Page 111 - Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians, 2nd Edition

Chapter 7

Copy Cataloging

Now that we have learned about de scriptive cataloging, sub ject
cat a log ing, and clas si fi ca tion sys tems, the pro cess of cat a log ing is
complete. Cataloging makes it pos sible for the us ers to de termine, by
checking un der au thor, ti tle, or sub ject, if the needed ma terials are
contained in a par ticular col lection. The call num ber on the card or
displayed on the computer screen serves as a lo cation guide, making
it con venient for the user to go to a spe cific shelf to get the material.
What we see on the card or screen is the re sult of the process of cat alog-
ing, called a bib liographic re cord, in li brary terms. When cataloging is
done step-by-step in-house, as ex plained in the pre vious chap ters, it is
called orig i nal cat a log ing, and it is nec es sary for li brary tech ni cians
working in the cataloging de partment to have the knowl edge re quired
for orig i nal cat a log ing. How ever, the ma jor ity of new ac qui si tions
have al ready been cat aloged by some other cat aloger at the Li brary of
Congress or, per haps, at an other li brary, and there is no need to spend
the time and ef fort to “re invent the wheel.” If such is the case, we
adopt the cataloging al ready done by some one else for our own lo cal
use, by re cording it with out change, or by making mi nor changes or
modifications to suit the lo cal sit uation. The pro cess of tak ing al -
ready es tab lished cat a log ing in for ma tion and ap ply ing it for lo cal use
is called copy cat a log ing, that is, pre paring a bib liographic re cord of
our own by us ing or adapt ing the bib liographic re cord pre pared by a
cat a loger from an other li brary or or ga ni za tion. Copy cat a log ing is a
widespread prac tice in the li brary world. It saves per sonnel, time, and
money, re sulting in speed ier ser vice while maintaining high qual ity.
Copy cat a log ing should be per formed when ever pos si ble.

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