Catalogues

A library catalog (or library catalogue) is a register of all bibliographic items found in a particular library or group of libraries, such as those belonging to a university system spread out over several geographic locations. more...

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A bibliographic item can be any information entity (e.g., books, computer files, graphics, realia, cartographic materials, etc.), that is considered library material (e.g., a single novel in an anthology), or a group of library materials (e.g., a trilogy), or linked from the catalog (e.g., a webpage) as far as it is relevant to the catalog and to the users (patrons) of the library.

The card catalog was a familiar sight to library users for generations, but it has been effectively replaced by the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). Some still refer to the online catalog as a "card catalog", but this is incorrect. Some libraries with OPAC access still have card catalogs on site, but these are now strictly a secondary resource and are seldom updated. Many of the libraries that have retained their physical card catalog post a sign advising the last year that the card catalog was updated. Some libraries have eliminated their card catalog in favour of the OPAC for the purpose of saving space for other use, such as additional shelving.

Goal of a library catalog

Charles Ammi Cutter made the first explicit statement regarding the objectives of a bibliographic system in 1876. According to Cutter, those objectives were

1. to enable a person to find a book of which either (Finding objective)

the author; the title; the subject;

is known.

2. to show what the library has (Collocating objective)

by a given author; on a given subject; in a given kind of literature;

3. to assist in the choice of a book (Choice objective)

as to its edition (bibliographically); as to its character (literary or topical);

These objectives can still be recognized in more modern definitions formulated thorougout the 20th century. 1960/61 Cutter's objectives were revised by Lubetzky and Lubetzky and the Conference on Cataloging Principles (CCP) in Paris. The latest attempt to describe a library catalog's goals and functions was made in 1998 with Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) which defines four user tasks: find, identify, select, and obtain.

Catalog types

Traditionally, there are the following types of catalog:

Author catalog: a formal catalog, sorted alphabetically according to the authors' or editors' names of the entries.; Title catalog: a formal catalog, sorted alphabetically according to the title of the entries.; Dictionary catalog: a catalog in which all entries (author, title, subject, series) are interfiled in a single alphabetical order. This was the primary form of card catalog in the Anglo-American world just prior to the introduction of the computer-based catalog.; Keyword catalog: a subject catalog, sorted alphabetically according to some system of keywords.; Mixed alphabetic catalog forms: sometimes, one finds a mixed author / title, or an author / title / keyword catalog.; Systematic catalog: a subject catalog, sorted according to some systematic subdivision of subjects. Also called a Classified catalog.; Shelf list catalog: a formal catalog with entries sorted in the same order as bibliographic items are shelved. This catalog may also serve as the primary inventory for the library.;

Read more at Wikipedia.org