Stellman the Librarian

If OPAC had a flag, this definitely would not be it. These past few weeks have taught me that I had not spent ANY time prior to this experience thinking about cataloging, but that librarians spend a TON of time thinking about it, and also how to bend the Dewey Decimal System to their will. For example, in this week's discussion, several of my classmates discussed the intricacies of where fairytales should go, and if fractured fairytales should go in the same spot. As a future librarian, I totally get it. During my days at a publishing house, my colleagues and I would deeply discuss the use of hyphens, come to a conclusion, and then CONTINUE to DISCUSS HYPHENS at happy hour. We all knew that readers wouldn't give a darn about the hyphen, but it was important to us. But as a library patron...? Eh. No. Perhaps I am of a minority, but I find books by looking up the title or author's name, write down the call number (because my mind is like a darn sieve) and then...

*Who Knew Librarians Loved Acronyms? Well, phew! Back in a simpler time (last week), I had a very halcyon view of cataloging. I pictured a librarian receiving a book, following some three-digit organization system that might require a moment of thought, then adding the first three letters of the author's last name, and ta-da! All set! If I had given it a few moments of thought, it would not have made sense, but...details. I've been picking up (and putting down, and picking up, and putting down...) the third edition of Catalog It!: A Guide to Cataloging School Library Materials . The writing is surprisingly engaging for a textbook, but it's slow-going as it feels like I'm reading a foreign language and typically I'm tackling it around 9:30pm nightly. In that regard, here is my acronym cheatsheet for the first three chapters of Catalog It! RDA: Resource Description and Access Provides information on WHAT should be recorded, but not how to do it The fou...