Practical Strategies for Cataloging Departments

Today's catalogers need to be well-versed in various media and be able to contend with the pace and scope of changing technology. The ways in which library users now search for and approach information are dramatically different from what the majority of the current cataloging population was taught. A daunting challenge, definitely; but with the right guidance, any cataloger can get up to speed and handle these common and confusing problems.

Each chapter of Practical Strategies for Cataloging Departments is authored or coauthored by a leader in cataloging, metadata practice, or education in these specialties. This book offers practical advice—based on direct experience—for facing the challenges of organizing information today. Topics include training, collaborating across the library, coping with changes in standards, making strategic selections of vendor cataloging products, developing cooperative organizations, and more. The specific techniques that will help catalogers meet the needs of 21st-century patrons are emphasized.

Rebecca L. Lubas is director of Cataloging & Discovery Services at the University of New Mexico Libraries, Albuquerque, NM, where she coordinates a group of catalogers working in many formats.