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Re: arsclist Cataloging



Steve's points are interesting, but private individuals don't need to buy their cataloging from OCLC. All of these utilities (and most library catalogs) can export catalog records in a variety of formats. This is how researchers compile bibliographies and one could do the same for an LP or CD collection. This doesn't address if library cataloging meets the needs of an individual collector, but if you just want to make a list of what you've got, it will certainly suffice.

A library catalog is not a discography and isn't the definitive source of information about a disc, and shouldn't pretend to be. Our catalog tells our patrons what we have and describes the recording in enough detail to distinguish it from similar items. Collectors want discographies and libraries need catalogs and these will always need to be structured differently.

This would be an interesting subject for the conference.

David

Would you buy cataloging, as with OCLC who sells their cataloging to libraries, only in a more consumer-friendly form? Is there a business for someone doing this out thee, perhaps in conjunction with a preexisting business who have developed the materials we need and would mostly have to alter, expand and shuffle data they already have?

ARSC's present efforts at putting together everyone's 78 lists suffers from a lack of standards applied uniformly by the various contributors. Ross Laird's "Brunswick Records" is terrible when it comes to identifying classical music.

If ARSC is to have a hand in cataloging issues as they relate to private collectors, perhaps in conduction with one of the pre-existing cataloging services, this should be addresses both on this list and, perhaps, at the forthcoming conference.

For those who feel that a dollar spent on cataloging is a record not bought, this is not for you.

Steve Smolian



David Seubert, Curator Performing Arts Collection Davidson Library Special Collections University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (805) 893-5444 Fax (805) 893-5749 mailto:seubert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll/pa/

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