Weinheimer Jim wrote:
This has happened before in every library, I am sure. I remember that in one library where I worked, I ran across an old cataloging procedure (for the card catalog) where non-Roman catalogers were directed for a period of about 10 years (I believe) to not add any subject cards to the catalog. In fact, for some periods of time, it was *only* main entry cards for non-Roman materials. When I discovered this, I looked at the catalog in a different way, since I suddenly saw in my mind's eye the "missing subject cards" where they should have been. I referred to these areas as "White Holes" since there were "holes" in the card catalog. (Perhaps I should have called them "acidic-yellow holes" since the cards were rotting away, too!) But in any case, there were a *lot* of books that could not be found through their subjects. How many? Who knows, but it was about 10 years' worth.
This reminds me of a possibly apocryphal story involving Panizzi and Cutter (as I remember it). There had been a fire in the British Library and part of the card catalog had burned. Panizzi was explaining that the loss of the cards was essentially equal to the loss of the books they represented, because now those books couldn't be found. And he said something like: we have lost half of the books in our collection because half of the catalog was destroyed. And Cutter stood up and said: "Yes, but which half?" Well, it doesn't sound real, but the message is clear. Unfortunately, the "half" that we are missing in libraries is often the most unique elements of our collection: the primary materials, archives, and rare items. Quality does matter. So does efficiency and a consciousness that we can't possibly afford to give full attention to every item. Some choices have to be made, and, as the LC Future of Bib Control report pointed out, we have no measurements of usefulness or success that would guide us in making those choices. I'm afraid that the occasional anecdote about user success or failure just isn't enough to justify our decision-making for the huge expenditure that is cataloging. If we can't show that what we are doing makes a difference, it's going to be hard to make our case as the budget cuts continue to come down. kc -- ----------------------------------- Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kcoyle.net ph.: 510-540-7596 skype: kcoylenet fx.: 510-848-3913 mo.: 510-435-8234 ------------------------------------
