Behind the Scenes in Technical Services (Part II)
By Tony Wieczorek, Cataloging Librarian

There are some librarians who speak of cataloging as the heart and soul, the brain and very spirit of librarianship. But of course, these people are speaking in understatement. Seriously, cataloging, and the processing that precedes and follows it, is an often overlooked though very necessary aspect of daily library work.

Last time I mentioned briefly the work of acquisitions in acquiring new titles in various formats (not only books but tapes, CDs, DVDs, periodicals and more). Once these items are received and checked against invoice, they must be pre-processed, cataloged, and then processed for use before they reach the shelves.

Anyone who has ever purchased a CD or DVD knows what a pain it is to remove the plastic wrapping around it. Then, after doing that, one must still do battle with the security tapes on the sides of the container. Now multiply that process by several thousand and you know what our pre-processing people have to deal with all day.

Last year Appleton Public Library received literally thousands of CDs and DVDs. That adds up to a lot of ripping and cutting and tearing (not to mention a fair share of muttering). Once this has been done, the packaging often has to be either copied or cut up and then placed in heavy duty containers to withstand the amount of use these items receive from patrons. Then a barcode or ring containing information identifying it as belonging to Appleton is added. Only after this is the item placed on a cart and looked at by the catalogers.

Cataloging is performed by small, hunched over, gnome-like creatures with thick glasses and a perpetual scowl from hours of peering at small print. They are almost always subterranean, slaving away in the underground bowels of the library. Actually only a couple of catalogers at Appleton resemble that description, one in particular is quite beguiling but modesty forbids me from saying more about myself. Cataloging basically deals with two areas: physical description and access points.

Each item in the library has a bibliographic record that contains information that can identify it. The record includes such things as the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), title and author(s), number of pages and size, and various other items of bibliographic importance like subject headings and call number. This record is either created by the catalogers or downloaded from an international database (OCLC) and checked for accuracy against the actual item at hand. Each book, periodical title, movie (VHS or DVD), music tape (cassette, CD or MP3) must have a bibliographic record. But so do the stuffed animals, puppets, the games, computer software, the equipment that can be loaned, and the kits available in the library. Everything that can be loaned or used in the library has some kind of “bib record”.

Of equal if not greater importance is the matter of creating and checking for accurate access points. This refers to ways in which an item can be located or accessed. Like materials are grouped together so that (ideally) all the cook books are placed together and not inter-shelved with books on auto repair or poetry. Imagine how hard it would be to locate an item not grouped by subject. Arranging by subject also makes it easier and rewarding to “browse the shelves”. Catalogers review the item and check for subject headings appropriate to the work, adding more when needed. Access points also refer to correct titles and authors as well as series titles and call numbers. If, for example, a book is a collection of plays, access points could include a listing of each play contained in the book so that if someone were to search for a particular play it could be located through a title search as being contained in that collection.

The last intellectual task performed by cataloging librarians is authority control. Authority control is the establishment and maintenance of consistent forms of terms. Names of authors and subject headings must follow an international standard for construction. Subject headings must include see and see also references for related or changed terms. Authority control is the most “behind the scenes work” for the gnomes as it should provide for seamless searching in the library catalog.

And of course each item has a call number or specified location. Nonfiction titles are normally given a Dewey call number developed by following a set of specific and mysterious rules. Fiction materials are divided into genre and arranged alphabetically by author or title. All of this and more is done by the wizened and humble heroes of the cataloging section.

After the catalogers have performed their magic the item is sent to be processed. For books, a label is printed and applied with the item’s call number. Often a plastic cover is added as well as appropriate stickers like Mystery or Large Print or Spanish. And a security strip is also added to the item so that if not desensitized at checkout an alarm will sound should the item accidentally leave the library. Only now is the item ready to be placed on the shelf and checked out.

Throughout this series I’ve tried to highlight the amount and kinds of activities that go on behind the scenes. It is work that is often invisible but nonetheless vital to the smooth operation of the library. From those who search for new titles, to those who order, process, catalog, and shelve, from those who weed the collection to those who fill interlibrary loans, from the people who answer reference questions to those who maintain a safe and clean facility, a group of dedicated and well trained people are at work every day to make Appleton Public Library a welcoming and rewarding place to visit.