Cataloguing practices at university libraries. Analysis of current conditions and practices in Turkey
| Pages | 155-172 |
| Published date | 04 February 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2018-0122 |
| Date | 04 February 2019 |
| Author | Tolga Çakmak |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Cataloguing practices
at university libraries
Analysis of current conditions and practices
in Turkey
Tolga Çakmak
Department of Information Management Hacettepe University,
Faculty of Letters, Ankara, Turkey
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to analyse current practicesand cooperation between the Turkish university
libraries related to cataloguing processes and present cataloguing librarians’evaluations about clarity and
comprehensivenessof the given information in library catalogues.
Design/methodology/approach –In line with the literature review, a Web-based questionnaire was
developed concerning the cataloguing practices implemented at university libraries in Turkey. The
questionnairewas submitted to 316 cataloguing librarians. In all,104 cataloguing librarians from 61 different
libraries responded to the survey. The collected data were analysed through descriptive statistics. The
responses givento some open-ended questions were assessedwith respective expressions presented verbatim
in the study andsome of them visualised via VOSViewer software.
Findings –The findings reflect that analysed university libraries implement different cataloguing
processes. It is seen that some libraries use the necessary systems and services related to cataloguing and
classification whileothers use individual solutions without using such systemsand services. Findings reveal
that there is cooperation betweenthe analysed libraries about sharing catalogue records. In this regard,it is
understood that cataloguing librarians mostly prefer transferring catalogue records from the catalogues of
university libraries they trusted. Findings also indicate that analysed librarians think that the descriptive
information provided via Online Public Access Catalogues are in moderate level in terms of clarity and
comprehensibility.
Originality/value –The study contributesto the existing literature of a limitednumber of relevant studies
by establishingthe baseline pertaining to cataloguingprocesses undertaken at universitylibraries in Turkey.
Keywords University libraries, Classification, Cataloguing, Information organization,
Cataloguing librarians, Resource description
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The description of information resources constitutes one of the basic business processes of
institutions offering information services. The description efforts of such institutions as
libraries, archives, and museums represent one of the main building blocks for their
collections to be introduced to users or visitors. Defined as one of the technical services
offered at information centres, resource description processes entail both the generation of
original corporatedata and the establishment of intermediary structures for user interaction.
In this respect, information centres offer their collections in such a way as to comply with
international description standards identified in line with their target audience, sector or
field and the types of information resources at hand. Libraries, as one of the types of
information centres,produce descriptive data based on catalogue records.The production of
such data is standardised through such cataloguing rulesas machine-readable cataloguing
Conditions and
practices in
Turkey
155
Received25 June 2018
Revised3 November 2018
5 January2019
Accepted11 February 2019
TheElectronic Library
Vol.37 No. 1, 2019
pp. 155-172
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/EL-06-2018-0122
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
(MARC), the Anglo-American cataloguing rules (AACR), and resource description and
access (RDA). The resources in a given collection are presented and made available for
access with their bibliographic descriptions in machine-processible formats. For the
purposes of cataloguing processes, cataloguing librarians assume the responsibility for
specifying and recording descriptive data through the conceptual analysis of information
resources. On the other hand, libraries make investments for standardisation and software
solutions pertaining to automationsystems, as well as educational applications, with a view
to enabling cataloguing librarians to implement business processes efficiently. Through
such investments, libraries establish a cataloguing environment consisting of assistive
cataloguing and classification applications that allow for the generation of accurate and
reliable catalogue records. In addition, university and research libraries are known as the
institutions that provide detailed descriptive data through the intensive utilisation of
organising systems and software. At this point, libraries improve the quality of their
catalogue records by benefitting from open data platforms, services offered by OCLC and
the Library of Congress, national and international authority files, and other libraries that
own protocols and similar collections. The experience, knowledge and skills of cataloguing
librarians constituteone of the main determinants in this process.
The study examines cataloguing practices implemented as business processes at
libraries with specific reference to cataloguing librarians working at university libraries in
Turkey. The scope of the study is to analyse the existing cataloguing practices carried out
by university libraries in Turkey, the opinions of cataloguing librarians working at
university libraries concerning the subject-matter in general and the classification systems,
and the services related to the description of informationresources and techniques they use
in the generation of catalogue records; these were collected through a questionnaire. The
final part of the study presents suggestions and future studies for cataloguing practices
used by university librariesin Turkey.
Literature review
The business processes relatingto the organisation and description of information resources
represent one of the most significant matters for libraries and other information centres.
Cataloguing practices addressed within the scope of processes implemented as technical
services at such institutions consist of processes updated within the framework of
technological advancements. Accordingly, studies in the relevant literature are observedto
undertake analyses pertaining to training offered in the field of library and information
science (LIS), practicesused by libraries, and the future of catalogue records and cataloguing
librarians. Moreover, relevantresearch studies are understood to have been conducted for a
long period of time and increased in number along with the emergence of new practices.
University librariesare frequently addressed by the relevant research studies.
One of the first studies concerning how cataloguing practices are implemented at
libraries was conducted by Friedman and Jeffreys, who analysed university libraries in the
UK in 1967. The final part of the study included suggestions about the involvement of
information professionals in the records copied from the Library of Congress. This
suggestion can be considered as an approach for the preference of trusted institutions in
copy cataloguing practices. The results of the study are also striking within the context of
the improvement of such platforms for user needs,as well as the description of cataloguing
applications used at university libraries in the UK (Friedman and Jeffreys, 1967). Library
catalogues are also regarded not as isolated retrieval systems, but as a part of library
services. Accordingly, the studies implemented during this periodconsidered cost analyses
pertaining to cataloguingpractices in university libraries (Friedman and Jeffreys,1969).
EL
37,1
156
To continue reading
Request your trial