AACR & MARC CATALOGING WORKSHOPS

Series A:   Basic/Introductory

 

 

MARC21 IN YOUR LIBRARY:

An Introduction to MARC21 and How it is Meant to Work in your Library Automation System (1 Day)

 

What is MARC and how does it work with cataloging to function effectively in your catalog? Have you ever wondered:

  • why a book can be found by its author and yet cannot be found by its title?
  • why only six books in Spanish appear to be in your database, when you know you have sixty?
  • why the video version of Hamlet cannot be found without wading through all the book versions of Hamlet in your collection?

 

You too can solve these fascinating types of riddles if you know just a bit about some of those confusing codes in a MARC record. Come and join your fellow beginners to learn how to read a MARC record, and how to tell if some of the most important elements of the record are present and correct.

 

Topics covered:

o       Library patrons, bibliographic information and the library catalog

o       The rules for bibliographic information and the standards for MARC

o       MARC21 records: what are they, why do we need them and how do we get them?

o       MARC21 and the computerized catalogs of today

o       MARC 21 terminology

o       MARC21--who needs to know what?

o       MARC21 codes you should know

o       Indexed fields

o       Display fields

o       Coded fields

o       Number fields

o       Sample records to practice reading MARC21 Bibliographic records

 

For a non-cataloger who is adventurous enough to attend this workshop, you will leave with a better understanding of how cataloging rules and MARC records work together to allow patrons to find the materials that we collect in our libraries. For a beginning cataloger, this workshop is just the first step in your long journey to excellence in cataloging. For an experienced cataloger, this workshop may reinforce your understanding of why correct MARC coding is important. If you intend to come to Book Blitz I, you should come to this workshop first.

 

A detailed handout will be provided. A longer and more complete version of the handout has now been published by ALA under the title “MARC21 for Everyone: A Practical Guide”.

 

Intended audience:

Directors, reference people, acquisitions people, copy catalogers, beginning catalogers, and experienced but untrained catalogers.

Anticipated goal:

At the conclusion of this workshop, you should be able to read a MARC record, talk MARC, and understand how errors in MARC coding affect an OPAC.

Recommended prerequisites:

None

Required text:

None

Duration:

1 day (9:00 am - 4:00 pm)

Presenters:

D. Fritz, L. Fields, K. Nystrom, or K. Anspach

 

Check the schedule for MARC21 in your Library

 

 

 

JUST FOR COPY CATS (2 Days)

 

What is copy cataloging? It is not the same as original cataloging; it has its own special procedures and guidelines to be followed. This workshop provides an introduction to finding cataloging records that you can copy, explaining some of the more obvious challenges and some neglected database issues, with a brief look at essential editing. You will need to come to the Book Blitz (4 days) workshop to know how to do a really superb job of editing records that you copy, but this workshop will get you started in the basic principles of copy cataloging.

 

Topics covered:

·        How to read a MARC Record for searching, matching and editing

·        Search terms and their sources

·        Matching books and records

·        Special matching problems--Dates

·        Special matching problems—CIP

·        How to recognize what is wrong with a record, so that you can either fix it yourself or report it to someone else who can.

For example:

·        Wrong indicators (especially filing and tracing indicators)

·        Badly coded 008 (Fixed field)

·        Missing subject headings

·        Duplicate match keys

·        Unverified headings

 

For a beginning cataloger, this workshop is the second step in your long journey to excellence in cataloging. (Your first step should be: ‘MARC21 in Your Library’) For an experienced cataloger, you may learn a few things you didn’t realize that you didn’t know. If you intend to come to Book Blitz I, you should come to this workshop first.

 

A detailed handout will be provided. Attendees should, if possible, bring a printout of a MARC record from their local automated system.

 

Intended audience:

Acquisitions people, copy catalogers, beginning catalogers, and experienced but untrained catalogers.

Anticipated goal:

At the conclusion of this workshop, you should be able to find and copy records that accurately reflect your items.

Recommended prerequisites:

MARC21 in Your Library

Required text:

None

Duration:

2 days  (9:00 am - 4:00 pm)

Presenters:

D. Fritz, L. Fields, K. Nystrom, or K. Anspach

 

Check the schedule for Just for CopyCats