Original Cataloguing Workflow: A Summary

Introduction

• The following sequence of steps apply to cataloguing a printed monograph.  While cataloguing serials or other physical formats involves many of the same steps, it also includes some distinctive aspects.

• This summary presents the basic steps involved in cataloguing a book.  It does not attempt to cover every possible variation or complication.  Links are included at different stages to relevant documents where more detailed information is provided.

• The steps below are required when applicable.  The order in which you do the steps may be optional, as is sometimes specifically indicated below, based on what you find to be most efficient and effective for your approach to work.  However, please make sure not to skip any necessary step.

  Please note:  The step of adding the 948 field for statistics is deliberately listed last and should not be done until all of the cataloguing has been completed.

• Throughout the entire cataloguing process:  When in doubt, ask!

Workflow steps

1. Select the book.  This step is in effect done for you whenever you are handed a Rush, Notify, Reference, or In-Process request book.  These categories should all be treated as Rush, top priority, and should be catalogued as soon as possible, ideally immediately, at the most within 48 hours.

   Consider:

   • Priority categories:
     • Rare locations
     • Books on topics known to be currently needed by faculty, although not specifically requested as rush or notify titles

   • Clustering:  topics, multiple works by same author, types of material, etc.

   • Size of block of time available for you to work uninterrupted.

   • Other, e.g.:
     • Mixing more difficult and more straightforward titles, so that you do not burn out or let problems pile up too much.
     • Taking books that will free up desk or shelf space, particularly large books.
     • Taking very small pamphlets that are at risk of being lost or damaged.
     • Taking books in poor condition that may be at risk of further damage.

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2. Check the routing slip:
   • Verify the location.  (The location will impact certain steps below, especially holdings, item, and processing treatment.  See also “Treatment of Items and Information in Voyager Item Records, by Location.”)

   • Check for any Rush or Notification information (if not already noted).

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3. Study the book briefly to determine salient information for:
   • author
   • title
   • imprint
   • pagination
   • series.

   (Sometimes, cataloguers wait to check pagination until after they search OCLC and find a possible match.)

   Position the book where it will be easy for you to check it as you work at your workstation.  If there is a book jacket on the book, remove it -- to facilitate checking information on the cover and spine.  Retain the jacket during cataloguing.

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4. Re-search OCLC WorldCat  (See the local document OCLC Connexion Client: Searching and Retrieving Commands.)   Make sure to check all possible interpretations of author and title.

   If you find:

   • Matching copy:  Treat the cataloguing as copy cataloguing.  (Either turn the book over to Bruce or consult the relevant copy-cataloguing guidelines.)

   • Copy for different edition(s):  Print out or otherwise note the related record(s).
     • If you plan to start cataloguing right away, keep the most closely matching record, or the otherwise most useful record, on the screen.  (If another record has what looks like a better cluster of subject headings, you may first want to copy these headings.)

     • If you want to do authority checking first, or you are not able to start cataloguing right away, save the near-match in Connexion; putting it in the local save file should be adequate.  Do not wait more than 24 hours, or you will need to search OCLC yet again!

     When you are ready to start cataloguing, use the Derive feature in Connexion.  Then go on to step 7 to fill in or edit descriptive fields.

   • No relevant copy:  Go on to next step.

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   Optionally here, otherwise later:
   

5. Perform authority checking on all access points that you expect to provide.  (See "Authority Work Procedures:  Verifying and Establishing Headings:  Summary of Interim Procedures for Original Cataloguing Authority Work.")  Copy at least one heading, particularly any particularly long or complex heading.  Remember to:
   • Change any tag or indicators necessary

   • Add final period if applicable.

   Please note:  Some cataloguers prefer to plunge straight into the bib workform, providing descriptive information, then copying and pasting headings from authority to bib record.  Checking headings later may especially be the quicker option when working from a “new” workform, or when you are fairly confident of the correct heading form.

   In performing name, series, and other uniform title authority work, consult:

   • AACR2
   • LCRI
   • our in-house authority checking documentation.

   When applicable:

   • NACO Participants' Manual
   • LC's Descriptive Cataloging Manual, Section Z1

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6. Call up a Books format workform in Connexion, using one of the methods for creating a new bib record.

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7. Fill in all relevant descriptive fields (245, 246, 250, 260, 300, 490, and 5xx).  Consult AACR2 and LCRI in Cataloger’s Desktop when necessary.

   Option:  Skip the next 2 steps, go straight to step 10, on providing access points related to the description, then return to the step on filling in 0xx fields.

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8. Fill in all straightforward 0xx fields, e.g., 020, 041 if applicable, 042 if you plan to do a pcc record.  Option:  First provide access points related to the description.

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9. Fill in or edit the fixed field elements.  Often, these elements are based on information in the description, so it is usually easier to fill in the description of the body of the record before the fixed field.

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10. Provide all needed access points related to description:  1xx, 240, 7xx, 8xx.

    Consider saving the record at this point, especially if the description has been complex or recent OCLC or your own PC performance somewhat shaky.

    If you skipped steps 8 and 9, go back to them to fill in 0xx fields and fill in fixed-field information.

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11. Perform subject analysis to determine the content of the book.

    Please note:  While this step is logically distinct from the process of identifying descriptive information, you may end up performing both steps at the same time, especially when subject content appears straightforward.  It usually helps to give the subject content a second, separate and more concentrated look, though, to make sure that no important aspect of the subject has been missed or misinterpreted.  Too many OCLC records base subject headings on the title alone, missing important aspects of the subject or even totally misinterpreting the nature of the subject!

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12. Select and add appropriate LC subject headings to reflect the content of the book.  You may check (in whatever order works best in the situation):
    • LC authority files in OCLC and Voyager.

    • Subject Cataloging Manual (in Cataloger's Desktop or in print format):  relevant sections.

    • Local subject-heading-related documents:
      • Introduction to LC Subject Headings

      • Some Common Library of Congress Subject Subdivision Patterns and Caveats

      • Subdivisions Not Further Subdivided by $x History

      • Notes on LC's Treatment of Folklore-Related Subject Headings (please note:  this document is aimed primarily at copy cataloguers)

      • Introduction to Geographic Headings

      • Geographic Headings and Subdivisions:  A Summary of Contrasting Structures

      • Notes on LC Subject Headings for Literature:  Collections by Multiple Authors

      • Notes on LC Subject Subdivisions for Literature:  Works about Individual Literary Authors

      • LC Subject Headings for Indians of the Americas:  and Geographic Subdivisions Used with Them

    • Other bib records in OCLC and/or Voyager, e.g.:
      • For different edition of same work
      • Under subject heading
      • Under useful class number (especially while shelflisting)
      • Under same author
      • Under title listed in bibliography, if title suggests similar content.

    Remember to keep in mind both appropriateness of content and current validity of form.

    Make use of the various copy-and-paste features in OCLC Connexion as much as possible.

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13. Select and add an appropriate call number.  Provide a classification number and cutter following current LC guidelines, schedules, and practice.

    Always verify the appropriateness of the call number in our Voyager shelflist.

    Check appropriate LC Classification Schedules:

    • In ClassWeb, when available at your workstation.

    • Printed Gale classification schedules, when ClassWeb is not available at your workstation.

    Verify cuttering in LC’s online catalog shelflist.

    You may also check (in whatever order works best in the situation):

    • Classification and Shelflisting Manual

      For a first geographic cutter, if no other source confirms it, consult the geographic cutter table in section G300.

    • Local documents on classification, including:

      • Introduction to LC Classification

      • P Language and Literature Schedules

      • Classifying Works by and about Individual Literary Authors of the 20th and 21st Centuries:  An Introduction

      • Notes on LC Classification of Archaeological Works -- informal notes

    • LC rules and guidelines on cuttering, including:
      • LC cutter table

      • Biography tables (artist and other), in the Classification and Shelflisting Manual or in appropriate schedules (especially D, H, and N).

      • Other tables in the class schedules.

      • Literary Criticism using Z Second Cutter:  Z Table

    • Table of In-House Translation Cutter Numbers

    • Other bib records in OCLC and/or Voyager, e.g.:
      • For different edition of same work, particularly if DLC copy is involved
      • Under subject heading
      • Under same author
      • Under title listed in bibliography, if title suggests similar content.

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14. Review the workform online for obvious corrections and additions.

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15. Validate the record, using one of the methods for validating records in Connexion.

    If the record fails validation and any errors are indicated, make necessary corrections, then validate again.

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16. Print out the record.

    This step is optional but is recommended particularly for new cataloguers and for complex records.

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17. Save the record, using one of the methods for saving records in Connexion.  Note the save number, as it is generally the quickest key for retrieving the record.  If you save to the online Connexion save file, also note the date; original workforms may fall out of the online file after 28 days.

    If you are creating a NACO authority record, this point may be a good one to call up the record again and apply the authority macro to the appropriate bib record field in OCLC.  Consult "NACO Authority Records:  Creating New NACO Records."

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18. Review your printout, comparing it again against the piece.  (If you did not print the record, re-search OCLC, call the record up again, and review it carefully online.)

    Remember to:

    • Check for content of information.  Look both at whether the information that you included in the record is correct and whether anything necessary has been omitted.  (In other words, check the record against the book as well as the book against the record.)

    • Cross-check fixed-field against variable-field data (e.g., date, illustrations, presence of bibliography or index).

    • Proof for any typos or misspellings.  Look for what is actually in the record, not just what you expect to see.  Although this statement may sound obvious, we all have lapses in this area ...

    • If you did not simply copy and paste headings, make sure that the headings are in the correct form.  If you did copy and paste headings, make sure that all necessary adjustments were made.

    • Check MARC-format-related data, including tags, indicators, and subfield codes.

    • Check ISBD punctuation.

    Some of these steps are especially important if you did a “new” based on an older OCLC record.

    Please note:

    • Some people can quite effectively perform all these functions simultaneously.  Others benefit from dividing the proofing into separate stages, one concentrating on content-related aspects of the record and another (a “second pass”) on format and spelling aspects.  Whatever approach works best for you is fine.

    • Sometimes, cataloguers prefer to set a printout aside for a bit, then take fresh look at it, especially if they have worked on the record towards the end of the day.  Unless you have encountered a major problem that cannot be resolved by quick research or consultation, it is better not to leave the printout more than 24 hours without returning to it and inputting the record.  A 10-minute wait or less may be perfectly adequate.  Remember that the longer the time that a record is left in save, the greater the odds are that it will be “bumped" by a record entered into OCLC WorldCat by another library.

    Mark any needed corrections and additions on printout.

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19. Re-search OCLC WorldCat to make sure that a record has not been entered into the bib database.
    • If your record has been “bumped”:  Print out the culprit and compare with your efforts.  Do your record as copy cataloguing:  Merge in any useful information from your draft record; upgrade OCLC record to pcc if relevant (provided that you have been trained to do so).

    • If there is still no bib record in the OCLC database, go on to the next step.

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20. Call your record up from the OCLC Connexion save file.

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21. Make any changes needed to the record.

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22. Validate the record.  If the record fails validation and any errors are indicated, make necessary corrections, then validate again.

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23. Quickly proof the record online one last time.  (Even if you think that you don’t need to proof again, it is surprising how often people catch errors at this last proofing stage.)

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24. Update the record in OCLC, to enter your record into the OCLC WorldCat bib database.

    Our holdings are also added to the record during this process.

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25. Import the record into our Voyager database, using a straight import or an import/replace function as applicable.  Consult “Importing and Overlaying Records from OCLC intoVoyager.”

    Be sure to re-search Voyager to verify whether a record already exists in the Voyager bib file.

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26. Mark the piece.

    Note:  You may do this step earlier, but you should avoid doing it too early, before you have confirmed that the piece is:

    • not a duplicate (which might need to be returned, unmarked)
    • not a defective copy (which might need to be returned, unmarked)
    • not to be considered rare (which should remain unmarked)

    Consult: “The Physical Piece:  Writing Numbers, Stickups, Etc.”

    • Mark the author and title proper on the t.p.

    • If the Voyager bib record number is not already on the t.p. verso of your piece, write it on the t.p. verso, towards the bottom of the page.

    • Write the call number on the t.p. verso, followed by any copy, volume, and/or location information.

    • Put or check barcode in book(s) -- either now or just before creating item record.

    • For Reference locations, including Stacks Reference:  Stamp appropriately towards the top of the page facing the inside back cover (p. 3 of cover).  (You may prefer to do this stamping just before putting the book(s) on the appropriate shelf.)

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27. Deal with stickups, etc.:
    • Basic routing slip that came with book:  Retain the basic stickup in the book if it includes:
      • Location other than stx (e.g., LAL; ARCH; stx,ref)

        Remember to consider the impact of your classification decision on location.  For example, the classification may have placed a book in the Music collection or Latin American Library (see also Materials To be Sent to the Latin American Library).

      • Notification and other Rush information.

      Otherwise, remove the basic routing slip.

    • Provide a bindery stickup when necessary.  (See also “To Bind or Not To Bind!”)

    • Retain orange gift stickup if provided.

    • Retain any book plate and the accompanying pink strip.

    • Remove any yellow PLAC stickup.

      Please note:  If you leave a stickup in a piece that has a title page in an unusual place, such as following several leaves of illustrations:  Please place the stickup behind the title page leaf, to help the Processing students find the t.p. verso.

    Book jacket:  Retain, slipped inside the book, for all locations except regular HT Stacks.  Jackets from stacks books may be disposed of.

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28. Create or edit the MARC holdings record(s).  Consult:
    • “Voyager MARC Holdings Record”

    Consult when applicable:

    • "Notes on Multivolume Monograph Cataloguing"

    • “Volume Caption Abbreviations”

    • Accompanying Materials:  Summary Copy Cataloguing Procedures
            (The procedures for holdings records also apply to original cataloguing.)

    • Accompanying Materials:  Copy Cataloguing Checklist for Material Staying with Piece
            (The procedures for holdings records also apply to original cataloguing.)

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29. Create the item record(s).  Consult:
    • “Voyager Item Records”

    • “Treatment of Items and Information in Voyager Item Records, by Location”

    Consult when applicable:

    • “Notes on Multivolume Monograph Cataloguing"

    • “Volume Caption Abbreviations”

    • Accompanying Materials:  Summary Copy Cataloguing Procedures
            (The procedures for item records also apply to original cataloguing.)

    • Accompanying Materials:  Copy Cataloguing Checklist for Material Staying with Piece
            (The procedures for item records also apply to original cataloguing.)

    Exception:  For a book that was a returned in-process request:  Use the existing item record(s) rather than creating any new one(s).  If a returned In-Process-request book needs to be bound, it needs a new, piggyback barcode; add the second barcode number to the item record.

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30. As you create or edit each record, or after you have completed all of them, proof each holdings and item record in Voyager to ensure correct information and coding.  Remember to check that the following are correct:
    • MARC holdings record:
      • Type of record code in leader
      • Type of call number (852 1st indicator; LC Classification = 0, Other = 8)
      • Location code (852 ‡b)
      • Call number (852 ‡h and ‡i) coding and (when applicable) spacing

      When applicable:

      • 852 2nd indicator for multivolume titles
      • Copy number (852 ‡t)
      • 852 ‡x and 852 ‡z notes
      • 866 information for multivolume titles and accompanying material (housed separately from piece or staying with piece)

    • Item record:
      • Item type
      • Item status

      When applicable:

      • Full barcode number
      • Enumeration for multivolume titles and accompanying material housed separately from piece
      • Copy number
      • Pieces count and note

    Once all records have been created, it can be helpful to check the record hierarchy ("Show associated records").

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31. Provide a 948 field at the end of the bib record.  Be sure to:
    • Code 948 $c appropriately (usually n; occasionally g or m).

    • Code 948 $e for the total number of pieces.

    • Include 948 $f catback if the piece was from our backlog.

    • Code 948 $h appropriately if the record is a PCC record.

    • Code 948 $k appropriately for accompanying material housed separately from piece.

    For further information on the 948 field and its individual subfields, see “Voyager Cataloguing Statistics:  Voyager 948 Field”

    If necessary, count manual statistics.

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32. Place the item(s) on the appropriate truck or shelf -- based on whether or not the items are to be bound and on the specific location.  Consult:
    • “To Bind or Not To Bind!”

    • “Treatment of Items and Information in Voyager Item Records, by Location”

    Rush books should be put on the Rush/Reference shelf right away.

    Hardbound Reference books not requiring repair or rebinding should be put on the Rush/Reference shelf right away.  Remember to stamp them "Do Not Circulate".

    Any books designated for rush binding should go to the Preservation Dept. right away.  Remember to stamp Reference books "Do Not Circulate".

    Books not designated for locations that have special shelves:  It may helpful to save up a stack, then put them on the appropriate truck(s) as a group.

HTML document last reviewed:  6 April 2011