Page 142 - Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians, 2nd Edition

128 Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians
Cataloging rou tines are completed in many ways, and li brary tech ni-
cians should fol low the prac tices of their own li braries.
Au to ma tion has changed the cat a log ing scene dra mat i cally. With
mem bers shar ing cat a log ing in for ma tion from the same da ta base,
each con tributing cat aloger has to ad here com pletely to the rules and
the stan dards, leav ing no room for in di vid ual in ter pre ta tion. The re-
sult of ex tensive use of on line cataloging sys tems has been that the
majority of the cataloging done in the library now is copy cat aloging.
This is dif ferent from the man ual system, which re quires that more
orig i nal cat a log ing be done. Staff com po si tion in the cat a log ing de-
partment has shifted also, with the library tech nician now the de part-
ment’s back bone.

PROCESSING ROUTINES

Af ter the cat a log ing steps are com pleted, ma te ri als are pro cessed
so that they can be shelved in their proper places. The pro cessing rou -
tines dif fer from li brary to li brary. In gen eral, the following steps may
be in cluded:

1. Mark shelflist card (if still used) with proper identification
symbols, such as accession number, bar code number, or copy
number.
2. File shelflist cards in order by call numbers.
3. File catalog cards (if still used) in the card catalog according to
ALA Filing Rules, 1980.
4. Attach pockets, cards, and date-due slips to materials.
5. Stamp materials with the library property stamp on designated
pages or places.
6. Place plastic jacket on book.
7. Prepare and attach spine labels.
8. Attach and scan in bar code labels.
9. Attach security strips.

Au to ma tion sim pli fies the pro cess ing rou tines by elim i nat ing steps
such as typ ing, fil ing, and at taching pock ets and cards to the ma terials.