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Cataloging Policy

 

Our Policy

The Syracuse Children's Library is dedicated to creating a collection of diverse, educational, and fun resources for kids ages infant to adult! Our cataloging policy is to catalog everything acquired by the collection development committee in order to make a comprehensive database of physical and electronic resources for our patrons. RDA and MARC 21 will be used to comprise the bibliographic records in order to make our resources as accessible and findable as possible, both online and in our physical space. 

 

RDA

RDA provides flexible sets of data to support resource discovery on the web. Our library will use RDA to improve findability, identification, selection, and obtaining resources within our collection. We will include both the Title Proper and Variant Title elements to increase findability. We decided on this because of the variation of titles located on and within the resources themselves (i.e.: on the cover, the spine, and on the title page). Also, more unique elements such as Authorized Access Points and Supplementary Content will be used so our users are able to locate the unique items in our collection including books that are interactive, have unique textural elements, or those with items including toys and posters. 

 

MARC 21

MARC 21 defines codes and conventions that identify data elements in Bibliographic Records. This is a reliable way to build databases in our OPAC. We have made some decisions about the use of MARC involving what we will and will not include in a MARC record and the provisions we will make if an item is missing a crucial element. For example, if the book being cataloged has no main author listed, use the creator or publisher as the statement of responsibility in both MARC and RDA. We believe there will always be some indication as to what person or corporate entity was responsible for the work’s creation. Also, we will use the notes fields to capture as much information from the resource as possible. This creates richer records, and increases findability within the catalog. 

 

Bibliographic

Original cataloging follows RDA cataloging rules, derived from AACR. RDA is compatible with MARC 21, and creates a highly effective level of interoperability between these two standards. Copy cataloging is downloaded from OCLC, with name and subject headings verified for accuracy by Library of Congress authority files and subject headings. 

  Name Headings

The SCL checks name headings against the Library of Congress (LOC) Authority Files in order to maintain a level of consistency within the collection. Headings are updated should they change or become obsolete as modified by the LOC. 

  Subject Headings

We use the LOC Subject Headings as well as LOC Children's Subject Headings to maintain consistency. These are updated as the LOC updates the subject headings for accuracy and currentness. 

  Call Numbers

We catalog in a Dewey Hybrid system. Our picture books are organized by authors' last names. Our non-fiction resources are organized by category and then DDC. This allows for a precise shelf location, which is further determined by color coding and labeling.