Hi Frances,

 

I think you’re right about looking at the quality of the overall database- then be realistic about what’s important. We’d probably not consider bulk upgrades to records unless the data was very poor and the items were not findable. There’ve been some things we managed to circumvent a little ie: when adding the records for the PhD theses to the repository we made sure they were all correct and are gradually going back and upgrading the catalogue records. Given the largest audience for our theses are external for EThOS requests it made sense to get that data right and the number of our requests have vastly increased in the time since doing that work.

 

I think being able to do cataloguing alongside other skills is useful, whether that’s directly linked to the job or in wider cross-department things and I expect these ‘multi-disciplinary’ posts to become more common, especially in larger organisations that can import records/handle shelf-ready.

 

Katrina

 

 

Hello,

I’m Frances and I manage a collection management team within a large university library. I’m not a cataloguer by trade (I will confess that upfront!) but my interest in cataloguing is directly related to the question of how the library service can make best use of our catalogue data for reporting on and understanding our collections.

 

I think Esther makes a very important point. In a global information environment it doesn’t make sense for multiple individual cataloguers to be cataloguing mainstream material, when that catalogue record can be created once and reused, and there is a valid argument for shelf ready is that it frees cataloguers’ time to deal with the complex or unique material.  However the value of the cataloguer/metadata specialist also lies equally in understanding how catalogue records work in relation to the library management and discovery systems and how best they can be imported/exported/reused/exploited.

 

For me, I would say the critical question is not the quality of the individual new catalogue record but the quality of the overall database. Like most universities, we have a legacy of 2.7 million or so items on our catalogue, added over decades, to varying standards and with differing quality of record: we’ll never have the resource to correct everything item by item and have to think about working with outsourced providers, bulk updates etc. And of course that is only possible when working with staff who really understand the vagaries of our catalogue data.

 

Incidentally, it’s interesting to see your role Esther as I see a very close relationship between cataloguing and library systems management as mutually complementary fields of expertise.

 

All the best,

Frances

 

 

Frances Machell

Head of Collection Management

Library Services

University of Birmingham

Edgbaston

Birmingham

B15 2TT

 

Tel: 0121 414 7251

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Twitter: @uoblibservices

Website: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/library

 

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