PREREQUISITES:
MAS students: Completion of the MAS Core courses, plus permission of the instructor.
MLIS and Dual students: Some electives can be taken in conjunction with the MLIS Core courses; consult with the MLIS Program Chair for recommendations.
GOAL: Cataloguing and classification are specialized, technical and interpretive areas of study and practice. This course is an introduction to a specialized field of study and covers the tools, techniques and standards of cataloguing and classification. It prepares students not only to engage in professional cataloguing work, but fosters a sense of purpose and equips them with the skills to evaluate cataloguing and classification practices, tools and systems. This course prepares students for the creation and consumption of bibliographic information in the library context and beyond.
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
- Construct bibliographic records following AACR and RDA for monographs [1.2, 3.1]*
- Enhance bibliographic records following the Dewey Decimal Classification, Library of Congress Classification, and Library of Congress Subject Headings [1.2, 3.1]*
- Encode bibliographic records in MARC format [1.1, 1.2, 3.1]*
- Explain the purposes of catalogues and cataloguing [1.1, 1.2]*
- Make use of the tools that are available to professional cataloguers [1.2]*
- Describe and evaluate the bibliographic standards that provide access to library materials [1.2, 2.1, 2.2]*
* Course objectives are stated in terms of student learning outcomes and reference the iSchool Statement on Graduate Competencies.
CONTENT:
- Purpose and foundations of cataloguing
- Description principles, practices and standards
- Common tools used in cataloguing
- Evaluation of catalogues
- Evaluation of cataloguing work
- Subject heading work and classification work in the library catalogue
- MARC encoding of bibliographic descriptions