Cataloging Terms

Does Library jargon drive you up a tree? When someone starts with something like this, do your eyes cross and your ears slam shut?: "Well, I was working with this bib. record, but I couldn't figure out which MARC tags went with what rules of AACR2, so I just merged it with another file that I pulled from a Z39.50 link. I hope it was right."

HAVE NO FEAR! Iris' Handy Dandy List of Cataloging Terms to the rescue. A quick read through this and you too can talk like a Cataloger. :)


AACR2 ______Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition. Gives standards for creating catalog records. Defines cataloging standards until RDA goes into effect in 2009.

ALA ______ American Library Association. The national professional organization for librarians in the United States. ALA provides training, reference materials, posters, legislative representation and other support for America’s libraries and librarians.

ALA Filing Rules______ Instructions for organizing the entries in a catalog. ALA Rules for Filing Catalog Cards, 2nd Edition, By Pauline A. Seeley, Chicago, Ill.: American Library Assn., c1968, gives filing rules frequently used by non-automated catalogs. Automated catalogs used the latest edition of ALA Filing Rules. Differences between the two sets of rules are created by the literal nature of computers.

Automated Library System (ALS). See Integrated Library System (ILS).

Bib. Record______ Bibliographic record. The computer entry that describes an item. It will show information such as author, title, date, paging, notes and subject tracings. Before computers, bib. records were called catalog cards.

Book Club Edition______ A popular book reprinted by a book club. It may be a bit smaller than the original edition and have different paging. Book club edition bindings are not as sturdy as trade editions because they are intended for a limited amount of use. The cover art may or may not look like the original edition. Book club editions do not have ISBN numbers. They often say “book club ed.” on the flap of the dust cover and have a short stock number either on the spine or back cover. Do not search online for an ISBN number for a Book Club Edition. The number you find will be for a different book.

Case title______ The name of a video, CD or movie that is printed on the disc or VHS case. It may not be the same as the title on the box it came in. If there is a difference, prefer the case title or screen title first. (The rule is to use the name that is on the item before the packaging.)

Catalog ______ An index of the holdings of a collection, such as the index to the materials owned by a library. Catalogs come in several forms: book catalogs, which are printed periodically and kept current by supplements (think of a telephone directory); card catalogs, which print separate cards for each item and file them in drawers (think of a recipe file); computer or online catalog, which have separate computer entries for each item and may have supplemental files ("holdings") linked to those records that give information about individual copies owned. These entries are stored and sorted by a computer to give quick access to the information. Sometimes computer catalogs can be accessed over the Internet.

Catalog card______ The (usually) 3x5" card that holds the information about an item in a card catalog.

Cataloger ______ The person who creates the entries for a catalog.

Children’s (Juvenile)______ Chapter books and non-fiction written for children from preschool to grade 8.

CIP______ Cataloging in Publication. Cataloging information placed in the book at the time of publication. This usually appears on the verso of the title page and may look like a small catalog card. CIP information is incomplete and may be inaccurate because it is created from galley proofs before a book has been set up for final publication. CIP can give you a start when you are doing original cataloging.

Copyright date______ The date the material was copyrighted. It is identified by the word Copyright or a small C inside a circle beside the date. This may be different from the publication date or the printing date. When cataloging, prefer the printing date that is show on the title page first; use the copyright date if no printing date is given for the item.

Cover title ______The name of a book as it appears on the cover. This may not be the same as the name on the title page. Cataloging rules say to catalog from the title page if it exists. Only use the cover title if there is no title page.

Cross reference_____ A catalog entry that leads users to the preferred form of a name or subject heading. The word “see” links the preferred term to the unused term. Examples: “Negros see African-Americans” “Clemens, Samuel see Twain, Mark”

Date ______also Publication Date. The date the item was published. It may be show on the title page or the verso of the title page. It will not have any qualifying words (such as copyright or edition) with it. Prefer this date first when cataloging.

Dewey Decimal System (DDC)______ A system of organization (classification) created by Melvil Dewey in 1876 where all information is grouped into 10 basic categories called classes. These classes are subdivided into smaller and smaller units, each identified by a number or number sequence so like things are grouped together. The Dewey system is used worldwide, particularly by public and school libraries.

Easy (Picture) books______ Material written for preschoolers and children. Illustrations dominate the work. These are intended to be “read-to-me” books .The text is not controlled vocabulary and may be up to a 6th grade reading level.

Easy Reader ______ Controlled vocabulary picture books intended for beginning readers. They come in 3 reading levels: beginning beginner, intermediate, and advanced (simple chapter books). Do not classify an item as an Easy Reader unless the publisher identifies it as such with as label like “Beginning Beginner” “Step into Reading” “Getting Ready to Read” etc. Remember, just because it’s by Dr. Seuss, doesn’t make it an Easy Reader. Easy Readers need to have controlled vocabulary and a certain structure.

Edition date______The date an edition was printed. When a book is popular enough to be reprinted with NEW INFORMATION added it is called a new edition. This may be shown in a group of edition dates, such as 1st edition 1949, 2nd edition 1959, 3rd edition 1969. If no publication date or copyright date is available, use the newest edition date to identify the age of an item when cataloging. Always identify the edition you are cataloging because that makes it a different book from other editions. (There are two different places in the record for edition information and date information.)

Half-title page______ A page right after the flyleaf on some books that only shows the running title (short version) of the name of the book. This is a throwback to early printing days when paper covers wore off easily. A half-title page helped to identify the item after the cover was gone and protected the full title page by one or two extra layers of pages. Half-title pages are not used in cataloging.

Integrated Library System (ILS) _____ A library management system that keeps track of what a library owns, what is ordered, what bills have been paid and what patrons are using the material. The system is automated and provides two formats, one accessible to the patrons that allows them to search the catalog, place holds and deal with materials in their own accounts, and one format available to the staff which allows access to the internal workings of the system. This is sometimes called an Automated Library System (ALS).

ISBN______ International Standard Book Number. This is the publisher’s stock number located on the item. It is usually shown in two places on a book: the verso of the title page and the back cover. Older books will show a 10-digit ISBN number; newer ones will have a 13-digit number. Some books will show both 10 and 13-digit numbers. Prefer the 13-digit number if it is available. Record both if you are in doubt.

ISSN______ International Standard Serial Number. Similar to an ISBN, this is the stock number for serials, such as magazines, almanacs, and things that are published regularly in series. If you do not find an ISBN number on an item, but do see an ISSN number, you can write “ISSN xxxxx” in the ISBN area of the pink slip.

KLC______ Kansas Library Catalog. A shared catalog listing materials held by nearly every library in the state. Source of a lot of the cataloging records used by local online catalogs.

Large print ed.______ Books specially published for the visually impaired. Print is at least an 16 pt. font Do not classify an item as large print unless it is identified as a large print item by the publisher.

Larger print book_____ An unofficial term used by some publishers, usually of paperback books, to show that the books are printed in type larger than standard paperbacks, but less than 16 pt. type, so not large enough to qualify as a large print book.

LC ______Library of Congress. The unofficial national library of the United States, source of the majority of library catalog records and arbiter of cataloging standards.

Library of Congress Classification (LC Classification) ______ A system of organization (classification) developed by the Library of Congress based upon a system developed by Herbert Putnam in 1897. The system uses a series of alphabet letters and numbers to identify areas of knowledge and subdivide them into smaller categories. The LC system allows for much finer division of a topic than the Dewey system does. That is why it used by the majority of university and research libraries in the United States and some other countries.

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) ______ An extensive, controlled list of terms (the print copy is in several volumes) used to describe topics being classified. This is the most widely used list of subject headings in the world, but has an academic tone that can seem a bit stuffy at times. Subject headings are used in cataloging to help people find material about a topic when they do not know the author or title.

MARC______ MAchine Readable Cataloging. The standard for computer catalog records.

Obverse_____The front side, or face side of a page. The back side is called the Verso.

OCLC______ Online Computer Library Center. A not for profit computer service and research organization whose system helps libraries locate, acquire, catalog and lend library materials. Another large source of cataloging records.

P-slip (sometimes Pink Slip)______ A 3x5” work form used in libraries. Many times p-slips were made from the backs of old catalog cards. At SEKLS, “Pink Slips” are the work forms used to request cataloging for non-automated libraries. In libraries where there are lots of forms of a variety of colors, p-slip is the preferred form of the term.

Printing date______ The date when an item was printed. This may be newer than the copyright date or publication date, but is not significant. The information dates from the copyright date. A printing date only shows that the book was popular enough to be reprinted. Do not use a printing date for any cataloging.

Regular print______ Regular print books are usually published in 8-12 pt. font. (This document is written with a 12 pt. font.) There is no distinction for regular print in cataloging. This definition is included for your information.

RDA______ Resource Description Access. New cataloging rules being written for release in early 2009.

Screen title ______The name as shown on the screen of a movie. It is considered the most correct version of the title. (Screen titles are like title pages.) This title may not be the same as the title shown on the cover of the box (cover title), or case of the item (case title).

Sears List of Subject Headings ______ A shorter controlled list of terms (the print copy takes only one book) used to describe topics being classified. The language used in Sears is more "popular terms" than used in Library of Congress Subject Headings. These headings are often used by small libraries and schools. Subject headings are used in cataloging to help people find material about a topic when they do not know the author or title.

See also reference______ A double cross reference that points users to an equally valid, alternate term. Examples: “Horses see also Ponies” “Ponies see also Horses.”
Spine title ______The name of an item as printed on its spine. This may not be the same as the cover title or title page. Prefer to use a title page title first, cover title second and use a spine title last.

Title page______ The name of the book as it is shown of the first fully printed pages of the book. It will give the full title of the book and identify the author and usually the publisher, sometimes the date.

Tweens______ Junior high students. Pre-teens. They feel too old for children’s books but aren’t quite ready for some teenage materials. Materials aren’t usually cataloged separately for this age group, but librarians are aware of their reading needs.

Verso______ Verso of the title page. The back side, or reverse, of the title page. In library jargon, “verso” is the publisher data that helps a cataloger to identify unique information about an item. Publishers usually print their legal information, publisher’s address and printing history as well as CIP and ISBN on the back of the title page. That is why this information is called verso information. Some publishers get creative where they place verso information. It may be on the left. hand side of a two page title page, or at the end of the index, or with other “back matter.” Older books, particularly rare books, have limited verso information. The front of the page is called the Obverse.

Young Adult (YA)______ Material written specifically for teenagers. This may be fiction or non-fiction. The genre is read by both junior and senior high students. Material written for older teens may have more mature content than is appropriate for preteens.

Z39.50______ A computer standard for shared cataloging. Catalogs that accept the Z39.50 protocol can share information through the Internet. This promises to be a source of many free computerized cataloging records.