Cataloging & Classification Quarterly

Volume 36, no. 1, 2003

Articles

 

Multilingual Records in WorldCat

by Christine Mueller, Elizabeth Steinhagen

 

Abstract:  Since the mid-1990s, OCLC has been loading into WorldCat records that originate from sources other than member libraries.  This paper addresses the issues created by vendor-contributed records for Spanish language materials and some of the internal, temporary solutions developed by the University of New Mexico General Library (UNMGL) Catalog Services Department for cataloging with these records.  Based on four years of day-to-day experience cataloging titles represented in WorldCat by vendor records, the staff of the Ibero Resources Section at UNMGL has devised procedures to identify problem areas that can cause serious access issues for OPAC users.  The fact that some US libraries often download these vendor-created records and do not upgrade/enhance them for the rest of the cataloging community complicates the picture.  On the flip side, some that do make the effort to locak and replace the master records, fail to do a thorough job.  Even more complications arise when OCLC actively recruits new members from outside the English-speaking world—certainly a very worthwile effort—and loads records contributed by libraries from non-English speaking countries cataloged according to varying standards.  Thus, US libraries are facing some conflicting scenarious vis-à-vis multilingual records and the shared cataloging environment is becoming a more complex sea for all of us to navigate. Keywords.  WorldCat, vendor records, Spanish-language bibliographic records, upgrading records, multilingual records

 

Chinese Serials: History, Characteristics, and Cataloging Considerations

by Jian Wang

 

Abstract:  Chinese serials are an indispensable component of American academic library collections that have Chinese language or studies programs.  This special type of collection has not only attracted the interest of Chinese scholars, but has also been more in demand by university students, faculty and researchers in the related fields.  Academic libraries, especially those outside East Asian collections, face multiple challenges in ensuring access to this unique material due to limited library budgets and cataloging staff.  This article focuses on enhancing the understanding of Chinese serials and the challenges in processing and cataloging this type of material, including a brief history of Chinese serials, a description of their unique characteristics, and issues concerning cataloging practice. Keywords:  Chinese serials, cataloging Chinese serials, CJK, Chinese writing system, Chinese romanization systems: Pinyin/Wade-Giles

 

Quality of Korean Cataloging Records in Shared Databases

by Hee-sook Shin

 

Abstract:  For decades, the issue of quality control in cataloging records has been discussed, in particular in bibliographic control in the shared databases for various languages, but no earlier studies assess the quality of Korean cataloging records in the databases.  This study examines the quality of Korean cataloging records in OCLC’s WorldCat by evaluating records in terms of specific errors, error frequency, areas where errors occur frequently, and errors, that could inhibit record retrieval.  The results of the current study are also compared with the results of the study of the quality of Chinese-language cataloging records in order to identify shared error patterns.  Similariities were found in the error rates and error types.  Based on the results, the author makes some recommendations on how quality in cataloging Korean-language records can be maintained. Keywords: quality control, CJK, Korean cataloging records, shared databases (OCLC, RLIN), cataloging errors

 

Strategies for Providing Access to a Specialized Collection: Cataloging Decisions Affecting the Quilt Newsletter Collection at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

by Charity K. Martin, Mary Cassner

 

Abstract: Libraries often receive gifts of unique, specialized materials to add to their collections.  In 1999, the University Libraries at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln received a quilt newsletter collection as an addition to the American Quilt Study Groups quilt collection.  In order to provide the best access to the collection the cataloger in charge of the quilt newsletters developed a unique classification number for the collection and organized the collection by state of origin, followed by organization. Keywords:  specialized collections, unique classification numbers, quilts, access, cutter numbers