Page 146 - Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians, 2nd Edition

132 Cataloging and Classification for Library Technicians
The job of fil ing, ac cording to the ALA Fil ing Rules 1980, is com -
pletely elim inated in computerized li braries that have closed the card
catalog and use only the on line pub lic ac cess cat alog (OPAC).
Rou tines in main tain ing the card cat a log in clude re place ment of
worn and soiled cards, add ing see and see also ref erence cards as nec -
essary, shift ing draw ers and chang ing la bels ac cordingly, and add ing
guide cards for easy sec tion iden tification. Main taining a database in -
volves keep ing it up to date, with new bib liographic re cords added,
new authority files loaded, status of ma terials clearly marked, etc.
Other mis cel la neous works done in the cat a log ing de part ment in-
clude mend ing and re pair, pres er va tion of ma te ri als, keep ing sta tis -
tics, and fol lowing pro cedures for with drawing ti tles to be discarded.
It should be em phasized again that ev ery li brary is dif ferent, and the
li brary tech ni cian work ing in the cat a log ing de part ment has to fol low
the pol i cies and pro ce dures of that in di vid ual li brary.
A cat alog or a da tabase is a liv ing thing. New en tries are en tered
every day, and at the same time, ti tles are de leted or cards are pulled
out con stantly. Ac curacy is im portant, and one should exercise great
care when fil ing cards or en tering any in formation into the da tabase,
be it the cor rect spell ing, the cor rect field, or the correct in dicator.
One card mis filed is one re cord lost for ever. The same situation oc -
curs in the com puter en vironment. When the bib liographic in forma-
tion is not en tered prop erly into the da tabase, the re cord may be
buried. Cat aloging has to be done with knowl edge and pre cision, and
that is why the task is both in teresting and chal lenging.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. List the procedures for copy cataloging in an automated library.
2. List the procedures for original cataloging in a manual library.
3. What is a shelflist file and the purpose of having a shelflist file?
4. How did automation change the cataloging department?
5. What is the changing role of the library technician in the
cataloging department?
6. What reference tool is used for filing catalog cards?
7. What is the best way for a manual library to speed up the
cataloging and processing tasks?