Re: [ARSCLIST] cataloging sound recordings

["A. Ralph Papakhian" <papakhi@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

hi,
i'm not sure who said what about this topic, but,
as a cataloger for oh so many years, i find it
fascinating that there is so much interest!
i think it was karl miller who said:

> I certainly don't suggest that I have "the answer." I just think that
> there has got to be a better way than what we have now, because it seems
> to me that what we have now leaves so much information out of the reach
> of those who could benefit from it.


on the other hand and as an alternative view point, i would like to
celebrate the cooperative work of hundreds of library catalogers
over the past ca. 35 years. oclc's worldcat now includes some
1,947,819 catalog records for sound recordings (along with
22,367,876 locations for those recordings). and all of those
records have been produced with fairly well defined, structured
standards designed to meet the needs of many if not all "information
seekers." now, even though there is "so much information out of the
reach of those who could benefit from it" i think it is fairly
evident there is also quite a bit of information available for
those who could and do benefit from it. having a few individual
collectors energetically cataloging their collections using
idiosyncratic home-grown cataloging systems cannot (and i predict
will not) take the place of systematic and organized cataloging
provided by (mostly non-profit) libraries who are committed to
following nationally and internationally agreed upon standards.

--ralph p.

A. Ralph Papakhian, Indiana University Music Library
Bloomington, IN 47405 812/855-2970 papakhi@xxxxxxxxxxx
co-owner: MLA-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx