Overview of Descriptive Cataloging

LIB 630 Classification and Cataloging
Spring 2012

OVERVIEW OF
CATALOGING
Descriptive cataloging
(use of AACR2R and
application of ISBD)

Tell me why we’re doing this, again?
• Cataloging :
– Is the whole process of preparing an
item
1. So that a library user knows that it
exists in the library or at another
library (adding it to the catalog; this
is cataloging proper)
– Involves description for access points
(possible search points like title, author, etc.)
according to strict standards with stringent
punctuation rules
2. So that a library user can locate it on
the shelf (classification)

What was Cataloging, again?
• cataloging
– The process of creating entries for a
catalog.
– In libraries, this usually includes
bibliographic description, subject analysis,
assignment of classification notation, and
activities involved in physically preparing
the item for the shelf, tasks usually
performed under the supervision of a
librarian trained as a cataloger. British
spelling is cataloguing.
 Online Dictionary of Library and Information
Science, ODLIS

Elements of cataloging
• From ODLIS definition:

1. bibliographic description

2. subject analysis

3. assignment of classification notation
(meaning the symbols used by the
classification system)

4. activities involved in physically preparing
the item for the shelf

Our focus:

• Bibliographic description:
– describe and identify all types of material
which are likely to appear in library
collections, assigns an order to the
elements of description, and specifies a
system of punctuation for the description
• ISBD(G): General International Standard
Bibliographic Description. Rev. ed., 1992
Preliminary notes, Scope, purpose and use

So, what is bibliographic description?
• Bibliographic description
– In a general sense, all the elements of data necessary
to conclusively identify a specific document,
presented in some form of record. In library
cataloging, the detailed description of a copy of a
specific edition of a work intended to identify and
distinguish it from other works by the same author,
of the same title, or on the same subject. In AACR2,
the bibliographic record representing an item in the
catalog includes the following standard areas of
description: title and statement of responsibility
(author, editor, composer, etc.), edition, material
specific details, details of publication and
distribution, physical description, series, notes, and
standard number and terms of availability (ISBN,
ISSN, price). See also: chief source of information
and level of description.
–

Elements of bibliographic description
Title proper = Parallel title : Other
title information [GMD] / Statement
of responsibility ; Other statements
of responsibility. – Edition area. –
Special area for serials, maps,
music. – Publication area. –
Physical description. – (Series
information). – Notes area. –
Standard number.
• Note the special punctuation (in red).
• This is the traditional layout for a
printed catalog card

This oblique line indicates that
what follows is the statement of
Sample catalog card responsibility (i.e. author
statement). Note space before
and after!

Notice the same oblique line!
A computer catalog entry

A Simpler way of organizing this information
Title proper = Parallel title :
Other title information
Area 1
[GMD] / Statement of
responsibility

Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
music
Area 4 Publication area
Area 5 Physical description
Area 6 (Series information)
Area 7 Notes area
Area 8 Standard number

AACR2 Cataloging Areas
1. Title and Statement of Responsibility Area
Includes:
Title Proper [GMD] = Parallel title ; Other titles /
Statements of responsibility
2. Edition Area
3. Special Area for serials, maps, etc, and music
4. Publication, Distribution, etc. Area
5. Physical Distribution Area
6. Series Area
7. Notes Area
8. Standard Number Area

From 2009,
an additional
area

Because this area is so new, there are very few examples of it out
there, and even fewer in school libraries. Area 0 will therefore not be
considered in what follows

Area 1:

Title and Statement of
Responsibility Area

Rules 1A-1G1,
pp. 15-25.

Contents of Area 1
• Title proper
• GMD
• Parallel title
• Other title information
• Statement(s) of responsibility

What are all these words?
• Title proper
(Concise AACR2 Rule 1B)
–AACR2 Glossary
• Title proper is the chief name of an
item, including any alternative title
but excluding parallel titles and
other title information.
– http://www.iasa-web.org/content/1b-title-proper
From website of the International
Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives
– i.e. The title proper is the main part of a title, e.g. in
The Hunting of the Snark : An Agony in Eight Fits.
The title proper is Hunting of the Snark.
See a facsimile of the title page at
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/images/modeng/public/CarSnar/CarSnaTi.jpg

Notice:
There is a space before AND after the semicolon to show where the title proper ends and the
additional title information begins!

Next concept?
• parallel title (Concise AACR2 Rule 1D)
– The title proper of an edition in a language
or script other than that of the original title.
In AACR2, parallel titles are entered in the
title and statement of responsibility area of
the bibliographic record (MARC field 245)
in the order found in the chief source of
information, separated by an equal sign
preceded and followed by a space
– The Library of Congress records all parallel titles
for items issued in the United States.

e.g. Father Goriot = Le Père Goriot / Honoré de
Balzac
Title Proper Parallel Title
Statement of responsibility

What else?
• Other title information
(Concise AACR2 Rule 1E)
–Essentially, the subtitle
–Includes also alternative title:
• The second part of a title proper
consisting of two parts, each a title in
itself, connected by the word ―or‖ or its
equivalent in another language
(example: The Female Quixote, or,
The Adventures of Arabella), not to be
confused with alternate title.*
Compare with subtitle.
*This information goes in the Notes area (see later).

When to use General Material Designation [GMD]?
• When item is something other than a book or serial
[text]—see Concise AACR2 Rule 1C (optional!)
– Commonest:
• electronic resource (used to be computer
file)
• graphic (previously film strip or slide
or transparency)
• microform
• motion picture
• sound recording
• videorecording
• cartographic material (i.e. map of some kind)
If the item to be cataloged is text, then the GMD is rarely used

What about the author area?

• Statement of responsibility
(Concise AACR2 Rule 1F)
– The ―statement of responsibility‖ is a string of
characters that follows the title in the library catalog
record, usually preceded by a slash (―/‖). The content of
the statement of responsibility is taken directly from the
title page of the resource, and can read something like:
―by John Smith with illustrations by Maggie Jones.‖ Its
role is to show the user how the resource described itself
on the title page.
• Library terminology informally explained
• Note: the title page is considered the ―chief source of
information‖ for a book

Chief source of information?
– The source of bibliographic data
prescribed by AACR2 as having
precedence over all others in the
preparation of the bibliographic
description of an item, usually the title
page or a substitute, for example, the title
frame at the beginning of a filmstrip or
motion picture, or the title screen of a
Web page.
– [According to Concise AACR2’s Rule 0A,
the chief source of information for books
is the Title Page]

http://

What if there are multiple statements of responsibility?
• Example:
– The hunting of the
NOTE: Snark : an agony, in
semicolon eight fits / by Lewis
with space
before and Carroll ; with nine
after to illustrations by
show where
each Henry Holiday.
responsibili–Notice the capitalization
ty
statement may not be exactly as in
ends and the original (or what you 1
begins might use for a
bibliography, either,
unless it’s APA!) 2
– See Title page online
• AACR2 Rule 1F1 and 2 say to record them in the order and form in which they appear

How would we do that in our simpler organization?

Title proper = Parallel The hunting of the Snark : an
title : Other title
agony, in eight fits / by Lewis
Area 1 information [GMD] /
Statement of Carroll ; with nine illustrations
responsibility by Henry Holiday.

Area 2 Edition area
Special area for serials,
Area 3
maps, music
Area 7 Notes area

Write the statement of responsibility exactly as
written on chief source of information, though
without qualifications, etc.!
Space before and after!

• The man of the forest / A novel by Zane
Grey ; illustrations by
Space Frank Tenney Johnson.
before
and – Notice that
after! ―A novel by . . .‖
is part of the statement of
responsibility.
– But you leave
out the ―Author of . . .‖
part!

Put it another way?
Title proper = Parallel title
: Other title The man of the forest / A novel by
Area 1 information [GMD] / Zane Grey ; illustrations by
Statement of Frank Tenney Johnson.
responsibility

Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
maps, music
Area 7 Notes area

AACR2 Rule 1F3
Give the statements of responsibility after the title
information even if they appear before the title in
the chief source of information
• Chief source of
information:
Title page
• See AACR2
Rule 0A

• Area 1 entry:
– Midnight pleasures / Eloisa James

What do we do about pseudonyms and other
problems with authors’ names?
• authority control
– The procedures by which consistency of
form is maintained in the headings
(names, uniform titles, series titles, and
subjects) used in a library catalog or file
of bibliographic records through the
application of an authoritative list (called
an authority file) to new items as they are
added to the collection. Authority control
is available from commercial service
providers.
• Example:
– Shaw, Bernard, with references from Shaw, G.B.
and Shaw, George Bernard.

But we still use the exact form of the name as it
appears on the title page—the authority control
comes in the notes and the subject headings*

*Older catalogs did use (pseud.)
• Title and statement of
responsibility:
– The prince and the pauper : a
tale for young people of all ages
/ by Mark Twain.
• A note (down in the Notes
area) might say: Mark Twain
is the pseudonym of Samuel
Longhorne Clemens.
(Although this is so well
known, it may not mention
his real name at all!)
• See the title page and other
front matter online!

Less well-known pseudonyms might include the real
name
• All grass isn’t green / [by] A.A.
Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner)
– Adapted from Chicago Public
Library’s online catalog.
• If the title page (remember, the
chief source of information for a
book, Rule 0A, is the title page
NOT the cover) said the same
as the cover shown, it would
have been written as follows:
– All grass isn’t green / Erle
Stanley Gardner writing as
A. A. Fair.

Or they may not mention it at all!
•Example:
All Things Considered, February 13,
2005 · By day, Mary Bly is a The two faces of Mary
respectable English professor at Bly: her workaday style,
New York's Fordham University. left; and as she appears
on book jackets.
But she has a secret -- one might eloisajames.com
even say romantic -- double life. As
Eloisa James, she's the author of
best-selling romance novels like
Duchess in Love, and Much Ado
About You.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.
php?storyId=4497605

Extract from Library of Congress catalog
•Type of Material: Text (Book, Microform, Electronic,
etc.)
•Personal Name: James, Eloisa.
•Main Title: Midnight pleasures / Eloisa James.
•Published/Created: New York : Delacorte
Press, c2000.
•Description: 360 p. ; 25 cm.
•ISBN: 0385333617
•Genre/Form: Historical fiction.
Love stories.
•LC Classification: PS3560.A3796 M53 2000
•Dewey Class No.: 813/.54 21

Another rule The Iliad of Homer

• If the original author’s name is Done into English Prose
given in the title, the name is not by
Andrew Lang, M.A.
repeated in the statement of Late Fellow of Merton
responsibility: College, Oxford
– The Iliad of Homer / Done into
English prose by Andrew Lang, Walter Leaf, M.A.
Walter Leaf and Ernest Myers. Late Fellow of Trinity
– http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/t College, Cambridge
occer-
new2?id=HomIlia.xml&images=im and
ages/modeng&data=/texts/english/ Ernest Myers, M.A.
modeng/parsed&tag=public&part= Fellow of Wadham
front College, Oxford
– Rules 1B2 and 1F1

Area 2:

Edition Area

Rules 2A-2C3,
pp. 15-27.

Area 2: Edition area
• Give the edition statement as found,
but with standard abbreviations (Rule 2B):
– New ed. for ―new edition‖
– Rev. ed. for ―revised edition‖
– Rev. and enl. 9th ed. for ―revised and
enlarged 9th edition‖
• Any statements of responsibility
specific to this particular edition are
placed here (you probably wouldn’t use
this that much) (Rule 2C1):
– A dictionary of modern English usage / by H. W.
Fowler. – 2nd ed. / revised by Ernest Gowers.

The Edition area in the simpler format
Title proper = Parallel
title : Other title
A dictionary of modern English
Statement of usage / by H. W. Fowler.
responsibility

2nd ed. / revised by Ernest
Area 2 Edition area
Gowers.
Area 3
maps, music NOTE:
Area 4 Publication area as always, there’s a space before and after
the / sign showing that what comes after is
a statement of responsibility, whether the
Area 6 (Series information) person was responsible for the original
Area 7 Notes area work, or this specific edition

Area 3:

music (AKA Material Specific
Details)

Rules 3A-3C2,
pp. 27-30.

Area 3: Special area for serials, maps, music
• Used for serials (i.e. magazines,
journals, etc.):
– Indicates numbering and year, and if the
serial has ceased publication.
• For maps
(ONLY if maps are the main content!):
– To indicate scale and projection
(Mercator, etc.).
• For music (but NOT songbooks!):
– To indicate the physical presentation (e.g.
full score, miniature score, playing score).

An example for a map (actually, in this case 2 maps)

Central City and Muhlenberg County,
Area 1 maps for 1980 [cartographic
material].
responsibility

Area 2 Edition area
Special area for serials, maps, Scale [ca. 1:12,000] ; Scale
Area 3
music [1:125,000].
[S.l.] : Kentucky Associated
Publishers, [1980]
2 maps on 1 sheet : both sides ; 46 x 47
Area 5 Physical description cm. and 47 x 49 cm., folded to 10 x
22 cm.
Area 7 Notes area

Area 4:

Publication, Distribution, etc. Area

Rules 4A-4E3,
pp. 30-33.

Area 4: Publication area
• Place of publication (Rule 4C)
– As found in original (if there are multiple
places; give these in the order provided)
• Name of publisher or distributor (4D)
– In shortest form that can be understood
• Date of publication or distribution (4E)
– Give the actual date provided, whether it
is correct or not (if wrong, provide
correct date in parentheses)
– Add copyright date if different, putting c
before the year—use it, if that’s all that’s
given
– e. g. c1976

Example
• The man between : an
international romance / by
Amelia E. Barr. -- Du Pre
Book Store spec. ed. – New
York ; London : The
Authors and Newspapers
Association, 1906.
– Note: Leave out the
qualifications (―Author of , etc.‖)
(Rule 1F7) and the bit about ―For
sale exclusively, etc.‖ (this
information might go in Notes if
you think it might be important
for your patrons (see Rule 7A1).

In our simplified format
The man between : an
Area 1 international romance / by
responsibility Amelia E. Barr.

Area 2 Edition area Du Pre Book Store spec. ed.
Area 3
music
New York ; London : The Authors
Area 4 Publication area and Newspapers Association,
1906.
Note: space ; space between
Area 6 (Series information) different cities—then space :
Area 7 Notes area space for publisher—then no
Area 8 Standard number space, date

Area 5:

Physical Description Area

Rules 5A-5E2,
pp. 34-43.

Area 5: Physical description (Rule 5)
• Includes, where applicable:
– The extent of the item (no. of volumes,
no. of pages, etc)
– Other physical data (color, type of
illustrations, etc.)
– Physical dimensions (size-generally in
cm.)
– Any accompanying materials (e.g. if
there’s a cd that comes with a book, or a
booklet with a cd, etc.)

Example
• Edvard Grieg : the man and the artist =
Edvard Grieg : mennesket og
kunstneren / Finn Benestad ; Dag
Schjelderup-Ebbe ; Translated by
William H. Halverson and Leland B.
Sateren . – Lincoln : University of
Nebraska Press, 1988. -- 366 p., [1] leaf :
ill., music ; 30 cm. + 1 sound disc
(analog, 33 1/3 rpm, stereo. ; 7 in.).
• A leaf is a page with print on one side
only (in this case, there is one, and it is
not numbered, thus [1]).
• [This is partially a fictitious example: the
English translation of the Norwegian
original did not include the recording]

Simplified
Title proper = Parallel title : Edvard Grieg : the man and the artist =
Edvard Grieg : mennesket og kunstneren /
Area 1 Finn Benestad ; Dag Schjelderup-Ebbe ;
[GMD] / Statement of Translated by William H. Halverson and
responsibility Leland B. Sateren.

Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
music

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press,
1988.

366 p., [1] leaf : ill., music ; 30 cm. + 1
Area 5 Physical description sound disc (analog, 33 1/3 rpm, stereo.
; 7 in.).
Again, note that there are spaces
Area 7 Notes area before and after the punctuation marks
that denote the different sections

Area 6:

Series Area

Rules 6A-6F, pp.
43-45.

Area 6: (Series information)
• What is a Series?
– According to the glossary of AACR2 a series is: ―A
group of separate items related to one another by the
fact that each item bears, in addition to its own title
proper, a collective title applying to the
group as a whole.‖
– Series are titles used to group together
items with similar characteristics. They
might have in common a subject (history
of monasteries in France), a format
(reprints), a genre (poetry), or merely
common publishing characteristics
(24 inch guidebooks with yellow covers).

Note: Series ≠ Serial

http://www.selu.edu/library/directory/serials/def.html

Example
• David Crockett : his life and
adventures / by John S. C.
Abbott. – New York : Dodd,
Mead, 1874. – viii, [7]-350 p.
front., plates. 19 cm. –
(American Pioneers and
Patriots).
• front.=frontispiece

Series title,
often displayed in parentheses
(though not always)

Putting it our way

David Crockett : his life and
Area 1 adventures / by John S. C.
responsibility Abbott.

Area 2 Edition area

Area 3
maps, music

Area 4 Publication area New York : Dodd, Mead, 1874.

Area 5 Physical description viii, [7]-350 p. front., plates. 19 cm.
Area 6 (Series information) (American Pioneers and Patriots).
Area 7 Notes area
Series titles are usually put in
Area 8 Standard number parentheses

Putting it in the Library of Congress’s way

Notice that LC does not put parentheses around the series
Statement—this is common in computer catalogs

Area 7:

Note Area

Rules 7A-7B17,
pp. 46-55.

Area 7: Note area
• Why notes?
– Several notes [may be] included in [a] cataloging record,
not necessarily to further describe the item physically, but
to indicate further details that might be helpful in
identifying the item, or information of interest
to someone looking for this book.
– There are two categories of notes, formal
and informal. Formal notes are those
always done in a particular style, often with
punctuation that divides titles or
performers or other pieces of information.
Informal notes are any notes that the
cataloger felt might be useful to include,
either for the library staff looking at the
record, or for the patron accessing the item.
• Adapted from Brief Review of Cataloging

Commonest uses for notes
• To indicate that the item includes
bibliography, index etc. (Rule 7B14)

• To provide a summary of the content of
a book (especially for children’s books)
(Rule 7B13)

• To provide information about the grade
level, reading level, etc. (Rule 7b11)

Example?
Title proper = Parallel title : Building effective learning communities
Other title information : strategies for leadership, learning &
Area 1 collaboration / Susan Sullivan,
responsibility Jeffrey Glanz.
Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
maps, music
Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Corwin Press,
c2006.
Includes bibliographical references (p.
Area 7 Notes area
171-175) and index.

Another example for Notes
The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
Area 1 / C.S. Lewis ; illustrated by
Christian Birmingham.
responsibility

Area 2 Edition area 1st American ed.
Area 3
maps, music

Area 4 Publication area [New York] : HarperCollinsPublishers, 2000.

Four English schoolchildren find their way
through the back of a wardrobe into the magic
Area 7 Notes area land of Narnia and assist its ruler, the golden
lion Aslan, to triumph over the White Witch,
who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

Alternate title in notes
• alternate title (Rule 7B5)
– A title found in or on a bibliographic item, that varies
from the one given in or on the chief source of
information, for example, a title appearing on the label
or container of a videocassette that differs from the one
given in the videorecording itself.
In library cataloging, any alternate titles are
entered in the note area of the
bibliographic record.
– Compare with alternative title.
[That’s the one with the ―or‖!

• Alternate title example:
4:50 from Paddington / Agatha Christie
Notes area: ―Previously titled What Mrs. McGillicuddy saw!‖

Alternate title in our easier display

Other title information 4:50 from Paddington / Agatha
Area 1
[GMD] / Statement of Christie
responsibility
Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
maps, music


Previously titled What Mrs.
Area 7 Notes area
McGillicuddy saw!

Area 8:

Standard Number Area

Rules 8A-8B2,
pp. 55-56.

Area 8: Standard number

• Rule:
– ―Give the International Standard
Book Number (ISBN) or International
Standard Serial Number (ISSN) or any
other internationally agreed standard
number of the bibliographic resource
being described. Precede that number
with the standards abbreviation (ISBN,
ISSN, etc.) and use standard
hyphenation.‖
• Concise AACR2, 4th ed., Rule 8B1.

Putting it all together

Chapter 4

Example of a complete
bibliographic description
• The Annotated Hobbit /
Annotated by Douglas A.
Anderson. The Hobbit : or,
there and back again / J.R.R.
Tolkien ; illustrated by the
author. – Rev. and exp. ed. –
Boston ; New York :
Houghton Mifflin, 2002. – xii,
398 p. : ill. (some col.), maps :
25 cm. – Full text of novel
with added annotations and
illustrations. – ISBN 0-618-
13470-0

BCCLS entry for The annotated Hobbit

Alternative title!

Simpler setup
The Annotated Hobbit / Annotated by
title : Other title
Douglas A. Anderson. The Hobbit : or,
there and back again / J.R.R. Tolkien ;
Statement of
illustrated by the author.
responsibility
Area 2 Edition area Rev. and exp. ed.

Area 3
maps, music
Boston ; New York : Houghton Mifflin,
2002.
Area 5 Physical description xii, 398 p. : ill. (some col.), maps : 25 cm.

Full text of novel with added annotations
Area 7 Notes area
and illustrations.
Area 8 Standard number ISBN 0-618-13470-0

Another example

• The dark-thirty : Southern tales
of the supernatural / Patricia C.
McKissack ; illustrated by
Brian Pinkney. – New York :
Dell Yearling, 2001, c1992. --
166 p. : ill. ; 20 cm. – ―A
Yearling Book.‖ – Newbery
Honor Book, 1993. – Coretta
Scott King Award, 1993. –
ISBN 0-679-89006-8
• Compare entry from Chicago
Public Library’s catalog at
http://www.chipublib.org/search/details/cn
/2012003

In our simplified display
title : Other title The dark-thirty : Southern tales of the
Area 1 information [GMD] / supernatural / Patricia C. McKissack ;
Statement of illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
responsibility
Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
maps, music
Area 4 Publication area New York : Dell Yearling, 2001, c1992.

Area 5 Physical description 166 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
―A Yearling Book.‖ – Newbery Honor Book,
Area 7 Notes area
1993. – Coretta Scott King Award, 1993.
Area 8 Standard number ISBN 0-679-89006-8

Example in a different medium

• The lion, the witch and the wardrobe
[sound recording] / C. S. Lewis ; Paul
Scofield ; Elizabeth Counsell ; David
Suchet ; Paul McCusker. – [S.l.] :
Tyndale Entertainment, cp1998 -- 2
sound discs ; digital ; 4 3/4 in. – (Focus
on the family radio theatre. The
Chronicles of Narnia 2). –
―Dramatization based on The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe c1950, C.S.
Lewis Pte. Ltd.‖ – ―Not recommended
for children under the age of 8.‖ –
―Douglas Gresham as your host.‖ –
Title from CD cover. – Approx.
running time 149 mins.
• C=copyright p=copyright for
phonographic recording
[S.l.]=sine locus i.e. without a place [of
publication]

Display from a public library catalog

Information in [ ] has been supplied from another source

Matrix format
title : Other title The lion, the witch and the wardrobe [sound
recording] / C. S. Lewis ; Paul Scofield
Area 1 information [GMD] ; Elizabeth Counsell ; David Suchet ; Paul
/ Statement of McCusker.
responsibility
Area 2 Edition area
Area 3
maps, music
Area 4 Publication area [S.I.] : Tyndale Entertainment, cp1998.
Area 5 Physical description 2 sound discs ; digital ; 4 3/4 in.
(Focus on the family radio theatre. The Chronicles
Area 6 (Series information) of Narnia 2).
―Dramatization based on The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe c1950, C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.‖ –
―Not recommended for children under the age
Area 7 Notes area of 8.‖ – ―Douglas Gresham as your host.‖ – Title
from CD cover. – Approx. running time 149
mins.

Overview of Descriptive Cataloging

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