Cataloging thoughts

Interesting books II

2010-06-05T00:29:00.000-07:00

Cataloging books in a library can be like browsing in a bookstore. Of course, the difference is that catalogers supposedly look through the contents of a book to determine its nature, including its physical dimensions, publishing information and possible subject headings, not for the enjoyment or curiosity that one might experience in a store. Otherwise, we would find ourselves processing the incoming books at a much slower rate.

But it can be a pleasure of the job, if nothing else, to see the diversity of books that come through a library. Among recent examples of books I catalogued was one published in 1946 by an electrical company on the new modern house based on electricty -- dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, lamps, radios (no television yet), etc. It was filled with drawings of the ideal family living in the ideal home, actually quite well done, even if it might be considered camp by today's standards. Another book, and we get many of these, was a book of architecture and the home, filled with beautiful photos of homes I could buy only if I won the lottery. Some books are on arcane subjects intended for our specialty branch libraries, such as brand advertising (for Business library). We also get many foreign language books, novels, histories, etc. Some of our books also have accompanying materials, such as CD-ROms or DVDS.

Anyway, one has to find something interesting and even enjoyable to peruse in the books to be cataloged, even if just for a fleeting moment. Otherwise the work would be too monotonous.

Interesting books

2010-05-28T12:01:00.001-07:00

Cataloging books at a university library I often come across books that look interesting, but sometimes I also wonder why we would purchase certain books. For example, I just cataloged a French translation of a book originally written in English about the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. We already have the English language book in the library. So what is the point in getting a French translation? Although we have many foreign students here, I doubt there is a great need among our library patrons to read a French translation of this work originally written in English, especially when it will be sitting right next to the original English copy on the bookshelf.

Of course, translated works can be very valuable, as well as foreign language works, of which we have many. But the point of obtaining a book in its original language, even if a translation is available, is because sometimes the original nuances gets lost in translation. And the point of having translated works is to make the books more accessible to the library patrons. But to obtain a translated copy of a book originally written in English does not make much sense.

Sorry to belabor the obvious. In any case it is not my job to choose books for our library, only to catalog them.

Also sorry I have been away from this blog for so long. I will try to post more often.

Library of Congress Classification Web

2010-03-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

When I first began cataloging in the library here at UC Berkeley, I would often need to go back to our printed schedules in order to determine the classification number of an item I was cataloging. Now I rarely have to do so, as we have online the Library of Congress Classification Web, which matches LC subject headings with LC and Dewey classification numbers; it also matches LC and Dewey classification numbers, or provides approximate matches. The main subject area that still requires me to go back to the printed schedules is Law, that is the K series. Perhaps there is something I don't know, but it seems that Classification Web does not provide the kind of detailed correlations for subject headings in this area that it provides in all other subject classifications.

I will probably discuss Classification Web more in a future posting.

OCLC online guide

2010-03-14T22:56:00.001-07:00

I was once asked by a library student, how much did I rely on the Anglo-American Cataloging rules in cataloging? Very rarely was my answer. Among my colleagues, there might be some who rely extensively on this guide, but, perhaps in part because I am in copy cataloging, I don't have much need for it. From my perspective, it is like a dictionary or a grammar book.

What I rely on instead is the OCLC online guide. When I first started cataloging here in 1999, I relied on a large looseleaf binder of materials put out by OCLC, but now, I find the same information by right clicking on a particular field, and then taken to that section of the OCLC website. Of course, OCLC operates within the context of the Anglo-American rules, but does so within the MARC format; the MARC format being numbered fields. Some of the Anglo-American cataloging rules might seem almost inexplicable, if minor, for example why a space before and after the colon separating the title from the subtitle of a book? In any case it is important to follow the exact format, particularly since the catalogued items are created in the form of digital records, which must then be integrated with all the other digital records of the library system.

I find the online OCLC guide to be very helpful and easier to consult than the hardcopy version I once relied upon.

Correction: the OCLC guide is actually titled Bibliographic Formats and Standards. Thank you to Dodie Gaudet.

Surfing the web at work

2010-01-06T22:17:00.001-08:00

The invention of internet and its use in the workplace has been, for the most part, both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it is a wonderful tool of research and for connecting with various sources and professional colleagues. A curse, at least from management's perspective, because it can become a great distraction, taking valuable time away from the drudgery of work, first email, now youtube, facebook and so on.

I recall when I first began accessing the internet in the early 1990s, with my Mac SE, my 2400 baud dialup modem and "gopher" as my way of navigating the net. This was in the unix based, pre GUI (graphic user interface) era, like the stone age compared to now, where everything was in text format only (hence not that slow even with a 2400 baud modem). Other than finding various sources of information, mainly library or government based, the main features were email and discussion forums either as listservs or on usenet. Yet it could still be quite fascinating and time consuming to discover all that was out there in exploring the internet.

Of course the internet has expanded greatly since that time. Many more people have access to the internet, and now it is possible for virtually everyone to themselves become sources of information through creating their own websites or blogs, such as this one. We can watch television shows, movies or short videos on the net (perhaps eventually leading to the demise of cable television), make phone calls, listen to most radio stations, lectures and various talks, archived music or concerts. We can get instant machine translations, download books onto our portable ebook readers, order from most companies, or put our own company on the web. The list goes on forever of the many conveniences provided by the advancement of internet technology over the last two decades.

As catalogers we spend most of our time before the computer monitor, using an electronic database, OCLC, to find records of books we have received which need cataloging -- if found, we then send those records on into our own electronic library database, with necessary modifications; if not found, we create a record in OCLC for the item, which is then made available to other OCLC users.

When I first began cataloging, OCLC and RLIN were the two main databases. Most catalogers used OCLC, but at that time we could also use RLIN. I found RLIN often had records for Vietnamese books which were not in OCLC, because libraries such as the University of Michigan were creating their records there, but not in OCLC. All this changed with the merger of RLIN into OCLC a few years ago.

However, while OCLC is now the only cataloging database used, one can still find more complete information about a particular record by using the web. I often go to the web to check the records of other libraries listed in the OCLC record of holding a particular item to see if they might have a more complete record than what is posted in OCLC. In the older versions of OCLC, I would check holdings and then go to the websites of the libraries listed. With OCLC Connexion, I just go to Tools then click on Find libraries. From there I see the libraries listed and by clicking on the respective library am usually taken directly to the record, or I am just taken to the library website and then type in the title. I often find more complete records this way than what is in OCLC, in particular subject headings and call numbers. If the records seem good I will then copy and paste the call number, subject headings or other additional features into the OCLC record before sending it on into our library database.

I also occasionally use machine translation programs, such as Alta Vista Babefish, to get a clearer idea as to what the item I have is about. Of course these are very primitive translations, but helpful for getting the general gist of the book. Another place I sometimes go is to the website of the book publisher where often brief blurbs on the book along with other basic publishing information are posted. I sometimes will type the title or author of the book into Google and find information that way, even in some cases blogs written by the authors of the books I am cataloging.

Those are a few practical ways to use the internet in cataloging. What about the diversionary aspect? I won't go into how one can get sidetracked by email, for example. A good manager would recognize that some of this just has to be accepted as email is -- at least here -- a way for workers to communicate with each other. But I also like to listen to music, the radio or even videos while working. Of course, if it is a video I can't be watching it, but I can listen as long as I don't get too distracted. Sometimes I will listen to Don Rickles on Youtube, KPIG radio, Fresh Air on NPR, webcast class lectures from UC Berkeley, music from Pandora. I have become accustomed to listening on the headphones at work. I know for some people this would be too distracting, for me, it helps make the time spent at work a little bit more enjoyable. I have to be careful, of course, not to let myself get so involved in listening that I take my mind off the work at hand. That is why I prefer music, comedy or light interviews to anything more heavy as listening material.

Librarians and library assistants, part 2

2009-12-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in one of my opening entries how I became employed in my position in the U.C. Berkeley library. I began working for the university in August 1983 at the Indochina Archive, under the supervision of Douglas Pike, a retired foreign service officer who had moved with his large collection of Indochina (particular Vietnam) materials. I was hired not because of any training related to archival or library work, but because I had come to know Mr. Pike through my use of his collection in research for a report on human rights in Vietnam; also because I had sent him my newsletter on the same subject in recent years. In the subsequent 26 years, I have worked at the University of California under the job title of "library assistant".

Those who apply for positions or are employed as library assistants are probably aware that the job title library assistant will generally have several levels of classification, with higher pay and more complicated duties as one advances upwards. Here at UC Berkeley, there are five levels, Library Assistant I through V. At the Indochina Archive, where I worked until 2002, the last several years part time, I was alway a Library Assistant I, my classification never changed. This despite the fact that my job duties were much more wide ranging than now -- in some respects more cerebral activity required, in other respects less. Compared to my present workplace, the Indochina Archive was more like a mom and pop grocery store. I was the only full-time university paid employee, other than Mr. Pike himself, but we also had help from other people, some work-study students, and at least one Vietnamese working under different funding sources. My work ranged from cutting and pasting news clippings to helping visiting researchers to assisting in all aspects of writing, editing, printing and mailing our quarterly Indochina Chronology.

The reason why my classification never changed was partly my fault -- I did not pursue a reclassification despite encouragement from some at the parent institute to do so -- and partly because our funding was "soft", i.e. relied entirely on foundation support, which eventually ran out. In August 1997, Mr. Pike left with much of the collection for the Vietnam Center of Texas Tech, while I stayed behind, working part-time at the archive, until 2002, when I left to work full-time in the library.

I was hired to work at the UC Berkeley library in 1999 copy cataloging Vietnamese books (despite my limited knowledge of the language). Upon hiring I was immediately reclassified to a Library Assistant II and not too long afterwards was reclassified to a Library Assistant IV. The reason for this is that the supervisor noticed I was cataloging many new, previously uncatalogued items. At that time, unlike now, our department did not create partial records in OCLC, we either copied full records, put a "reject" flag in the book and put it back on the shelves to check later; gave it to the original catalogers; or we would catalog it ourselves as a full record. Since no one else catalogued Vietnamese books at the time, it was left to me to create new records for the previously uncatalogued items.

In retrospect, I was fortunate. If I were to do the same now as a Library Assistant II (or III) I would be reprimended rather than rewarded, as I would be working above my job level description. Because of serious funding problems, our library has imposed a hiring freeze, with a few exceptions. Along with that reclassification has also become virtually impossible.

Most of the copy catalogers here are either Library Assistant IIIs Library Assistant IVs. The LA IIIs are much more constrained in the nature of their cataloging, in truth, not because they are any less capable of performing the same work as an LA IV, but because if they did so, and recorded it as such in their weekly statistics sheet, then they would be in a position to demand reclassification. As for me, while I still create new records, it is preferred that I create "level 2" records (records with call numbers but no subject headings). If I do create a full record, technically it is still considered copy cataloging, not original cataloging, as I am deriving from another record.

I credit our library director for managing to steer our library through a difficult state fiscal crisis without any layoffs up to now, but this position against reclassification does not make sense, especially given that many of our co-workers have retired in recent months due to incentives, and now the rest of us are left with more work. The pay difference between an LA III and an LA IV is not significant enough to warrant the current anti-reclassification policy. Keeping some of us at an artificially low level imposes greater burdens on all of us and hampers the overall workflow. It is my hope that our library can remove these job classification ceilings on the nature of our cataloging and allow for more upward mobility in the workplace.

I may discuss this more in a future entry.

Librarians and library assistants

2009-12-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

About eight years ago, I became involved in a debate within an online forum of the American Library Association (ALA) over whether or not the ALA should publicly support the independent library movement in Cuba, basically a movement started by dissidents to establish their own libraries outside government control. I sided with those who felt the ALA should, but there were others who strongly opposed this movement, arguing that the individuals involved in this movement were "fake librarians" and "professional dissidents" working in collusion with the U.S. interests section to undermine the Cuban regime.

A question was posed to the forum: does the Cuban government have an official policy of forbidding certain materials, and if so what are those materials. I responded by citing legislation in Cuba's penal code that clearly outlawed a wide range of dissent. As a result, I came under the first of many attacks from an individual well known within ALA forums both for his invective and for his vocal support of those oppressed in capitalist countries. I don't wish to rehash the debate, but what struck me at the time was that I would be attacked for citing Cuba's own legislation in addressing what materials might be officially banned in the country; and more germane to this blog, that I was referred to throughout his denunciation as "library assistant Denney", as if my job title was a pejorative term, a mark of inferiority, making me less qualified than an actual librarian to address the issue of censorship in Cuba.

"'Of that which you are ignorant, be silent', or at least do not pretend to knowledge which you do not have. Especially before a group of librarians and research professionals," he concluded.

The reason this individual knew I was a library assistant is because I signed myself as "Steve Denney, library assistant, UC Berkeley," as I often do as a way of identifying myself when posting to professional forums. It is my job title, nothing to brag about, maybe, but nothing to be ashamed of either.

Judging people by their job titles or educational degrees they hold can be very misleading. I don't doubt that one can learn much in an MLIS* program, but to me, the chief value of the degree lies more in the professional doors it opens than in the knowledge and training it provides. Essentially, it certifies that one is qualified to perform library work at a certain level, but those lacking the degree are not necessarily less qualified to perform the same work. Much less does the degree make one wiser in other areas that fall outside the realm of library science, such as how a government represses dissent, or how to behave toward other people.

Among my fellow copy catalogers, there is a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds -- from our staff of about a dozen at least two hold doctorates (but not in library science), another graduated from a university in the Soviet Union with a degree in library science and worked as a librarian there before emigrating to the U.S. Others went straight into cataloging after graduating from U.C. Berkeley.

Here in technical services, most of us work under the job title of "library assistant." There is, for the most part, no sense of superiority or inferiority, but rather a sense of collegiality among us. Nevertheless, we work under a pecking order imposed from above. This has affected the cataloging workflow among other matters, and has been aggravated by the state budget crisis. I will discuss this problem more in my next entry.

* Masters of Library and Information Science, generally required from an ALA accredited college graduate program in order to qualify as a librarian in the U.S.

Different levels of a record

2009-12-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Library catalog websites sometimes offer different views of a catalogued record. The Library of Congress, for example, offers four views: brief record, subject/contents, full record and MARC tags. The brief record in this catalog presents only a physical description of the book, along with title, publisher, author/editor and ISBN number, but links to the full record. The subject/contents view presents the subject heading(s) and call number, along with a link to the full record. The full record lists all the basic details: author/editor, title, publisher, physical description and subject headings being the main categories. The MARC tags view is the same as the full record, except written in numerically coded format. See my Nov. 17 entry on "the catalogued record" for more information.

Sometimes however, even the full view of the record provides incomplete information. That is for a variety of reasons, one of them being that libraries often experience a large backlog of uncatalogued materials and therefore seek to get the items catalogued and on the shelves, even if the record is in low level format. Since these records are usually put into the OCLC shared library database, catalogers from other libraries using OCLC will either export the record as it is into their catalog, or upgrade the record, with the upgraded version going into the cataloger's library database and usually OCLC as well.

Those who catalog in OCLC will see a wide variety of choices in describing the level of a record in the Elvl fixed field. (The fixed fields cannot be seen in most online library catalogs, but are a basic part of cataloging for the cataloger.) I won't go into the many different categories here, but suffice to say that the blank Elvl represents a full record created by the Library of Congress or a PCC participating library (more on that in a future entry), while other symbols (except I) generally indicate less than full records.

Much of my work in copy cataloging involves either upgrading an already existing record, or creating an incomplete record with the hope that it will be upgraded by another participating library in OCLC. Original catalogers, on the other hand, are expected to create full level records for items which were previously not catalogued.

Here at the UC Berkeley library technical services, we began a new workflow system a few years ago to deal with the large backlog. For copy catalogers, we are given three options with books which are either uncatalogued or have incomplete records in OCLC: Level 1, which is a full level record with subject headings, call number and other basic details; Level 2, which is the same as Level 1 except without subject headings; and Level 3, which has neither subject headings nor an LC call number and only the pagination listed in the physical description field. Level 3 books are given a random number from a sheet of labels and then placed with other books in a particular section of the library. A level 3 book can be found only by searching for the author or title, then locating it from the randomly assigned number.

Level 2 and Level 3 records are given codes in the local description and assigned K in the Elvl of the fixed field. This is so that if the record is upgraded by another library in the OCLC system, then it will overlay the record in our library. In the case of Level 3 books, this would require that such a book be retrieved once the more complete record is in our catalog, placing the correct LC call number label on the spine, then shelving it in its proper location.

The rationale for this system is to reduce the backlog and get the books out onto the shelves, where they can be retrieved, even if in low-level form. The problem with level 3 books is that this level is often assigned to the more obscure books not likely to be found in other libraries (at least in the U.S.), and therefore not likely to be upgraded anytime soon. Furthermore since the books are shelved in random order, they cannot be located through the conventional method of browsing the stacks, either physically or virtually, nor by subject heading searches, although it is possible that a researcher might locate the book through a keyword title search, in addition to locating it by searching for the specific author or title. The other problem with level 3 records is that once the record is overlaid, it is still necessary for staff to retrieve the book and label it, so it is questionable how much time is actually saved in creating level 3 records.

I have less problem with creating level 2 records, but still, since level 2 records involve creating a call number for the book, it requires, with the exception of literary works that one finds the appropriate subject heading that matches the call number. Yet, a level 2 record does not include subject headings. The subject heading is the anchor for the call number. When the level 2 record is overlaid from an upgraded version in OCLC, the subject heading(s) will be added to the record in our catalog but the call number is not changed. Thus, there is the possibility that the upgraded level 2 record will have subject heading(s) that don't match the call number.

In the case of literary works, it is rare to have subject headings in a full record, unless it is a work of historical fiction, or a work about an author, so there is no point in creating such records as level 2, although I have often seen level 2 flags in literary works to be catalogued.

In sum, in creating new records, it makes more sense to either create them as full level, level 1 records, or to create them as level 2 but put at least one subject heading into the record so that it will match the call number.

I am speaking here just of my library at UC Berkeley. I don't know if other libraries use similar systems in dealing with their backlog.

The subterraneans

2009-11-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

Some companies have what is called "casual Friday", where employees can come to work dressed less formally, what is considered "smart casual" or "business casual" -- dressing in such a way to appear professional yet relaxed. Where I work, everyday is casual day and there is no dress code. Some might dress formally, others very informally -- t-shirts, shorts, etc.

I work on the second floor of our library, yet it is one floor below ground level. Actually, it is split level, in that the west side of our floor is on the ground level with very nice windows, but the east side is not. All of us work in cubicles, called "stations," even the top supervisors.

I am not complaining about either the lack of a dress code or the location of our work. But it is representative of the fact that most of us in technical services do not engage professionally with the public. Like the ship engine mechanic below deck, we in technical services are the ones who provide the foundation to keep the library and all its branches functioning, but we are not the public face.

What I describe may be more true here at a large university library than in smaller libraries, where catalogers and others in technical services might perform a larger variety of tasks. Of course, we have plenty of interaction among ourselves, and meetings to attend, but in the end, cataloging is for the most part a solitary task. It can be intellectually challenging at times, other times the work can be dull or frustrating. Sometimes it gives one the feeling of accomplishment. But it is different than working as a reference librarian, for example, or in the circulation department where one engages in frequent contact with the public.

All that said, I would recommend to anyone starting a career in the library world to spend some time working as a cataloger, if possible, because it helps establish a good understanding of how the library is organized, where one might find particular items, and how to search for them.

Searching for records

2009-11-23T10:59:00.000-08:00

The first purpose of searching in OCLC when cataloging is to find a record that is an exact match for the library item in hand. After finding such a match, the next step is to make sure the book (or other item) is not a duplicate of an item already in the library. In our library system, a duplicate is acceptable if either it was ordered as an additional copy or if it is for a different library branch. Before exporting the book record from OCLC into our library database, I adjust the call number if necessary (more on that in a later entry) so it fits properly within the local library catalog; and add any additional local notes, such as purchase order number.

Here at UC Berkeley technical services, we are supposed to search for the record first within our library database, and then search for it in OCLC. This is necessary primarily because there might be an order record for it within our library system which needs to be inserted into the local note area of the OCLC record before exporting it; also to see if we in fact have that book, or an earlier edition.

The first search is normally done by title, and that is because there may be earlier editions of the same title. Searches can also be done by author, title, subject heading, ISBN number, publisher, or any other access point. If the title is very common I might choose one of these alternative methods, or restrict the title search by adding another access point. I will discuss this more later too.

In determining if the book is an exact match, the main details I would check would be pagination and height, title, author, publisher, and date of publication

If there is no exact match, then I would derive from a similar record, either an earlier edition or a book by the same author or with the same subject heading. Since most books I catalog are from foreign countries, I would also try to derive from a book record that is from the same country, to cut down on the amount of data I would have to enter. Sometimes, especially with the Spanish-language books, I will find information through Google searches on the web, even if there is no record for the book in OCLC. In a later entry I will discuss various ways to create a new record or to upgrade an already existing low-level record.

The call number

2009-11-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

The purpose of a call number is to establish the exact location where a library item is shelved and can be retrieved, and to establish a logical order for its location within the library.

There are two parts to a call number: the classification number and the cutter. The classification number represents the first subject area, while the subsequent cutter or cutters represent either subtopics within this classification or, if it is the final cutter, the main entry of the item, i.e. the title or author. In the case of books and monographs, the final cutter also includes the year in which it was published.

There are two main library classification systems employed in the U.S. -- the Library of Congress system, used in most university libraries, and the Dewey Decimal system, used in most public libraries, and in libraries outside the U.S. The difference in appearance is that the LC classification system is alpha numeric, while the Dewey classification system is numeric.

At this point I will talk only about the LC system as that is what I work with daily, but for more information on the Dewey classification system click here for a listing of Dewey classification numbers, and here for a brief history and description.

The LC classification, as mentioned, is alpha numeric. Usually there is either one or two letters, followed by numbers; in the K series for law, it is often three letters, the three letters representing the country. Here is an example of an LC call number, for the book, Ho Chi Minh, by William J. Duiker, published in 2000:

DS560.72.H6 D85 2000

DS560.72 is for biography of North Vietnamese political leaders, H6 is for Ho Chi Minh, D85 is for William Duiker, and 2000 is for the year in which this edition was published. DS560.72 is the classification part of the call number, while H6 and D85 are the two cutters. Note that under this classification, all books whose primary subject heading is biography of Ho Chi Minh would be shelved in one section and within that the books would be arranged alphabetically by author, and for the same author the books would be listed chronologically, usually reflecting a newer edition.

Classification numbers are determined by the subject headings, with some exceptions, most notably literary works, where the classification is first based on country and then by author. For example:

PL4378.9.V86 S6213 2002

This is the call number for the book, Dumb Luck by Vũ Trọng Phụng, originally published in Vietnamese as Śô đỏ. PL4378.9 is for individual works of Vietnamese authors, V86 is the cutter for Vũ Trọng Phụng, and S6213 is the cutter for the original title, Śô đỏ, with the number 62 for the title, and the number 13 representing the fact that it is an English translation.

I will discuss this more later but in the next entry I will talk about searching for books in OCLC.

The catalogued record

2009-11-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

The purpose of cataloging is to establish a record for a library item which includes a brief description and (usually) a call number, which in the case of printed materials are either placed on the spine or, if too thin, on the upper left corner of the book or periodical.

The description of the item would normally list the title; author or editor; publisher, along with place of publication and publishing date; physical description, i.e. how many pages, if it is illustrated, and how high in centimeters; notes, if it contains a bibliography or index; series, if it is part of one; and subject headings. Literary works, that is, poetry, fiction, drama, etc., do not normally include subject headings unless its topic is central enough to be listed, a historical novel, for example

The description of the item appears in different formats. What is called the brief view or the full view is what the patron normally sees at the library website, and is similar to what is usually found on the inside verso page, known as "Cataloging in Publication" data (more on that later). For example, this record in full view form from the Library of Congress website:

LC Control No.: 85019329
LCCN Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/85019329
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Personal Name: Pike, Douglas, 1924-2002.
Main Title: PAVN : People’s Army of Vietnam / Douglas Pike.
Published/Created: Novato, CA : Presidio Press, c1986.
Related Titles: People’s Army of Vietnam.
Description: vii, 384 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
ISBN: 0891412433 : $18.95
Notes: Includes index.
Bibliography: p. 362-378.
Subjects: Vietnam. Quân đội nhân dân.
LC Classification: UA853.V48 P55 1986
Dewey Class No.: 355/.009597 19
Geographic Area Code: a-vt---
CALL NUMBER: UA853.V48 P55 1986
Copy 1

-- Request in:
Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms
-- Status:
Not Charged

This is a full view of the record, the brief view is the default mode in the LOC website. But the cataloger works with a different format, which can also be found at the LOC website by clicking "MARC tags":

PAVN : People's Army of Vietnam / Douglas Pike.

LCCN Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/90026264

000

01026pam a2200277 a 450

001 1525312

005 20090828140631.0

008 901203r19911986nyu b 001 0 eng

906 __ a 7 b cbc c orignew d 1 e ocip f 19 g y-gencatlg

955 __ a pc05 to ea00 12-03-90;ea15 to SCD 12-04-90; fg05 12-04-90; fm22 12-07-90; CIP ver. bd65 to SL 05-07-91

010 __ a 90026264

020 __ a 0306804328 : c $14.95

035 __ 9 (DLC) 90026264

040 __ a DLC c DLC d DLC

043 __ a a-vt---

050 10 a UA853.V48 b P55 1991

100 1_ a Pike, Douglas, d 1924-2002.

245 10 a PAVN : b People’s Army of Vietnam / c Douglas Pike.

260 __ a New York, N.Y. : b Da Capo Press, c [1991], c1986.

300 __ a vii, 384 p. ; c 22 cm.

490 0_ a A Da Capo paperback

500 __ a Reprint. Originally published: Novato, CA : Presidio Press, c1986.

504 __ a Includes bibliographical references (p. 362-378) and index.

610 20 a Vietnam. b Quân ḍoi nhân dân.

740 0_ a People’s Army of Vietnam.

920 __ a Do not acquire

These numbered fields and coded letters in each field are necessary so that the records are properly exported to the computerized library database. MARC stands for MAchine Readable Cataloging. A MARC record can be viewed at library websites by clicking either on MARC or "Staff view". The numbers for each of the fields represent different categories: 050 or 090 is for call number; 100 is for author (if there is one); 245 is for title; 300 is for physical description; 440 or 490 and 830 are for series, if the book is part of one; 500 is for notes and 504 for noting if there is a bibliography; the 600 fields are for subject headings (600 for personal names; 610 for corporate names including organizations; 650 for topical subjects; and 651 for countries); 700 is for added entry personal names (such as editor) and 710 for organizations involved in the publication. The 900 numbers are for local notes. These are the main fields used by a cataloger, but there are many more. For more descriptions, see the Library of Congress description here.

As a cataloger, I will sometimes go to the website of a library which has the book I am cataloging, and copy and paste sections of the MARC record into the OCLC record I am about to export, if the OCLC record is incomplete.

I have discussed here only a monographic record, as that is what I work with daily. Serial records and electronic resources might look slightly different. In the next entry I will discuss the call number, which is divided into the classification number and the cutter number.

Starting work, part 2

2009-11-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

I began cataloging with very little knowledge of what was involved in the process. At the Indochina Archive where I worked, we had a classification system for our files, which can be found by clicking here (scroll down past the serials), a task I assumed after my supervisor left for Texas Tech in 1997. While I had done my share of library research in retrieving materials for the archival collection, this consisted primarily of going through serials and microfilm.

The system of cataloging books has changed greatly in recent years, with the advent of internet. Previously all library items were listed on individual 3 by 5 inch cards and placed in drawers. I don't know how much original cataloging people would have to do at that time. By the time I started cataloging in 1999, there were two main electronic databases catalogers would use to find records for books -- OCLC and RLIN. Both databases were based on the concept of cooperative cataloging, that is all member libraries would be able to catalog records and those records would then be posted in the database for catalogers from other libraries to use. Most books we received would have already been cataloged within this system.

So with a good record, the cataloger would basically have to ascertain that the record in OCLC or RLIN was an exact match for the book in hand, and secondly that the call number would fit within our library (if not the call number would be slightly modified, or "tweaked" for our library). After that, it is just a matter of inserting the barcode, writing the call number in the book, and if there is other data for our library, such as a purchase order, adding that to our record too before exporting it into our library catalog. When I first began working here, most books, excepting the Vietnamese books I worked on, would go through a few stages -- first search, often done by work-study students in which they would catalog exact matches only; then books sent to the copy catalogers; then books to original catalogers, which either had no record at all, or very low level records with major work required. Since I was the only one who could catalog Vietnamese books (when first hired), I would do all these steps, even though technically I was just a copy cataloger.

As stated at its website:
"In 1967, the presidents of the colleges and universities in the state of Ohio founded the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) to develop a computerized system in which the libraries of Ohio academic institutions could share resources and reduce costs....n 1977, the Ohio members of OCLC adopted changes in the governance structure that enabled libraries outside Ohio to become members and participate in the election of the Board of Trustees; the Ohio College Library Center became OCLC, Inc. In 1981, the legal name of the corporation became OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Today, OCLC serves more than 71,000 libraries of all types in the U.S. and 112 countries and territories around the world."

RLIN is the database of RLG libraries, a system originally established in 1974 by three university libraries and the New York public library, and grew to include many other university and research libraries. It joined with OCLC in 2006 and hence no longer has a separate database.

When I first began cataloging OCLC was the main database used by catalogers, not many used RLIN. But I was also trained in RLIN as many Vietnamese books were in RLIN which were either nonexistent or in low record format in the OCLC system. This is because most of the Vietnamese books we receive here at UC Berkeley library were similar or the same as books received by a few other university libraries which had already created records, particulary Cornell, the University of Washington and the University of Michigan. Now all the records can be found in OCLC.

In my next entry I will discuss the basic elements of a cataloged record.

Starting work

2009-11-14T00:34:00.001-08:00

Eventually I will get into the nitty gritty of cataloging, but if the reader will bear with me, more on my personal background:

I applied for the cataloging position a few years before I was hired,with no clear idea what I would be doing if hired. I figured it would be a boring, data-entry job, which would nevertheless serve to supplement the meager income from my part-time work at the Indochina Archive.

The interview went well. At one point the supervisor asked how I get along with others at work, and my answer seemed to satisfy her. She then handed me some kind of flyer which seemed to have been written by the university library human relations office, about how people should get along with each other. I said it looked very interesting asked her if I could keep it. But the question that stood out was in regard to the previous person who had been cataloging books from Vietnam, a Vietnamese refugee, who reached a point where she told her supervisor that she could no longer continue in that work because the communist propaganda was too depressing. Asked for my reaction, I said that while I could sympathize with her feelings, it was very unprofessional, it is not for us to judge which books should be in the library. Besides that, from my own experience, if one wants to understand conditions in a society, even a very closed one, it is necessary to rely on a variety of sources, including that of the ruling party and government.

How I got this job

2009-11-13T10:24:00.001-08:00

How does one become a library cataloger? It isn't normally an option advertised at high school career days. Personally, I had no idea I would end up doing this work, or working in libraries, until it happened. But if I could turn the clock back, I would have gone to library school to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science, as libraries and being around books in general have always been my love. This is probably true for many who work here. Even in high school, being shy, I would often spend most of lunch period reading through magazines at the school library. In college, I found browsing through the library stacks to be more interesting than doing the assigned work for my classes.

My original goal was to teach high school social studies and to coach cross country and track. I obtained a basic teaching certificate, and even went back to graduate school to obtain a Masters degree in teaching secondary social studies. But the job market was overcrowded with applicants, and I was easily discouraged, so I spent several years working part-time as a substitute teacher and part time at other tasks, just to get by.

Frustrated by the lack of fulfilling work, and having developed close friendships with some Vietnamese refugees, I started a newsletter focusing on human rights in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This was in 1979. I sent copies to well known people, and received some positive feedback. This led to my moving back down to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked with Ginetta Sagan (while teaching Vista ESL classes) on a human rights report in Vietnam. Through this I came to know Douglas Pike, a well known government expert on the communist leadership in Vietnam, who had retired from government and opened up the "Indochina Archive" at the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Pike hired me as his assistant in August 1983 and I have worked for the university since then. From 1983-1997, when Mr. Pike moved to Texas Tech and relocated much of his collection there, my work included assisting visiting researchers, cutting and pasting news clippings for the files, and assisting in the writing, production and mailing of our quarterly newsletter. My work was much more varied at that time than now, but my job was never reclassified, and I was forced to put in much unpaid labor, as the project depended on dwindling foundation funds.

After Mr. Pike left in 1997, I continued to work part time at what was left of our collection, which has now also been moved to Texas Tech (for which I am happy -- more on that later). In 1999 I was contacted by the university library's technical services to ask if I would be interested in cataloging books from Vietnam. I said yes, but added that I was not fluent in the language. I was told that was fine, I only needed a rudimentary knowledge as I would be copy cataloging. So for the next few years I split my work time between cataloging books at the library and working at the archive. When it became clear (in 2002) that the archive would run completely out of funding, I was able to get on full time at the library.

So that is how I got this job. My duties have branched out to include many other kinds of books, and cataloging books from Vietnam is now only a small part of my workload. I will discuss this more in the next entry.

First entry

2009-11-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

I have been cataloging books for ten years now, at the University of California, Berkeley library. I am in the copy cataloging division of Technical services. Catalogers are basically divided into two main categories: original and copy; and from there divided between those who do monographs and those who do serials. At most libraries, a Masters degree in Library Science is required for an original cataloging position, not so here at Berkeley. Most of the catalogers here, whether in original or copy, are hired more for their skills and experience, especially foreign language, than on the basis of their degrees. That is in part because we have many books in foreign languages, and we are a huge academic library. I was first brought in because I know Vietnamese to some extent, although not fluent, and that was considered sufficient for mostly copy cataloging of the large number of books we receive from Vietnam.

It is late tonight, so more in my next entry.