Cataloging Committee Meeting Minutes – April 5, 2021
Recording Link–> https://youtu.be/UagzNjqAArE
Attendees: Celine Vanderlugt (chair), Beth Ross (Sage), John Brockman (Baker), Ann Zuelke (HRVHS), Barbara Telfer (Dalles), BoDean Warnock (Baker), Dea Nowell (UCSLD), Heather Estrada (BMCC), Heather Spry (Baker), Jenny Simpson (Nyssa), Laurie O’Connor (Harney), Leeann Baldwin (Hermiston), Leslie Carlock (Lake), Lisa Hauner (Oregon Trail), Mary Reser (Gilliam), Perry Stokes (Baker), Sarah Samuels (Hood River), Tracy Hayes (Lake)
February Minutes: Motion to approve (Tracy Hayes), Second (Ann Zuelke). Minutes were approved with no changes.
General Forum
Celine asked for general cataloging concerns or questions. None were raised.
999 discussion
Cataloging committee members were reminded of the importance of correct and consistent 999 terms. 999 fields are sometimes already present in z39.50 importable records from other sources and need to be removed or changed to fit our database. 901 should remain when attaching. Marcive is not adding any 9XX fields that need to be retained. The 999 $e controlled vocabulary is available at the Sage website, and one term, “Realia/Object” was not found on the list and will be added. Again, capitalization does not matter, but punctuation MUST not be used. The term “Newspaper” was suggested as records have been found that would correspond to this term. It was suggested that $f coding (e.g. “bck” [Book Club Kit] ; “lot” [Library of Things]) also be added to the 999 document for easy reference. The question was raised as to how the $f functionality works and where it displays in the OPAC as a patron discovery/search tool.
There is a mentors’ project in the works to provide reports to catalogers when they import records that are missing 999s. This is not meant as a punitive measure, but as a “gentle nudge” to remember to add appropriate 999 terms to ALL imported records.
Local subject headings
It is important for catalogers when importing records to remove local subject headings that are carried over from the source and are not valid headings within the Sage thesaurus.
Common local subject headings that should be removed:
6XX \4
6XX \7$2local
Acceptable Sage local headings. Do not remove these when attaching:
690 \4$aOregon authors.
690 \4$aRead along.
690 \4$aBook club kit.
If you encounter headings that you aren’t sure whether or not they should be removed, please contact your mentor for help. The list of mentors is available on the Sage website along with their contact information. Other examples of authorized thesauri were provided in the chat (e.g. LC subject headings for children’s literature, Medical Subject headings, etc.). The second indicator in the MARC field shows if the term is taken from one of these thesauri. OCLC’s 650 page lists all of these possible second indicator values.
Parts
Visual examples of correct, consistent parts usage were demonstrated, along with examples of incorrect, confusing parts usage. Oftentimes, problems with parts usage arise with Video records with multiple seasons and/or discs. The screen that the patron sees when selecting a part for a hold was also demonstrated, emphasizing possible confusion that can result from incorrect parts usage. Several points were brought up in the resulting discussion.
- It is important to be aware of whether or not other libraries have added parts. Adding parts to a record where the other libraries have not added parts (or vice versa) can create problem when items are put on hold.
- If it is necessary to contact other libraries regarding parts usage and you need help, mentors can assist. Please contact them.
- There is a document on the Sage website with instructions for correct parts formatting and usage. If you have not seen this document, please find it and use it for reference.
- It was reiterated that unlike 999s, capitalization in this case is extremely important for consistency. Every alphanumeric character matters in this case.
- It is possible when adding parts that correct parts terminology may already exist (from a prior library) in the Volume/Item attributes screen. It is not always necessary to create your own parts.
A question was raised at what point should a library start breaking up complete sets and assigning parts. Should they add parts when an item has more than a certain number of discs? Or should they add parts only when another library has chosen to circulate partial sets. It was clarified that if all libraries are circulating complete sets, there’s no need for parts. Parts are only needed when a library decides to circulate an item as partial sets, rather than a complete set. However, at that point the other libraries that are NOT circulating the item as partial sets should have parts added that say “Complete Set”. Call numbers are useful for conveying information up to a certain point, but not useful in the hold selection screen.
Because of the volume of the discussion, this topic may be part of a committee meeting agenda in the near future.
Committee Contact
What is the best way to get information out to committee members? It was suggested that critical information could be emailed to Library Directors to be passed on to catalogers. The question was raised if there was a way for catalogers to see who is on the Sage Cat listserve. Beth confirmed that that isn’t possible, but that she periodically updates the listserve and adds/removes members. It was also suggested that for major policy changes, some directors circulate information within their libraries that require acknowledgement from staff before passing on to the next staff member. Perry suggested that perhaps some kind of system like that could work and a test project is in the works between the chair and Perry.
CAT1
Lisa Hauner has now qualified as a CAT1! There is a nice front page article in the East Oregonian about it. There are currently two catalogers in the pipeline to move from CAT2 to CAT1.