Re: [ARSCLIST] More on cataloging

[Susan Stinson <Ststinso@xxxxxxx>]

I must say that the apples/oranges issue is one I deplore on a regular
basis and we have covered that well, and often, in the office as well as
on this list.  However, every time RDI comes up getting trashed I must
respond and point out that before it came along, we had NOTHING to use
to search for 78s that was remotely like the NUC, fir instance.  When I
came here in 1979, all I could do to locate a recording label, number,
etc. was to hunt through old Victor catalogs, old Columbia catalogs, old
Brunswick catalogs, the occasional discography.....well, you get the
picture.  A lot of people in this field, many of whom are now retired,
worked long to get even that (the RDI) as a step in the right direction.
 A lot of further effort has taken place since 1979; there are dozens of
discographies, there are more items cataloged online (audio apples on
the OCLC orange) but there is so much data that it's a huge task at this
point even with the advent of bigger, faster, cheaper computers, as our
budgets continue to shrink, or only stagnate and staffing becomes a
memory.  So RDI has meant that I spend lots less time hunting through
old secondary sources, and while it has its problems it is still a most
useful tool.

Some of you may not know that we have loaded all the Syracuse entries
from RDI onto our own library OPAC and our cataloger is in the process
of, among other things, correcting and adding information as she comes
upon the need for it in our listings.  For any of you who are using RDI
and have questions, why not contact the institution listed as the owner
and ask for the correct information - they have the disc and should be
able to tell you. That is what we do.




Susan T Stinson, Curator
Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive
Syracuse University Library
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
315-443-3477 / fax 443-4866


>>> stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 08/10/05 10:00 PM >>>
---big snip---
The problem with most library-based cataloguing applications is
that they have been designed with books in mind...so the cataloguing
of phonorecords becomes an exercise in "how to catalog apples in an
application designed for oranges!"

My own Access-based application is probably more complex than most
collections would need, since it was designed with discography in
mind.

---small snip--

Finally, any mention of digital cataloguing brings up the history
of the Rigler-Deutsch Index, or RDI...which fell afoul of the
problems created by using help not knowledgeable or experienced
in the field of discography!

Steven C. Barr