Catalog It!: A Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials

by Allison G. Kaplan

Since the last edition of this invaluable text was published, the library world has experienced a revolution in descriptive cataloging the likes of which has not been seen since the early 1980s. This updated, third edition of an established and well-respected guide makes it easy for you to stay in step with those monumental changes. The book will help you understand the latest fundamentals of cataloging so you can get items on the library shelves quickly and efficiently.



Every chapter has been revised. Changes in standards, including RDA and BISAC, that were alluded to in the second edition are discussed in depth and illustrated with explanations, and sample problem sets are included so you can put theory into practice. In addition, the book provides you with clear headings for easy scanning as well as cheat sheets and templates for creating records for book and non-book items. Previous editions of this text have been used by library practitioners and library and information science professors across the country because of its spot-on, easy-to-follow guidance on cataloging for school libraries. This new edition builds upon those strengths, adding everything you need to know about current, groundbreaking changes.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Grad School

248 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Laura]

This book drove me crazy with the way it was organized out of order. I think it would have been more useful for me if it were presented in a more orderly manner. To use the books insight I found myself going backward and forward too often. The appendices are very helpful however. It's hard to give this a great review because it's a bit like reading a math book. The positive is that it only presents the basics of MARC cataloging so that the school librarian doesn't have to delve through all of the lesser important tags.

[Michael]

This is a hard book to rate. It’s really too old to recommend to anyone who has access to a more current resource, but if, like me, you are trying to learn to catalog children’s materials without an up-to-date professional library at your disposal, you may find it surprisingly helpful – just make allowances for the fact that some things have changed in the last twenty years.

What it does better than anything I was able to find is it gives a detailed introduction to the most important areas of a MARC record for kids’ materials. You can (and should) use the Library of Congress’s website (www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic) for the exact up-to-date rules of each part of the record, but this will not give you a narrative to walk through and cut away the many distracting rabbit-holes you can get lost in. Of course, this was written to conform to then-current AACR2 standards, rather than the current RDA, but that’s really not going to trip you up very often – just double-check on loc and compare to other current records to be safe. The book includes some practice assignments as you go along, but these are somewhat sporadic (and I missed the answer key at first), so it isn’t quite a well-designed textbook for course use, but it is helpful.

The authors knew their stuff and produced a book that was helpful a generation later, after a lot of changes in cataloging standards. That is praiseworthy, but, again, if you do have something better to use, use it.

[Joanne Collins]

boooorrrriiinnnnggg....had to read for a class.

[Heidi Robbins]

The only reason to read this book is if you need to create MARC records for a library. That being said, it was full of great information, including chapter summaries and exercises that I found very useful. Here were some minor typos throughout, which maybe wouldn’t have bothered me but every space, punctuation, and word counts when creating these records. So the typos were frustrating and confusing some times. But, this is a book I will be glad to have on my shelf when I get a job as a librarian.

[Keeley]

My review is actually of the third edition. I read this textbook for a graduate course on school library management. It has a refreshingly high information density--many textbooks in this discipline err on the side of repetition and padding, but this one is jam packed with info I am likely to refer back to. It could probably be more clearly organized, so the info would be more accessible on first reading, but it is admittedly inaccessible info.

[rachelle.reads]

It was very informative, but sometimes overwhelming. My instructor had us do the middle chapters out of order, so I’m assuming it made more sense the ways she taught us.

My first graduate class to become a school librarian and I was not ready for how technical it was!! I understand a lot more then I did before I read it, but still feel far from proficient 😅

[Beth Huddleston]

While very technical, this writer made the material accessible and clear.

[Shayla]

For grad school 🫠

[Whitney Robertson]

I chose this book because I used it alot this semester for cataloging purposes. Overall I think this book has potential but more information could be added. Some sections are more helpful than others but for the most part I often felt confused after reading chapters. I had trouble with the Dewey decimal system and I thougt this book would include a better instruction guide and it left me feeling confused on the process.

[Becky H.]

This book was used as the text for my cataloging class ILS 175 Library Technical Process. This book was so helpful. It made cataloging MARC records understandable. A text book that did not put me to sleep. I will be keeping this one close by. Its understandable language helped me get a good grade in the class (A+). It will be a good resource in the future.

[Michael Lucas]

While this is a required book to read, the information presented does help to explain the difficult concept of cataloging. The material is presented in such a way that it allows me to digest the information while also challenging me to dig deeper into the world of MArc records. This book is one that I will keep for my home library so that I might use it in the future.

[Andrea Lorenz]

This is the textbook for the cataloging course that I'm currently teaching. I'm not enamored with it, and I'll probably choose something different for next year. A fair amount of the rules presented are incorrect. Also the book is organized strangely. I'm not sure why physical access is addressed AFTER subject access. Anyway, done reading it for this semester anyhow.

[Heather Williams]

Of any book I can think of when starting the library courses, "Catalog It!" is one of the first book I am currently studying and reading about classification. I also chose this book because it is easy to understand what the contents are discussing.

[Marcia]

A good, basic reference source for cataloging.I appreciated that it considers that most school librarians have little time or need for original cataloging and just covers what we need to know.

[Ariane]

Eeek! Cataloging is not the most interesting topic to read about.

[Jeanne]

I am finding this quite helpful and related to school libraries whereas many of the other library textbooks I have are beyond my scope.

[Alev]

Bütün kitap sadece MARK format hakkında.

[Amy]

Dry. Quite dry. If I was going for my MS in Library Science, I think I would eat it up. But my brain just isn't there. Maybe someday.