Overview

Libraries organize their collections to help library users find what they need. Organizing library collections may seem like a straightforward and streamlined process, but it can be quite complex, and there is a large body of theory and practice that shape and support this work. Learning about the organization of library collections can be challenging. Libraries have a long history of organizing their collections, there are many principles, models, standards, and tools used to organize collections, and theory and practice are changing constantly. Written for beginning library science students, Organizing Library Collections: Theory and Practice introduces the theory and practice of organizing library collections in a clear, straightforward, and understandable way. It explains why and how libraries organize their collections, and how theory and practice work together to help library users. It introduces basic cataloging and metadata theory, describes and evaluates the major cataloging and metadata standards and tools used to organize library collections, and explains, in general, how all libraries organize their collections in practice. Yet, this book not only introduces theory and practice in general, it introduces students to a wide range of topics involved in organizing library collections. This book explores how academic, public, school, and special libraries typically organize their collections and why. It also discusses standardization and explains how cataloging and metadata standards and policies are developed. Ethical issues also are explored and ethical decision-making is addressed. In addition, several discussion questions and class activities reinforce concepts introduced in each chapter. Students should walk away from this book understanding why and how libraries organize their collections.

Full Product Details

Author:   Gretchen L. Hoffman
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 23.10cm
Weight:   0.526kg
ISBN:  

9781538108512

ISBN 10:   1538108518
Pages:   394
Publication Date:   07 August 2019
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Part I: Theory of Organizing Library Collections 1: Purpose and History of Organizing Library Collections Library Collections How Library Collections are Organized: Theory How Library Collections are Organized: Practice Factors That Influence Organization in Libraries Limits to Organizing Library Collections History of Organizing Library Collections 2: Metadata and Encoding: Fundamental to Organizing Library Collections Metadata Types of Metadata Purpose of Metadata Metadata Standards Metadata Created in Libraries Encoding Standards and Markup Languages Encoding Standards in Libraries: MARC Encoding Standards in Libraries: Digital Collections 3: Describing and Providing Access to Library Collections Descriptive Metadata and its Purpose Descriptive Metadata in Libraries: Descriptive Cataloging Resource Description and Access (RDA) Other Content Standards Metadata Schemas Used in Libraries 4: Providing Subject Access to Library Collections Subject Analysis Controlled Vocabularies Uncontrolled Vocabularies Controlled Vocabularies Used in Libraries Library of Congress Subject Headings Children’s Subject Headings Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT) Sears List of Subject Headings Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Faceted Application of Subject Terminology (FAST) Other Controlled Vocabularies 5: Classifying Library Collections Classification Library Classification Library Classification: Construction Issues Library Classification: Application Issues Arranging Library Collections Classification Schemes Used in Libraries Dewey Decimal Classification Library of Congress Classification National Library of Medicine Classification Superintendent of Documents Classification Other Library Classification Schemes Alternative Library Classification Part II: Practice of Organizing Library Collections 6: Organizing Library Collections: Standards and Policy Development Standardization The System of Standards Standards and Policy Development at the International Level Standards and Policy Development at the National Level Standards and Policy Development at the State and Regional Level Cataloging Policy Development at the Local Level 7: How Libraries Organize Their Collections Cataloging Practice Monographs, Serials, and Electronic Resources Organizing Books Organizing Serials Organizing Media and Other Formats Government Publications Metadata Practice Issues in Cataloging and Metadata Practice 8: Organizing Collections in Academic, Public, School, and Special Libraries Similarities and Differences Among Libraries Academic Libraries Public Libraries School Libraries Special Libraries 9: Ethical Issues in Organizing Library Collections Neutrality and Power Ethics and Values Statements The Role of the User Less Customization Bias and Marginalization in Subject Standards Ethical Obligations of Catalogers and Metadata Specialists 10: Current Developments in Organizing Library Collections Linked Open Data Linked Data in Libraries Identity Management Electronic Resources Metadata Work Discovery Products

Reviews

Dr. Hoffman has written a clear and understandable guide that demystifies the topic. In Organizing Library Collections, the author has succeeded in creating a text that navigates through the history and tradition of library cataloging while focusing on current practice and future trends. The book is highly recommended for adoption as a cource text in a cataloging and classification course. * Technical Services Quarterly * The writing is crisp and, for the most part, knowledgeable. This would be an excellent introduction to the entire area of organization for anyone newly appointed to a library board who might not have any professional training. It is also an excellent, but very sophisticated, introduction to organization of collections for a library/ information studies school student. * Technicalities * Dr. Hoffman has written a much-needed primer for understanding the basics and importance of cataloging in libraries. Students new to librarianship and practitioners looking to refresh their cataloging knowledge would benefit from reading Dr. Hoffman's straightforward, richly illustrated narrative. The end-of-chapter discussion questions and class activity suggestions make this the perfect text for information organization courses and interactive study for practitioners. -- Karen Snow, PhD, professor and PhD program director, School of Information Studies, Dominican University As a teacher of both organization of information and cataloging in a library school program, I can confirm what she acknowledges: that this is a topic that students come to in library school with little or no knowledge of and the overwhelming number of acronyms used in this branch of LIS. So I am happy to see that the book is very straightforward in its language; it assumes no prior knowledge and explains concepts in layman's terms. -- Sarah W. Sutton, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Library & Information Management, Emporia State University Replete with theoretical and practical knowledge for both the beginning and the professional cataloger, this book covers methods, issues, and challenges faced today in organizing library collections. As technologies advance with the semantic web and linked data, catalogers are expected to usefully organize traditional materials and digital content in ways patrons may efficiently find, identify, select, and obtain resources. This text provides current information on the rules and standards catalogers follow to create metadata, subject access, and categories for successful library collections. -- Marie Keen Shaw, program coordinator, Library Technology Certificate, Three Rivers Community College, Norwich, CT

Dr. Hoffman has written a much-needed primer for understanding the basics and importance of cataloging in libraries. Students new to librarianship and practitioners looking to refresh their cataloging knowledge would benefit from reading Dr. Hoffman's straightforward, richly illustrated narrative. The end-of-chapter discussion questions and class activity suggestions make this the perfect text for information organization courses and interactive study for practitioners. -- Karen Snow, associate professor, School of Information Studies, Dominican University As a teacher of both organization of information and cataloging in a library school program, I can confirm what she acknowledges: that this is a topic that students come to in library school with little or no knowledge of and the overwhelming number of acronyms used in this branch of LIS. So I am happy to see that the book is very straightforward in its language; it assumes no prior knowledge and explains concepts in layman's terms. -- Sarah W. Sutton, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Library & Information Management, Emporia State University

Dr. Hoffman has written a much-needed primer for understanding the basics and importance of cataloging in libraries. Students new to librarianship and practitioners looking to refresh their cataloging knowledge would benefit from reading Dr. Hoffman's straightforward, richly illustrated narrative. The end-of-chapter discussion questions and class activity suggestions make this the perfect text for information organization courses and interactive study for practitioners. -- Karen Snow, associate professor, School of Information Studies, Dominican University As a teacher of both organization of information and cataloging in a library school program, I can confirm what she acknowledges: that this is a topic that students come to in library school with little or no knowledge of and the overwhelming number of acronyms used in this branch of LIS. So I am happy to see that the book is very straightforward in its language; it assumes no prior knowledge and explains concepts in layman's terms. -- Sarah W. Sutton, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Library & Information Management, Emporia State University Replete with theoretical and practical knowledge for both the beginning and the professional cataloger, this book covers methods, issues, and challenges faced today in organizing library collections. As technologies advance with the semantic web and linked data, catalogers are expected to usefully organize traditional materials and digital content in ways patrons may efficiently find, identify, select, and obtain resources. This text provides current information on the rules and standards catalogers follow to create metadata, subject access, and categories for successful library collections. -- Marie Keen Shaw, program coordinator, Library Technology Certificate, Three Rivers Community College, Norwich, CT

Author Information

Gretchen Hoffman is an Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University. She has been teaching there since 2007. Her teaching and research agenda centers on the organization of information, specifically library cataloging. Courses she teaches include Cataloging and Classification, Advanced Cataloging and Classification, Collection Development, and Information Organization. Before moving to Texas Woman’s University, Hoffman was a professional cataloger at the University of Kansas, specializing in complex and difficult cataloging, music cataloging (scores and audio recordings), and cataloging German-language monographs. Prior to that, she worked as a professional serials cataloger at Portland State University, specializing in federal government documents.

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