Hi all,

 

I’m Katrina and I’ve been a cataloguer for about 8 and a half years. My route into it was I had to do an hour or so a week basic copy cataloguing (downloading records and fixing date/title/physical description) when I worked in a subject team. I kept asking more and more questions that eventually an arrangement was made for me to spend a day a week with the cataloguers to learn a little more. I was very lucky to have a sympathetic boss who let me out and some very patient colleagues who taught me very very well.

 

In terms of employing someone with no cataloguing experience, I think it depends on the situation. Where I work, there are just 2 of us. It would have been lovely to spend the time training someone who had the aptitude and interest but it really wasn’t realistic. Plus, if you get a lot of competent cataloguers applying it’s hard to ignore those over someone you could train (if that makes sense?).

 

Katrina

 

 

I think the first question there is a real problem! If you have no experience, how can you start applying for cataloguing jobs? Volunteering is the usual answer, but it’s very hard to do that if you are already working in a full-time job.

 

Are there any managers out there who would consider an applicant who had no cataloguing experience at all?

 

Helen.

 

 

 

 

[Apologies if this crosses with other posts and introductions – there can be a delay of several minutes before posts appear]

 

Hello all, and welcome to the first session of this e-forum!

 

In this session, from now until 1.00 p.m., we would like to focus particularly on  recruitment, and we hope to hear not just from people who are starting but also from people who have experience and advice to offer.  These threads can continue during other sessions – we know that many people will be able to look in only occasionally – but the other sessions will introduce other topics.

 

My own job includes providing training, documentation and advice for the 200+ cataloguers in about 100 locations who contribute to the Oxford Libraries Information System (OLIS), ranging from the Bodleian Libraries’ full-time cataloguers to multiskilled staff working in one- or two-person libraries.  Many OLIS cataloguers cannot make time to attend long courses and some do not have much inhouse support, so it’s a challenge to devise training which is manageable but reasonably comprehensive – a lot of it has to be through self-tuition modules.  If one of the smaller libraries needs to recruit a cataloguer they may not have any other cataloguing staff, so I am sometimes asked to help with recruitment.

 

Just to get things started, here are a few questions which occurred to the moderators.  Please jump in with your ideas on them, or any other questions and/or ideas which occur to you.

 

- How can someone with no cataloguing experience acquire enough knowledge/skills to make a convincing job application?

 

- Can anyone suggest books, online resources, courses or other resources (especially inexpensive ones) which would help someone hoping to move into cataloguing to make a convincing application?

 

- Do most people have experience in other library roles before moving into cataloguing?

 

- What if you were trained in AACR2 and the jobs now seem to specify RDA?

 

- Managers: What knowledge/skills do you look for in applicants? What else is important?

 

- Do you use “objective” tests in recruitment (or have you experienced objective tests)?  If so, can you give examples?  Did they help?

 

- How important is it for applicants to offer knowledge/skills in a range of metadata types, e.g. Dublin Core, MODS?

 

- How important is it for applicants to offer knowledge/skills with non-book materials?

 

- What can/should organisations do to help employees interested in cataloguing to acquire relevant skills before applying for cataloguing  roles in that organisation?

 

- Is the balance changing between professional cataloguing roles and paraprofessional roles (e.g. downloading external records, non-structural checking, editing and upgrading, adding holdings/items)? If so, is this a good thing?

 

- What are the career prospects in non-traditional cataloguing agencies, e.g. outsourcing firms and e-resource suppliers?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Best wishes,

Bernadette

*******************
Bernadette O'Reilly
Catalogue Support Librarian

Bodleian Libraries,
Osney One Building
Osney Mead
Oxford OX2 0EW.

For cataloguing advice: [log in to unmask]
For course enquiries (cataloguing, holdings & items): [log in to unmask]
For other correspondence: [log in to unmask]

01865 2-77134

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