CATALOGUING OF INFORMATION MATERIALS

1. Definition of terms and purpose of cataloguing

1. Catalogue

A list of books, maps, coins and any other medium that constitute a collection.

An organized set of bibliographic records that represent the holdings of a particular collection.

A collection may consist of any similar types of materials e.g books, periodicals, maps, CD-Roms, diskettes, coins, sound recordings, paintings, video and audio tapes.

2. Cataloguing

The process of identification and description of a bibliographic item, the recording of this information in form of catalogue record and the selection and formation of accessible points. The process of describing documents held in a library collection and providing entry points to them. The end product of this process is a library catalogue used in the identification and location of documents in an information centre. The process is done according to a set of rules of a certain cataloguing code.

3. Catalogue Cards

A plain or ruled card on which catalogue entries may be made.

4. Library Catalogue

A list of items contained in a library collection or a group of libraries arranged according to a systematic order.

5. Publishers Catalogue

It is a list of items published by a given publisher.

6. Descriptive Cataloguing

A part of the cataloguing process concerned with the identification of an item and with recording the information about the item in a bibliographic record (e.g. a library catalogue) so that the item may be identified precisely. Its purpose is to consistently record and describe each item in the library such that it is distinguishable from all others.

7. Bibliographic description

The description of an item containing details like; title and statement of responsibility areas, edition area etc.

1.1. Purpose of cataloguing

Catalogues are prepared whenever a collection grows too large to be remembered item for item.

They facilitate retrieval of item or parts of items for actual us.

. They are also useful inventory records since in especially a large collection .

They help us to know what has been acquired, lost, replaced, withdrawn or shifted to another section.

2. Cataloguing codes and it's parts

Origin of Cataloguing Codes

The first cataloguing rules were prepared by individuals.

1.Panizzis British Museum Rules for the compiling of the catalogue (1841) was the first major modern statement of principles underlying cataloguing rules: It has extended an influence on every western world code, that has been published since its publication.

2. Cutters rules for a dictionary catalog in its 4th edition at his death in 1903, presented the first complete ser of rules for a dictionary catalog.

From the beginning of the twentieth century codes have been drawn up by committees, but the influence of those early far sighted individuals continued through LC rules on printed cards (1903) through the 1930s,

3. LC rules for descriptive cataloguing (1949)

4. ALA rules (1908, 1941, 1949),

5. AACR, (published in 1967) and the present

6. AACR2.

The ALA rules of 1908 were the results of a seven-year study by a committee of ALA and the (British) library Association (LA). In 1901 the library of congress began its printed card service with the result that libraries became interested in ways to use LC cards with their own cards. One of the important responsibilities of the committee was to formulate rules to encourage incorporation of LC printed cards into catalogs of the libraries.

The committee attempted to reconcile the cataloguing practices of LC with those of other research and scholarly libraries. The use of LC cards increased dramatically between 1908 and 1941 and standardization of library catalog progressed. However, the ALA rules were not expanded during this 33 years period, drastically curtailing attempts of cataloguing practice to stay in touch with cataloguing done at the LC.

In 1930 a sub-committee was appointed by ALA to begin work on a revision of cataloging rules and the problems were outlined. Dissatisfaction with the 1908 code expressed on the grounds of omission of the basic rules were not in question. Expansion was required to meet the needs of large scholarly libraries or specialized collections. The preliminary edition, published in 1941, expanded the rules of 1908 to make more provision for special classes of material i.e. serial publications, government documents, religious bodies publications,

2.1. Parts of a good cataloguing codes

A good cataloguing code should have the following parts:

(i) Preliminaries: They should cover guiding principles of cataloguing instructions on

how to use the cataloguing code, terminology used, etc.

(ii) Auxilliaries: Cover rules pertaining to choice and form of access points.

(iii) General entry: Describe the procedure for subject cataloguing how and when to

prepare cross-references.

(iv) Specific entry: Cover rules for given publications like periodicals, multi-volumed

books.

(v) Lists other than the library catalogue provides rules for preparing union catalogues,

indexing and abstracting journals.

(vi) Documents other than conventional books and periodicals. It should provide rules

for cataloguing such documents like Non Book Media.

2.2. Functions of cataloguing codes

To assist information centres develop a uniform approach to the cataloguing

of information materials.

2. To encourage the use of the same cataloguing rules so as to facilitate preparation

of union catalogues.

3. To facilitate and promote inter-library lending and co-operative cataloguing.

4. To provide rules to be adopted by any library without the library staff thinking of

how to prepare catalogue entries.

2.3. Summary on functions of cataloguing codes

1. Standardization of Records:

Cataloguing codes provide a uniform structure for bibliographic descriptions, enabling consistency across different libraries.

2. Efficient Information Retrieval:

By organizing items based on specific rules (e.g., author, title, subject), cataloguing codes make it easier for users to locate and access resources.

3. Data Sharing and Interoperability:

Standardized cataloguing facilitates the sharing of records among libraries, particularly in union catalogues and cooperative networks.

4. Resource Identification and Access:

Codes help accurately identify and differentiate between similar or related resources, ensuring precise access.

5. Support for Library Automation:

Modern cataloguing codes like RDA (Resource Description and Access) are designed to be compatible with digital and automated systems.

Examples of Cataloguing Codes:

1.AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd edition)

2.RDA (Resource Description and Access)

3.ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description)

3. Historical development of cataloguing codes

Origin of Cataloguing Codes

The first cataloguing rules were prepared by individuals.

1.Panizzis British Museum Rules for the compiling of the catalogue (1841) was the first major modern statement of principles underlying cataloguing rules: It has extended an influence on every western world code, that has been published since its publication.

2. Cutters rules for a dictionary catalog in its 4th edition at his death in 1903, presented the first complete ser of rules for a dictionary catalog.

From the beginning of the twentieth century codes have been drawn up by committees, but the influence of those early far sighted individuals continued through LC rules on printed cards (1903) through the 1930s,

3. LC rules for descriptive cataloguing (1949)

4. ALA rules (1908, 1941, 1949),

5. AACR, (published in 1967) and the present

6. AACR2.

The ALA rules of 1908 were the results of a seven-year study by a committee of ALA and the (British) library Association (LA). In 1901 the library of congress began its printed card service with the result that libraries became interested in ways to use LC cards with their own cards. One of the important responsibilities of the committee was to formulate rules to encourage incorporation of LC printed cards into catalogs of the libraries.

The committee attempted to reconcile the cataloguing practices of LC with those of other research and scholarly libraries. The use of LC cards increased dramatically between 1908 and 1941 and standardization of library catalog progressed. However, the ALA rules were not expanded during this 33 years period, drastically curtailing attempts of cataloguing practice to stay in touch with cataloguing done at the LC.

In 1930 a sub-committee was appointed by ALA to begin work on a revision of cataloging rules and the problems were outlined. Dissatisfaction with the 1908 code expressed on the grounds of omission of the basic rules were not in question. Expansion was required to meet the needs of large scholarly libraries or specialized collections. The preliminary edition, published in 1941, expanded the rules of 1908 to make more provision for special classes of material i.e. serial publications, government documents, religious bodies publications, anonymous classics, music and maps to amplify existing rules to cover specific cases of frequent occurrence. The revised edition of 1949 states that:

The chief changes from the preliminary edition are a rearrangement of the material to make the sequence of rules logical as far as possible; reduction of the number of alternate rules; omission of rules for description; rewarding to avoid repetition or to make the meaning clearer and revision where possible of rules inconsistent with the general principles.

The 1941 and 1949 rules were sharply criticized for being too elaborate and often arbitrary emphasis had shifted from clearly defined principles to a collection of rules developed to fit specific cases rather than the conditions that the cases illustrated.

Lubetzky commented that any logical approach to cataloguing problems was blocked by the maze of arbitrary and repetitious rules and exceptions to rules. Because of the omission of rules for description from 1949 ALA rules, the LC published its rules for descriptive cataloguing in the LC also in 1949.

This set of rules was much more simplified than had been the rules in part II of the 1941 ALA preliminary edition. These were not criticized as were the rules for entry and heading and were incorporated virtually intact into the next edition of rules published by ALA in 1967.

3.1. Major cataloguing codes

(i) British Museum code (1841)

(ii) Prussian Instruction (1908) rules for alphabetical catalogues of the Prussian

libraries.

(iii) Cutter rules for a dictionary catalogue (1876)

(iv) LA cataloguing rules for author and title entries.(1908)

(v) ala cataloguing rules second edition (1908)

(iv) LC rules for descriptive cataloguing in the LC (1949)

(vii) Vatican library rules for the catalogue of printed books.

(viii) Anglo-American or joint code (1908) Anglo-American

cataloguing rules 1967 (AACR I)

(ix) AACR II

nb: catalogue codes are formulated to serve the following functions.

1. To assist information centres develop a uniform approach to the cataloguing of information materials.

2. To encourage the use of the same cataloguing rules so as to facilitate preparation of union catalogues.

3. To facilitate and promote inter-library lending and co-operative cataloguing.

4.To provide rules to be adopted by any library, without the library staff thinking of how to prepare catalogue entries.

3.2. Rules that cataloguing codes should cover

(i) Choice and form of main entry heading.

(ii) Instances when the title entries should be made.

(iii) Choice and form of added entry headings, cross-references, uniform titles

and subject headings and subject cross-references.

(iv) The elements to be included in a bibliographic description.

(v) Filing rules.

(vi) Rules for limited cataloguing.

(vii) List of abbreviations and a glossary of difficult terms.

3.3. Summary on the rules that cataloguing codes should cover

Cataloguing codes are standardized rules and guidelines used in library and information science to describe, organize, and classify materials in a consistent and systematic manner. Their main function is to ensure uniformity, accuracy, and ease of information retrieval across libraries and information centers.

Key Functions: