Library Catalogue

Ms. Kumaragurupari
Sr.Librarian
Aravind Eye Care System,
Madurai.

Introduction:
Library collections house a wide variety of materials on many different topics and in many different formats. The challenge in making these things available for the use of library patrons is letting those patrons know what is in the library collection. This is the reason for having a library catalog and for taking the time to correctly catalog library materials. A catalog record is the information on a particular book or other form of media that the catalog has a listing for. It includes a lot of information on the particular item. It tells you about the item, such as who wrote it, what it's called, the physical description, what it's about, and how to find it within the library.

History
The first modern cataloging code was detailed in 1829 by Panzzi of the British Museum. He detailed the important concept that each book should have one principal entry. Later, at the Smithsonian Institute, Charles Jewett had 33 rules. He hoped to develop a strict set of guidelines that would cover every possible variation with these. In 1876 Charles Ammi Cutter published the first edition of his book Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalogue which contains 369 rules for descriptive cataloging, subject headings and filing.

Purpose
Cataloging rules are needed for

To provide consistency and uniformity within a single library
To ensure that users are enabled to find what they need efficiently and reliably.
Time and therefore costs are reduced that are involved in cataloging when there are steadfast rules to follow,
Catalog records to be shared and thus reduces the costs in a centralized or cooperative library system when libraries use an agreed set of cataloging rules. With cataloging rules users can even handle materials they cannot actually read, materials in other languages

OBJECTIVES
Charles Ammi Cutter made the first explicit statement regarding the objectives of a bibliographic system in 1876. According to Cutter, those objectives were

to enable a person to find a book of which either (Finding objective)
- the author
- the title
- the subject is known.
to show what the library has (Collocating objective)
- by a given author
- on a given subject
- in a given kind of literature
to assist in the choice of a book (Choice objective)
- as to its edition (bibliographically)

Cataloging rules
Cataloging rules have been defined to allow for consistent cataloging of various library materials across several persons of a cataloging team and across time. Users can use them to clarify how to find an entry and how to interpret the data in an entry. Cataloging rules prescribe

which information from a bibliographic item is included in the entry;
how this information is presented on a catalog card or in a cataloging record;
how the entries should be sorted in the catalog.

The larger a collection, the more elaborate cataloging rules are needed. Users cannot and do not want to examine hundreds of catalog entries or even dozens of library items to find the one item they need.

Types of Cataloging Rules
Currently libraries mainly use two types of cataloging rules. One is Cutter's Cataloging Rules. The other one is the Anglo American Cataloging Rules

The most commonly used set of cataloging rules in the English speaking world are the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd Edition (AACR2)

The International Standard Bibliographic Description or ISBD is a set of rules produced by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to describe a wide range of library materials, within the context of a catalog. These rules organize the bibliographic description of an item in the following areas:

Area 1: title and statement of responsibility (for example: author, editor, artist).
Area 2: edition statement
Area 3: material (or type of resource) specific information (for example, the scale of a map or the numbering of a periodical).
Area 4: publication and distribution.
Area 5: physical description (for example: number of pages in a book or number of CDs in the same jewel case).
Area 6: series.
Area 7: notes.
Area 8: standard number (ISBN, ISSN).

Title of the Work
Transcribe the title proper exactly as to wording order and spelling, but not necessarily as to punctuation and capitalization. If the title proper is not taken from the chief source of information, give the source of the title in a note.". This usually lists the full title, including any subtitles, Parallel title the work and sometimes includes the author's name as well.

Title: Subtitle./Author. Or
Simply Title: Subtitle

Parallel titles
Parallel titles are titles in other languages "Transcribe parallel titles in the order indicated by their sequence on, or by the layout of, the chief source of information. Other title
In the following example, "The man who made his name" is the other titles Edgar
Wallace : the man who made his name.

Statement of Responsibility
A personal author is the person chiefly responsible for the creation of the intellectual or artistic content of a work.Author is often called a statement of responsibility. If there is no specific author and in this field is an editor or other type of contributor, such as a compiler. If the work is the creation of corporate body, then it is to be chosen Corporate body as author

If it is just one author, which is the most common, it is listed simply with Last name, First name.
If there is more than one author they are usually listed with a period between them. Last name, First name. Last name, First name..
If More than three authors used et al following by first author.
If instead of an author it is an editor listed they are usually sited with Last name, First name, ed.

Edition Statement
"Transcribe the edition statement as found on the item use abbreviation
Examples: 2nd ed.; 4. ed. 2nd ed., partly rev.

Imprint: Publication, Distribution
The Imprint statement includes similar to City of Publication: Publishing company, date of publication. Some times copyright date is listed instead of publication date.

Examples: London : Unicorn Media, 2000. Berlin ; New York : Springer-Verlag, [1990?]. (Date supplied by library so used square brackets)

Physical Description
A physical description is usually there, which includes how many pages, if it is illustrated, the height of the book, if any materials accompany it such as a CD-ROM or other media. Other information is sometimes listed but these are the most common.

Example:
2 v.
360 p.
3 v. (iv, 1068 p.)
77 leaves
xi, 123 p.
[30] p.

(leaves were unnumbered but were counted)
500 p. in various pagings
251 leaves in various foliations
221, [30] p.
50, 231, [10] p.
150 p., 30 p. of plates
1 v. unpaged (we have decided not to take time to estimate the number of pages)

Illustrations
ill.
ill. (some col.)
ill., maps
maps
maps, ports
2 microfiches: Ill. ; 8x13 cm.

Series If the book is part of a series the catalog mention a series of books all featuring the same characters, or on the same general subject by a particular publisher, etc.
Series: Library Science 3 (Library Series: no. 3)

Subject
Subject is a common field in every catalog. Most catalogs use the official Library of Congress subject headings in this field.

Note Section:
Additional information is often included in note fields such as other people who deserve credit for the book, whether the book has an index, if the pictures are in color, or anything that the cataloger decides might be useful for the end users.

Example
At head of title: American Society of Civil Engineers.
Includes index.
Sponsored by the National Library of Medicine.
Thesis (MS) MGR Medical University, 2006
Includes References.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-105).
Gift of State Bank of India.[Gift2004]

The final field Standard Number
It is usually the ISBN. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Serials have an ISSN, which stands for International Standard Serial Number. These numbers are unique to each book or serial.

Sources of Cataloguing Web links:
www.ifla.org/II/catalog.htm