Library of Congress Cataloging Rules
How can I contact LC with questions, comments and cataloguing requests? The MARC 21 bibliographic data format is used by LC cataloguers when entering records and bibliographic data into the LC and OCLC Integrated Library System database. The MARC 21 format for authority data is used by LC catalogers when creating authority records for name and object authority files in LC ILS. The MARC 21 format for classification data is used by the Policy and Standards Division when creating classification files for the Library of Congress that are made available to staff with the minaret package. Library of Congress classification calendars in printed form are now created from documents in the MARC 21 classification format. (See also answer 17 above on Web Classification.) A Dewey editorial office has been maintained in the library since 1923, and cataloguing staff began adding Dewey numbers to bibliographic records (printed maps) for books published in the 1930s. Dewey section classifiers now add about 88,178 records each year in all fields for articles in English and major European languages. These records are distributed through the MARC delivery services of the cataloguing distribution service. The Library of Congress participates in cooperative cataloguing programs through its participation in the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC). LC sits on the PAC Steering Committee and Policy Committee. It also provides the secretariat for the coordination and program support of the components of the CCP: the Cooperative Nommative Authority Program (NACO), the Bibliographic Record Cooperative Program (BIBCO), the Cooperative Online Serials (CONSER) Program and the Cooperative Program of the Subject Authority (CESO).
What are the machine-readable cataloguing formats (MARC) used by LC cataloguing staff? Rules for cataloguing bibliographic resources include monographs, journals, and resource integration. The monographs are either complete in one part or intended to be completed in a finite number of individual parts. Serial numbers are also issued in separate editions or parts, but do not have a predetermined conclusion. Integration resources are added or modified through updates, but these updates are integrated into the resource itself rather than remaining separate. Any format of material (e.g. printed texts, maps, computer files, scores, microforms) may be published as monographs or series. The most common built-in resources are loose-sheet updates, database updates, and site updates. What cataloguing rules and publications do LC catalogers use? The Library of Congress does not use the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) to organize part of its own collections. The Dewey program, which is maintained in the library, serves as a public relations department for the library`s national and international groups.
The Dewey Decimal Classification is the most widely used library classification in the world, and the mission of the Dewey Section of the U.S. General Division within the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate is to develop, implement, and assist in the use of the SDC on behalf of library users around the world. How is LC integrated into co-op cataloguing programs? The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) program provides and promotes bibliographic access to the country`s documentary heritage by creating a catalogue that describes archival collections held in appropriate archival archives in the United States and its territories, and by enabling free retrieval of archival catalogues in OCLC WorldCat through a NUCMC gateway. Cataloguing of materials for LC`s collections is done in many different areas of the library, although most books, journals, microforms and electronic resources are catalogued by the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate (ABA). The following list identifies the materials that are not catalogued by the ABA and the name of the area that performs the cataloguing: Cooperative cataloguing is a way libraries work together to create bibliographic and authority records that can also be used by others. Libraries agree to follow established cataloguing practices and to work in public systems or services that facilitate the use of records by others. Bibliographic entries of documents collected in different institutions can then be shared. Records of nominative authority, subjects and uniform titles created for one bibliographic record may also be used when the same headings are required for another bibliographic record. A record for a continuous publication can be managed collectively if one institution creates the first record and another adds data later to reflect changes to the publication.
The Policy and Standards Division (PSD), a division of the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate, is responsible for coordinating bibliographic cataloguing policy throughout the library. Cataloguing policy specialists work with management and staff from all areas of the library to develop LC cataloguing policies. The U.S. Copyright Office is responsible for cataloguing copyright. (PSD is also responsible for coordinating procurement policy. The Library`s Collections Policy Committee establishes guidelines for collection development.) How can I get information about cataloguing services such as cataloguing in publication (CIP), the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), and other services that provide standard numbers for publications? Publications and newsletters LC Cataloging Newsline (LCCN) LC Cataloging Newsline is the electronic journal of bibliographic access divisions. Items are selected based on their interest to the cataloging community. LCCN Previous issues CONSERline CONSERline is the electronic journal of the CONSER program, the Cooperative Online Serials program, administered by the Library of Congress. CONSERline Home cataloguing documentation can be ordered directly from the cataloging distribution service. The most widely used cataloguing documentation resources are integrated into an online product, Cataloger`s Desktop (www.loc.gov/cds/desktop/index.html). For ordering information and more general information about obtaining LC cataloguing documentation, visit the Cataloging Distribution Service Web site at www.loc.gov/cds/ In metadata, the Library of Congress is the maintenance agency for MODS, the metadata object description schema and METS, the metadata encoding and transmission standard, and leads efforts to define the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME).
BIBFRAME not only replaces MARC, but also serves as a general model for printing and linking bibliographic data. One of the main objectives of the initiative will be to identify a transition path for MARC 21 formats while maintaining robust data exchange that has supported resource sharing and cataloguing cost savings over the past decades. Articles submitted for copyright are catalogued at the U.S. Copyright Office by cataloguers using the Copyright Cataloging Rules. Those rules shall be drawn up and kept up to date within the Office and shall concern, in particular, facts relating to copyright in a work containing basic bibliographic information. Complete bibliographic cataloguing is performed by the Library`s cataloguing units outside the Copyright Office for copyright deposits selected for inclusion in the Library`s holdings.
