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RDA & Classification Week 4

Today, I finished the online course from ALA (well, aside from our one-hour chat session tomorrow). The readings discussed the future of library cataloging and what kinds of technologies may be employed, such as moving from MARC to BIBFRAME as a container for our data, for example.

There was also a reading on copy cataloging, as well as a reading on being inclusive in cataloging to represent diversity with respect. I appreciated that this topic was addressed, since it is such an important issue. 

Finally, there was a long final quiz. It provided the cover, title page, and copyright page of a novel and asked questions about how it would be cataloged in RDA. Although the course had optional exercises like this, it was the first time we were required to fully represent an item in MARC with RDA. I appreciated the chance to be graded on this and received a 97.4% with helpful feedback.

I have learned a lot from this class, and as a final assignment in the class, we were asked to reflect on the process. I enjoyed learning from experienced catalogers and especially benefitted from our weekly online chat sessions when the instructors would ask questions and solicit feedback. I have always known that I learn best in dialogue with others, so this was a comfortable way for me to engage with the learning process. However, throughout this class, I also grew in my ability to learn online and alone, both of which processes are beneficial in our current socially-isolated state. 

Now, although I do not feel prepared to take on library cataloging as a career, I feel confident in stating that I am familiar with RDA, access points (authorized name and subject headings), and classification schemes. 

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RDA & Classification Week 3

It’s hard to believe this is our penultimate week doing projects for this course! 

In the past week, I focused on 2 areas related to the fields of library cataloging I have been learning in my third project.

First, I attended the chat support session for my ALA cataloging class last Thursday, which involved chatting with the instructors and my fellow students in this class to answer questions about classification numbers and schemes. It was nice to break outside the normal reading and quizzes and to talk about the concepts together. The instructors asked questions, too, which made us think about how to apply the different types of classification we are learning.

Today, I spent time on the module for my class titled Access Points and Authorities. It discussed authorized name and subject headings, how and why to apply them, and the difference in use of these headings between AACR2 and RDA. Since I have spent time on both AACR2 and RDA, it was interesting to see  the subtle differences in how the two standards think about creators and works where access points are concerned. I took 2 quizzes and plan to join in on the chat session tomorrow.

I only have one more module in the cataloging class, to be completed next week, so it will align perfectly with the end of our last project for Technology Learning Studio. Talk to you next week!

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RDA & Classification Week 2

Today I started the unit on subject classification and assigning classification numbers in my ALA-sponsored cataloging class. It had 3 quizzes, but I forgot to screenshot my results from the first one:

The first module was introducing subject analysis when cataloging a library item. The accompanying quiz was on determining subjects and genres of works. The second module discussed subject access points, with an accompanying quiz. I learned that these elements of library cataloging allows users to find materials in library catalogs when searching by topics or genres.

The final module discussed classification schemes (such as Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress classification) and assigning classification numbers to give numbers physical locations. 

I have not yet finished the module on classification schemes, although I did already pass the quiz. (It should be said that the quizzes do have hints and a “check” function so you can see when your answers are wrong.)

These were areas of cataloging that I have always known were important, but did not have any intricate knowledge of. I am excited to continue learning about these topics next week. 

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RDA & Classification Week 1

For the third and final unit of this class, I am returning to the topic of library cataloging and planning to learn about a few additional descriptive standards that will give me a more current understanding of how library cataloging happens today. 

In my first project for this class, I learned how to apply the AACR2 descriptive standard to catalog library materials within the MARC21 structure. I will build on this knowledge by learning additional technologies for library description.

The first technology I am learning in this unit is RDA (an acronym for Resource Description and Access), the content standard that has replaced AACR2 as the current content standard used by many public and academic libraries. Like AACR2, RDA can be used to describe library materials within the MARC21 data structure standard. 

I am using the ALA-sponsored online class, Fundamentals of Cataloging, to supplement my learning in this unit. The class began 2 weeks ago, covering MARC21 and AACR2 so far. Having already learned these technologies at the start of this class, I was able to finish those modules more quickly. 

Today, I completed the class modules for cataloging books in MARC21 using RDA and cataloging non-book materials in the same way. There was also a short module covering how all the data types we have discussed are represented in library catalogs. For the course, I took a quiz and received a 100%:

Since this did not take the full 5 hours of this class, I plan to look through some examples of RDA in MARC21 and do some optional cataloging exercises to test my knowledge.

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Crocheting Week 4

I finished my dishcloth project today! Progress below:

This cloth ended up being 36 stitches across by 34 rows. As a first project, I am happy with how it turned out. I got more practice tying off the final switch and weaving in the yarn tail to finish the project. Most importantly, I’m happy with how you can see my stitches and the ends of the rows became neater as I moved up the project. This was due to the good resources I was able to find online to help with my technique. 

I’m far from a crochet master (having only learned and practiced the single crochet stitch), but I think this project gave me a good starting place, and I think I could easily learn additional stitches and follow patterns in the future if I decide to build this skill. 

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Crocheting Week 3

How things have changed since our last class meeting! Our classes have moved online, we’re socially distancing, and we’re working on our projects at home. During our last class, I decided to start a new piece since my previous piece had been redone so many times with the same yarn. Fortunately, I’ve been able to move my crocheting project to remote work easily, and I’ve even enjoyed working on the project a little since our last class meeting. Here’s my progress so far: 

I’m proceeding with numerous rows of single crochet stitches, and I’m happy about how neat they look in general. I’m about halfway finished at this point. 

You can see at the bottom of the piece that the edges were not straight and were bowing out. I didn’t care for this untidy look, so I looked for resources online to supplement the crochet book I was reading. The most common tip was to make sure you weren’t adding stitches to any of the rows. After counting the stitches in my first and most recent row, I saw that I wasn’t adding any stitches, so I knew the problem had to be something else. Then I found some videos that helped me understand that I was probably loosening my grip as I continued the piece, making the rows larger, and the messy edges were probably from either not stitching into the same stitch at the end of subsequent rows. Here are links to the two that helped me understand how I should be stitching into the “correct” final stitch on the previous rows: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2MfaX6ifTM&app=desktop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWxM8bA_yY4&app=desktop

In future projects, I will also make an effort to ensure that my first row of chain stitches is much looser. I think this will avoid the edges looking like they widen at first. Then, I’ll continue with the straight edges that I was able to create at the end of my piece. 

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Crocheting Week 2

Today started with the realization that I had made a mistake near the beginning of my work last week. This was disappointing because I had worked on the project after leaving class last week since I had begun to enjoy crocheting. When I consulted with Professor Allen, who is familiar with crocheting, she pointed out my mistake and showed me that I had begun by crocheting into only one of the necessary two threads on each row. You can see my mistake in the pictures below:

I unraveled my work to see where I went wrong, and to have a fresh start. Luckily, since I had been practicing throughout the week, I was able to start more easily, and I’m really happy with how my piece looked by the end of class today! I forgot to take a picture, but I will by the end of next class. 

Regarding my learning strategies, I am really seeing how different it is to learn a physical technology compared to learning more conceptual or theoretical things. Having to undo and redo the same parts of the project multiple times feels somehow more frustrating to me in a physical application than in a non-physical application—even though in both applications one must make mistakes and practice the same skills repeatedly. 

I’m looking forward to continuing this project next week!

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Crocheting Week 1

Today I decided to start my physical technology learning project, crocheting. I already know how to knit, embroider, cross-stitch, and follow basic sewing patterns, so I am excited to complete my suite of fiber art skills by learning how to crochet.

I bought a kit online created by the “Learn to Crochet Club” which included 3 skeins of worsted weight yarn, a 6.0mm crochet hook, a tapestry needle, and a booklet with instructions for making 3 dishcloths. Patterns for creating dishcloths look simple because they are just squares, so I thought it would be a great beginner project.

I started by learning how to tie the slip knot, and then creating a row of chain stitches. The booklet recommended I undo and then redo this step several times in order to get a good feeling for how loose or tight the first stitches should be. Then, I learned the single crotchet stitch, which I did for a couple rows before it was time for class to end.

Below is a photo of what I was able to accomplish today. It’s not too much progress, but now that I have a hang of the single stitches, I think I’ll be able to really make progress next week.

I missed having 2 needles as in knitting, and it did take me a while to get a feel for how this new technique works.

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Learning Library Cataloging Week 4

Today, I felt that I was ready to bring together the knowledge I’ve gained from reading the Lazarinis textbook and watching the two ABLE webinars on MARC and AACR2 and apply it to cataloging real examples. I used the workbook “Unlocking the Mysteries of Cataloging: a Workbook of Examples” by Elizabeth Haynes and Joanna Fountain because it had solutions for many of the examples provided and I thought this would be helpful when it came time to evaluate my work.

I spent this entire class session cataloging 2 books, and I’m so tired! This unit has really given me a whole new appreciation for library catalogers and the work they do to make materials reliably accessible. 

Although I’m by no means ready to take up work as a professional cataloger, I feel that I definitely understand the tools necessary to do the job and have a clear path to getting better if I continue to practice. Honestly, at the start of the semester, I did not anticipate that my comfort level with the content, AACR2 rules, and MARC format would be as high as it is right now, so I am pleasantly surprised. 

If I were to do this process over again, I am not really sure I would change anything. I am content with the order I learned the concepts and especially the tools that I used. I think I got lucky with finding really good resources which made it possible for me to acquire this new set of skills. It also helped enormously that I am comfortable with metadata containers like EAD and standards like DACS, VRA Core, and Dublin Core. Although I’ve found that the AACR2 rules and the MARC format are much more rigid than any of those that I already knew, having experience with those concepts was helpful because I didn’t have to do as much conceptual training at the start of the unit. 

I was initially worried that I might not have enough discrete technologies under the umbrella of “library cataloging” to make 2 projects out of it, but now I feel certain that I can return to learn additional cataloging technologies in a future unit, likely the final unit of this class. I still have not really learned about subject headings or the transition between AACR2 rules and those in RDA, so I can make my final project about learning those technologies since I want to catalog as many examples as possible as I am on the job market.

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Learning Library Cataloging Week 3

Today, I started reading more of the Lazarinis book, and then I realized that I was having trouble determining exactly how the standards discussed in the book were meant to be practically applied. I knew that MARC21 acts as a container for the AACR2 standard that I am now learning, so I thought it would be useful to learn more about MARC before continuing to learn about the rules prescribed in AACR2. 

This led me to take the ABLE-8 course, Introduction to MARC Cataloging, from which I got another certificate. This webinar was extremely helpful for me, not just because it still discussed the outdated AACR2 standard which I am trying to learn, but also because it answered my questions about how the standard was applied in an actual library catalog. Now, I feel prepared to use the AACR2 rules to get information from monographs and encode it in MARC. Next week, I will be focusing on practicing some cataloging exercises and finishing reading the chapter on AACR2 rules. 

I finally obtained my recalled library book about AACR2, so I’ll have it just in time to work on the exercises.

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Learning Library Cataloging Week 2

I knew this wouldn’t be easy to learn, but it’s definitely even more time-consuming than I expected! Today, I completed the ABLE Course 5 (and received a certificate!) covering Introduction to Cataloging and Technical Services. This was a great webinar that perfectly prepared me to continue reading the Lazarinis text. 

The ABLE webinar concentrated on how cataloging happens, where catalogers get their information, and the basics of a catalog record formed by AACR2 rules. Although AACR2 is an old standard, this emphasis on the standard is important for me because it is the standard still used by some cultural heritage institutions.

I’m adapting my first project a little to account for how everything is taking me longer than expected. So, this first part will be chiefly focused on understanding the AACR2 rules and working through examples. I will probably have some time to learn a little more about MARC as well, to aid in my application of the AACR2 rules, but I will leave some of the MARC learning for the final project when I also plan to cover subject headings. 

I was hoping to be able to learn about RDA as well, because it is a newer standard that has replaced AACR2 to a great extent, but I may have to limit my studies there to a very limited overview. 

I’m really glad to have so many good resources to consult in this project. I definitely would not be able to learn any of this from the book alone (although it is very helpful, too). The opportunity to change up the mode of my learning through the webinar today was a welcome break. 

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Learning Library Cataloging

For 2 of my 3 projects this semester, I am going to concentrate on learning some technologies that are used in library cataloging. For project 1, I plan to focus on learning the basics of library cataloging and understanding the AACR2 (Anglo-American Cataloging Rules) standard and be able to create a catalog record in MARC21 using AACR2. for project 2, I hope to learn more about the RDA standard, how to implement it in MARC21, and more about subject headings and authority names.

The textbook I will be using for my independent learning is this one:

Lazarinis, Fotis. Cataloguing and Classification : an Introduction to AACR2, RDA, DDC, LCC, LCSH and MARC 21 Standards / Fotis Lazarinis. First edition., Chandos Publishing, 2015.

A review suggests that it is best to supplement this book with examples and work on subject headings (so for this I will find outside tutorials, such as the LOC tutorials on LCSH).

Another source I will use (I plan to bounce between them) is this text, which seems better suited to consultation for definitions rather than reading straight-through because it is so thorough:

Joudrey, Daniel N., et al. Introduction to Cataloging and Classification / Daniel N. Joudrey, Arlene G. Taylor, and David P. Miller. Eleventh edition., Libraries Unlimited, 2015.

Finally, I plan to find a workbook to use for examples. 

Later in the semester, I have signed up for the ALCTS course Fundamentals of Cataloging (it starts March 23, so I plan to tackle MARC21 and RDA for my 3rd project this semester. Here’s the syllabus:

"Fundamentals of Cataloging Syllabus", American Library Association, September 17, 2014. http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/webcourse/foc/syll (Accessed January 29, 2020) Document ID: 6951d13e-83ec-417a-85be-bed2bea6176f

The majority of these resources (in addition to this robust list of resources by the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries of Illinois) https://www.carli.illinois.edu/products-services/i-share/cat/basic-cataloging-resources split “cataloging” into these sections (they all do the orders differently, though):

Cataloging Basics (ch. 1 of Lazarinis, ABLE-5 webinar on Intro to Cataloging, (and possibly) The Accidental Cataloger Webinar by Emily Nimsakont)

MARC 21 (https://www.loc.gov/marc and ABLE 8 webinar-Intro to MARC cataloging)

Descriptive Standards

RDA

AACR2 (Lazarinis ch. 2-4)

Classification

Library of Congress Classification

Dewey Decimal

Headings

Library of Congress Subject Headings (ABLE 6-Introduction to Subject Headings and Library of Congress workshop at https://www.loc.gov/catworkshop/lcsh/index.html)

Authorities

I plan to break up my work for the first project as follows:

Meeting 1: define resources, compile outline above, read Lazarinis ch. 1

Meeting 2: watch ABLE-5 webinar (if possible), read Lazarinis ch. 2-4, watch ABLE-8 webinar on Intro to MARC

Meeting 3: Lazarinis ch. 11, exercises on AACR2 in MARC, TBD

Meeting 4: exercises in AACR2 in MARC, TBD

In addition to the resources linked above, I will consult with my classmates Jen, who has similar learning goals for project 1, and Lucy, who previously completed a cataloging WISE class.

Finally, I plan to keep tabs on this Facebook group suggested by Lucy: Troublesome Catalogers and Magical Metadata Fairies