Introduction

As noted by Hirsch (2022),  Bolin reports “information science was developed to deal with the explosion of scholarly publications late in the nineteenth century, and this growth necessitated a way to organize this content and make it accessible to others” (p. 179). She also emphasizes that this is a primary mission for any information organization (p. 165). Britannica tells us that “the function of the catalog is to identify all the items in a collection and to group like items together. All the great libraries of the ancient world seem to have had lists and inventories, whether kept on clay, stone, papyrus, parchment, palm leaves, or bamboo strips” (n.d). 

Cataloging involves gathering or producing bibliographic information for inclusion in a library catalog or other search platform. According to Bolin, as noted by Hirsch (2022), this information is formatted to standards that enable its storage in a database and sharing across various libraries (p.165). She adds that the Library of Congress (LOC) and the American Library Association (ALA), in collaboration with other national libraries, have played a crucial role in establishing a set of standards for cataloging practices to make information accessible. (p.165). 

One of the first elements to look at is metadata. Indiana University Information Technology Services Knowledge Base, as noted by the ALA, describes metadata as “Metadata is data about data. It is descriptive information about a particular data set, object, or resource, including how it is formatted, and when and by whom it was collected. Although metadata most commonly refers to web resources, it can be about either physical or electronic resources. It may be created automatically using software or entered by hand” (n.d.). Metadata schemas facilitate access to texts, images, and other objects, aiding users in locating specific information. The Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) system, for example, utilizes specific codes to organize fields and subfields, allowing searches by author, title, subject, and more. These are now often formatted in Extensible Markup Language (XML), enabling computer programmers to classify them efficiently.

Bolin shares that MARC and other metadata schemas can be shared among communities, such as libraries. Furthermore, she points out that “shared standards are crucial in the world of cataloging, metadata, bibliographic control, and discovery. If data is created using a shared standard, it is more likely to be interoperable between systems” (Hirsch, 2022, p. 167). She explains that cataloging standards revolve around various principles such as location and collocation, which is organizing items by author and title or grouping related works by the same author or topic, interoperability, which is ensuring cataloging information can be managed, read, and understood across different systems, and the inclusion of informational attributes in metadata (p. 168).

Standards in cataloging can fall under categories such as descriptive, subjective, libraries and publishers, and linked data. Libguides tells us, “Descriptive cataloging involves applying a standardized set of rules, currently RDA: Resource Description and Access, to record the title, authorship, and publication data for a work, describe the physical extent of the work, add bibliographic notes as necessary, and add access points for persons or entities associated with the creation of the work” (n.d.). Subject cataloging entails analyzing the content of a resource and assigning appropriate subject headings from a controlled vocabulary, like the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) or Medical Subject Headings (MESH). Additionally, it involves categorizing resources by assigning classification numbers based on systems such as the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) or Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) (Librarianshipstudies, n.d.).

Bolin points out that libraries and publishers have teamed up to ensure vital information is accessible to users. Furthermore, she mentions that publishers utilize an XML-based metadata system to manage and share intellectual property (Hirsch 2022, p.173). Regarding linked data, OCLC explains that it involves communities reaching a consensus on the meanings of their data and sharing it across a vast networked space (n.d.). This approach makes information more readily available to users via the web.

Evidence

My first artifact to show my mastery of competency G comes from INFO 202. I had to create standards and write rules that would apply when users would enter data into a database. In this assignment, I created two field names. They were material and size. I had to determine and decide how the selection would take place. I chose users had to type data into a “textbox” and I specified it was a requirement by indicating “yes.” I then gave a definition of the particular field name I covered. The following definition represents the field name “material.” Material is the substance or substances of which an object is made. The materials of a particular object are usually found on the label or tag that is contained on the packaging of the particular object. I next gave a set of rules that I would use to enter all the data based on “material.” They are as followed: enter in the particular material(s) that appear on the label or tag of the pair of socks’ packaging. If the socks are made up of multiple materials, separate each material’s name by a comma (e.g. cotton, polyester, etc.). Do not capitalize each name. Include the name of the material(s) only and not the percentages. Please enter the word “other” if the material(s) do not appear.

My second artifact to show my competency in G comes from INFO 240. It involves a two-part piece of evidence. My first document includes two Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) pages and two XML pages of the code I had to write to display recommended bee books. The first page and second page include the code for the overall webpage including the table title and where you can find these books at. The third page contains the actual XML file I had to write to display a table that includes a header with the name title, author, year, and publisher. I would argue that this falls in line with descriptive cataloging as well as the MARC system. The fourth and final page is an XML file that contains each bibliographic information of each of the five books I presented. The final product can be found on my Backyard Beehive Hobby website.

My final artifact comes from INFO 246: PHP and Javascript. It involves creating a database file for new library patrons of the King’s Library. Data could be collected from patrons when the information required was submitted. The first two pages of the artifact file contain the written code to accomplish the task and the third page includes a screenshot of the display when the code was executed. First, I linked the eventual written code to a text file as shown at the top of page one. I then had to write additional code to send it to the text file if all data was recorded as it was supposed to be. Finally, I wrote code for a list of all information to be displayed on the webpage. When all information was added correctly it would display as the patron’s last and first name in the text file. The second page of the evidence includes the HTML file for setting up the table, rows, and headers where the data is input.

Conclusion

I have always had an interest in computer programming even though it does take me some time to understand it. Even reviewing the artifacts, I had to acquaint myself with the code and also find a way to upload files to get my INFO 240 bee webpage to display and work properly. I would love to learn more about web design and programming to either teach down the road or if I go work at a public library one day, get involved with the IT department. I know I need to continue taking professional courses on coding and check out or purchase academic-level coding and web design books. A colleague of mine was able to start me off with a class called Code HS to further my education in this area of study.

References

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2025, February 1). Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/library/Cataloging

Hirsh, S. (2022). Information Services today: An introduction. Rowman & Littlefield, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

LibGuides: Cataloging tools and resources: Descriptive cataloging. Descriptive Cataloging - Cataloging Tools and Resources - LibGuides at American Library Association. (n.d.). https://libguides.ala.org/catalogingtools/descriptive

Metadata. ALA. (n.d.). https://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/metadata/metadata

Msstate. (n.d.). https://www.library.msstate.edu/sites/www.lib.msstate.edu/files/inline-files/Cataloging%20Fields.pdf

Subject cataloging. Subject Cataloging. (2020, March 22). https://www.librarianshipstudies.com/2016/06/subject-cataloging.html