facet analysis are to
be used in thesauri. An examination of various national and international guidelines for
thesaurus construction reveals that they emphasize primarily the construction of
alphabetical thesauri, but provide little guidance in the use of facet analysis in
thesauri.
The Regensburg Classification: A Short Survey. By Bernd Lorenz, Head,Cataloguing
Department, Universitaetsbibliothek, Regensburg, Germany.
ABSTRACT. The University of Regensburg Library was founded in 1964 as a collection of
books on open access shelves. Therefore the Library established a new
"home-made" classification scheme. Like LCC, a classmark consists in general of
three principal elements: location number, classification number and author marks
(formulated by Cutter and Sanborn). But unlike most academic libraries in Germany,
Regensburg has developed its classification in line with the classification of a large
group of German academic libraries.
The 34 individual schedules are primarily kept up-to-date by:
- Newsletter (semi-annual), published by the secretary at Regensburg
- On-going contact between specialists and the secretary
- New editions of the individual schedules appearing periodically
Our plans in the field of classification include:
- Updating according to developments in the sciences and humanities
- Online classification
Bibliographical Classification: The ideas and Achievements of Henry E. Bliss.
By Alan R. Thomas ,MA, FLA, Visiting Associate Professor, School of Information and
Library Science, Pratt Institute, New York.
ABSTRACT. The ideas and achievements of Henry Evelyn Bliss concerning classification are
introduced, based mainly on material in the Henry E. Bliss Papers at Columbia University.
The life and career of Bliss are outlined and his writing style examined. His views on
various aspects of classification are described and exemplified: its functions,
arrangements, adaptability, and notation. The role and qualifications of classificationers
(compilers) and classifiers (indexers) are discussed. Advantages and disadvantages of
standard systems, including the Library of Congress Classification, Dewey Decimal
Classification, and Universal Decimal Classification, are assessed. The origins,
evolution, publication, and impact of Bliss's Bibliographic Classification are described.
The relationship of his scheme to the radical revision in the form of the Bliss
Bibliographic Classification, 2nd edition, is explored.
BOOK REVIEW, Michael Carpenter, Book Review Editor
Technical Services Management: 1965-1990: a Quarter Century of Change and a look to
the Future; Festschrift for Kathryn Luther Henderson, edited by Linda C. Smith and
Ruth C. Carter
Reviewed by Lee Shiflett
CATALOGING NEWS
Elizabeth N. Steinhagen, News Editor
