Page 64 - DLIS405_INFORMATION_STORAGE_AND_RETRIEVAL

Unit 6: Cataloguing

6.1 Cataloguing Notes

A library catalogue (or library catalogue) is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or
group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A bibliographic item can be any
information entity (e.g., books, computer files, graphics, realia, cartographic materials, etc.) that is
considered library material (e.g., a single novel in an anthology), or a group of library materials (e.g.,
a trilogy), or linked from the catalogue (e.g., a webpage) as far as it is relevant to the catalogue and to
the users (patrons) of the library.

The card catalogue was a familiar sight to library users for generations, but it has been
effectively replaced by the online public access catalogue (OPAC). Some still refer to
the online catalogue as a “card catalogue”.

Some libraries with OPAC access still have card catalogues on site, but these are now strictly a
secondary resource and are seldom updated. Many of the libraries that have retained their physical
card catalogue post a sign advising the last year that the card catalogue was updated. Some libraries
have eliminated their card catalogue in favour of the OPAC for the purpose of saving space for
other use, such as additional shelving.

What is cataloguing and its goal? Explain.

Goal

Charles Ammi Cutter made the first explicit statement regarding the objectives of a bibliographic
system in his Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalogue in 1876. According to Cutter, those objectives
were
1. to enable a person to find a book of which either (Identifying objective)
the author
the title
the subject
the category
is known.
2. to show what the library has (Collocating objective)
by a given author
on a given subject
in a given kind of literature.
3. to assist in the choice of a book (Evaluating objective)
as to its edition (bibliographically)
as to its character (literary or topical).
These objectives can still be recognized in more modern definitions formulated throughout the 20th
century. 1960/61 Cutter’s objectives were revised by Lubetzky and the Conference on Cataloguing

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