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Course Description

Please note we recommend that you complete the core course INFO 527 before taking this elective as part of the MIS or PGCert/DipIS.

INFO 546 Bibliographic Organisation examines the way information resources are described and organised for retrieval and access in libraries and information centres. We will also be spending a few weeks looking into issues involved in the practice.

We are at an interesting point in time with respect to bibliographic organisation.  More than 30 years ago, the second edition of the Anglo American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) became the standard code for cataloguing among libraries in the English-speaking world. While there have been revised editions to AACR2 in 1988, 1998, and 2002 to accommodate things such as new formats of materials, the rules themselves have changed little. However, we are now at the cusp of a significant change -- the arrival of RDA which stands for Resource Description and Access. RDA is based on the principles of FRBR aka the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. RDA will be a completely online tool and it is scheduled to be available for subscription by libraries later this year. But more about that later -- in this course we will look at both the existing (AACR2) and the new (RDA) -- being at the cusp of change means that we have to understand both!

We shall commence the course by looking at the various types of bibliographic control, and at the development of library catalogues. We shall then examine the key standards that are meant to meant to make the cataloguing process efficient and effective, both for the users of library catalogues and those who create them.
One of these standards is the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (2nd ed., rev. 2002). Known as AACR2R, it is the standard upon which the vast majority of English-language libraries have based the description of their resources over many years. We shall spend several weeks looking at AACR2R along with RDA. In essence, the course aims to provide you with a basic understanding of how the cataloguing rules work - and their strengths and weaknesses.

In the second half of the course, we shall look briefly at two of the key English language tools for providing subject access to information resources -- the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) and the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). 

In the last part of the course, our focus will be organisational considerations, such as bibliographic networks, automated systems, and staffing. We shall wrap up the course by trying to peer into the future of cataloguing.

It is important to realise that this course is not meant to teach you how to be a crack cataloguer -- that can only be done by working in a cataloguing department and getting a chance to practise using the tools. The main function of this course is to help you understand the key concepts and important issues involved in the creation of catalogue records.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the INFO 546 course, students are expected to:

1. Provide an overview of the major concepts and principles in bibliographic organisation.
2. Explain the purpose of, and major tasks involved in, descriptive cataloguing.
3. Demonstrate at a basic level how the three groups of entities, and the relationships between entities in the FRBR model, are articulated in AACR2 and RDA.  
4. Apply the Dewey Decimal Classification scheme and Library of Congress Subject Headings in the provision of subject cataloguing for information resources.
5. Assess the impact of automation, networking, and co-operation on bibliographic control and the management of the cataloguing process.
6. Critically assess the impact of recent changes in bibliographic organisation on the future of bibliographic control.

Schedule (TBC)

INFO 546 will be held in the second trimester (July-October) of the 2012 academic year. There will be no sessions for two weeks during the mid-trimester break (27 August-9 September).

• Internal students
  There will be a seminar on Tuesdays (from 2.40-4.30 p.m.) in Rutherford House, RH GO1.
• Distance students
  The weekly conference sessions will be held on Tuesdays from 6.45-8.15 p.m.

Week	Topic
1	Introduction to bibliographic organisation
2	Understanding cataloguing principles and their application: FRBR -- a conceptual model; ISBD, AACR2R, and RDA -- descriptive standards.
3	FRBR Group 1 entities for books: identifying and recording them in AACR2 and RDA
4	FRBR Group 1 entities for information resources other than books: identifying and recording them in AACR2 and RDA
5	Introduction to MARC coding; FRBR Group 2 and 3 entities: identifying and recording them in AACR2 and RDA;
6	FRBR relationships between entities: identifying and recording them through access points in AACR2 and RDA; MARC coding continued
7	Subject access points: DDC
8	Subject access points: LCSH
9	Copy cataloguing / Bibliographic networks
10	Managing cataloguing operations
11	OPACs, WebPACs and next generation catalogues
12	Technology and the future of bibliographic organisation

Assessment (taken from 2010)

INFO 546 is internally assessed, with the following assignments to be completed in order to satisfy the mandatory course requirements. Full details, including explanatory notes and criteria, are available under "Assignments" on Blackboard.

Assignments	Date due	Value	Comments
1.  Discussion board contributions	Weekly from week 2 through week 12	10%	tbc
2. Online Test #1 - AACR2, RDA and MARC	see Blackboard	30%	Approx. 3.0 hours duration
3. Online Test #2 - DDC & LCSH	see Blackboard	15%	Approx. 1.5 hours duration
4. Report	see Blackboard	45%	2200 words maximum

Prescribed Texts

This course will use the following revised and updated edition of Hider & Harvey:

1. Hider, P. & Harvey, R. (2008). Organising knowledge in a global society: Principles and practice in libraries and information centres (Rev ed.). Wagga Wagga, NSW: Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

The prescribed text is available from Vic Books, PO Box 12-337 (or c/- Students' Union Building), Wellington, ph. (04) 463 5515 or freephone 0800 370 370, fax (04) 471 2124, email vuwtexts@vicbooks.co.nz. It is also possible to order texts through the Vic Books' online book ordering service. You can use any of these methods to place an order.

2. Furrie, Betty. Understanding MARC: Bibliographic. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Cataloguing Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 1998. You will need to print Understanding MARC: Bibliographic from the Library of Congress website.

The School of Information Management has available for loan limited copies of the following textbooks. Copies of these titles should also be available for use in your local library.

3. Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. 2nd ed., 2003 rev. Edited by Michael Gorman and Paul Winkler. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1988. You will need to make considerable use of AACR2R during the course. The School has enough copies of this text to allow each student to borrow a copy for the duration of the course. You may, however, prefer to borrow a copy from the library in which you work.

All copies of AACR2R which are borrowed must be returned at the end of the course, otherwise you will be charged for them. The price is approximately $150.

4. Resource Description and Access (RDA) Toolkit.  This is available online with free open access until 31 August, 2010. You will need online access to the RDA Toolkit for the first six modules and for the test which will be held after Module 6. To register for the complimentary open access, go to: http://www.rdatoolkit.org/openaccess.

5. Dewey, Melvil. Dewey Decimal Classification and Relative Index. 22nd ed. 4 vols. Albany, N.Y.: Forest Press, 2003. The School has enough sets of DDC22 to allow each student to borrow a set during the course.

Each set of DDC22 which is borrowed must be returned by the end of the course, otherwise you will be charged for it. The replacement price is approximately $650 per set.

6. Library of Congress Subject Headings. 26th ed. 5 vols. Washington, D.C.: Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, 2003. There is also a Web version of LCSH, and arrangements will be made during the course for student access.