- The Cataloging unit 1) creates and maintains catalog records for
all materials acquired by the library and 2) prepares them for shelving
throughout the building. These twin responsibilities provide faculty,
students and library colleagues with the basic access tools they need
to identify and locate information sources to support research and
study in all areas of the curriculum.
- The unit's organization consolidates the processing of print and
non-print resources. All staff members are trained to handle non-print
items such as videos, audio CDs and CD ROMs, which minimizes
turn-around time for the processing of these materials. Online,
interactive documentation is also maintained for non-print formats as
part of this effort.
- Cataloging also continues its tradition of providing cataloging
services to Special Collections, where increased numbers of materials
are being purchased and many new procedures and local standards have
been established as a result. Recent examples include the cataloging of
a major acquisition of replacements for items once in the College's
First Purchase collection. Procedures for cataloging manuscripts, first
drafted in 1993, have served as a model for other institutions and are
targeted for further review and implementation at Union in 2006/2007.
- Cataloging staff members also provide training and cataloging
support to Government Documents and have developed and documented
procedures for cataloging such materials as GAO reports and documents
published in multiple formats.
- Reclassification efforts continue in order to consolidate Dewey
Decimal materials with the majority of the library's holdings (which
are classified in the Library of Congress system). All but a quarter of
the Reference Department's holdings in Dewey have been reclassified as
of 2006, and all other materials within the Schaffer Library
circulating collections are now in the Library of Congress system).
