Interview of a Cataloging Librarian By: Katie Jasper

Gail Boren Library Elgin, Illinois Susan Lumburg Head of the Technical Services Department November 3, 2008

What is the cataloging process at your library? Individual departments place orders for books They do not purchase processed books, they choose to do it themselves Load carts and ILS Form bibliographic records (this is not the cataloging step though) Acquisition clerk registers materials Preliminary process begins: Use OCLC (Ohio College Library Consortium) to form MARC If OCLC does not have a record formed, Gail Borden Catalogers are required to do a MARC by hand and send it into OCLC for others to use Edit MARC to the specifications of the library’s general population Processes then get materials ready for patrons Barcodes, security, spine labels etc.

What vendor does the library work with and how does that process work? When the library first opened, they used a company called Brodart to start their opening day collection of 25,000 materials. The company did all the processing for them. The three main vendors they use are Baker & Taylor, BWI Wholesalers, and Ingraham. They do not purchase the materials processed, they do it themselves to save money. Once the books are purchased by the departments, the order comes to the Technical Services department for them to check the order and begin the cataloging process.

How did the library choose that vendor? Their favorite vendor was Baker & Taylor. Speedy service! Baker & Taylor’s location is near the library and has a huge collection.

What is the OPAC that is used and how are the records added? Innovative Interface Inc. is the name of the OPAC. Most of the time, the catalogers use OCLC to download the records then the cataloger choose whether or not to edit those records.

What questions should you ask vendors? Price Deals Processing availability Customer service Delivery time

Advice or Tips To be successful as a cataloger, you must have a combination of excruciating detail, and flexibility. Be ready to weigh your options when it comes to following exact cataloging rules or editing your MARC to be as useful as possible to your population. RDA is changing the cataloging rules in the next couple of months, but the changes are not out yet.

Do you think catalogers will still be as necessary when library materials will all be digital one day? “Yes, because someone will still need to make the final decisions of how to edit the MARCs to make them the most useful to given populations of users. Many people though feel MARC records might eventually see their end when everything is digital. Many administrators are already questioning the importance of the catalogers job.”

My reflections Cataloging is a hard job. Whoever is in charge of this process must be very organized and have the ability to pay attention to a lot of details. Cataloging in the school library media center is very similar, just things are done on a much smaller scale. As well as you don’t have as much help to complete all the steps in processing and cataloging.