What is TMQ Cataloging Training?
We have been teaching cataloging workshops as
"The MARC of Quality ®" (aka TMQ) since 1992, constantly updating and
improving them and striving to make them as practical as possible.
In 2012, we re-designed our workshops series
to tide us over the chaotic transition period that is inevitable when a
community switches from following one set of rules (AACR) to a new set of
instructions (RDA)
Please take note of any recommended pre-requisites
for these workshops and try to take the workshops in their recommended order.
MARC21
in Your Library (1 Day)
Learning
LC Classification (2 Days)
It is highly advisable that you attend
“MARC21 in Your Library” before coming to “Just for Copy Cats”. It would also
be a very good idea for you to attend “Just for CopyCats” before "RDA/MARC
for CopyCats", unless you are already very well versed in cataloging
principles in general, and, more specifically: copy cataloging procedures.
Why should you take TMQ Cataloging Training?
Good cataloging doesn't just
happen.
Our current library automation systems rely
on 'good' MARC records in order to function as well as they can, and it takes
special skills to copy or make MARC records that will work well in each and
every MARC-based library automation system out there.
Our foundational workshops (from Series A)
start you off with an understanding of how library automation systems should be
using the records that catalogers provide. They also introduce you to the
concepts and skills needed to copy records from other sources instead of making
them on your own.
The AACR & MARC workshops (from Series B)
move you deeper into cataloging and introduce you to the core skills of good
cataloging, according to the currently official rules, and MARC. Once you learn
these skills and how to find your way around the following basic cataloging
tools--the Anglo American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2R), Library of Congress
Rule Interpretations (LCRI) and the MARC
coding standards (MARC21)--you will be able to apply them to edit or create the
bibliographic descriptions and access points for all of the various types of
materials that we collect in our libraries, quickly and efficiently.
The RDA workshops (from Series C) are
designed to prepare you for the future, and give you the confidence to deal
with both AACR/MARC records and RDA/MARC records.
However, neither the AACR & MARC nor the
RDA Cataloging Workshops cover subject headings or classification; for
these skills you need to go deeper still
into Series D.
Our workshops are fast-paced and
practical.
They are built around problems that you face
daily--they do not get into the rules and codes that you will seldom use.
You'll learn to make records that
others will want to copy.
But our courses do more than just show you
how to make better MARC records. They take you beyond 'how', and into 'why'.
Our goal for you
Our goal is that you'll take away a new
appreciation of the need for good MARC records.
We
aim to give you a working knowledge of what goes into good cataloging, and show
you what it takes to produce professional level records.
You'll learn how to create records that follow the rules, transmit the
right information, and provide the best access for your patrons.
Beyond that, you'll find these workshops are fun, fast-moving and packed
full of examples. Hundreds of people have benefited from these workshops,
people who are often expected to be solely responsible for all of the
cataloging in their libraries, but who sometimes don't have a clue if they're
doing it 'right'. Our trainers have all been in the trenches themselves,
cataloging &/or working closely with library automation systems. They know
and love libraries, MARC and cataloging, and they show it in their teaching.
So sign up, show up, and watch your records
take on a much more professional look in no time at all.
Who should take TMQ Cataloging Training?
Anyone who is doing any form of cataloging in
today’s automated environment should take these workshops.
If you only add item
information (holdings) to records that are already in your library’s database,
you should at least attend the two workshops from Series A to learn how to read
and understand MARC records and how to be sure that you are finding the right
records for your items.
If you do copy
cataloging to bring records into your database from outside sources,
you should attend the Series A workshops and the new RDA/MARC for CopyCats
workshop for a good foundation on searching, matching and editing records that
you find. Given the every increasing numbers of cataloging records that are
available from more and more sources, it should be obvious by now that copy
cataloging is not as simple as it first appears. We take copy cataloging
seriously, and address it as a whole other branch of cataloging.
If you do any sort of original
cataloging, even if you have been doing it for many years, you could
attend Series A to see whether there are any small but important details
you have been missing. We promise to make it interesting even if you already
know about most of the material. What you really need, though, are the
workshops from Series B, C, and D. These workshops will give you a solid
understanding of how the cataloging rules (current and future), subject heading
lists, classification schemes and MARC coding all fit together to make workable
records for your current library automated system.
How can you get TMQ Cataloging Training?
Read the Cataloging series summary
to find out more about our workshops; go to the full descriptions for any
workshop that particularly interests you. You will find the dates and locations
that are currently scheduled for each workshop after their full descriptions.
You can also check our schedules by
Date, by Workshop
Title, and by Hosting Institution.
For registration and pricing information for a workshop, you must
contact the appropriate hosting institution.
If none of the scheduled locations work for
you, and you have sufficient people interested in a topic, you can arrange for
TMQ to come to your own location; visit our Onsite
Training page for information. We also offer Online Training
too.