"An archive without a catalogue is like a room without a door": inaccessible, unusable, and the cause of much frustration. Still we and our users struggle with uncatalogued archives, our hidden collections. Why don't archive services catalogue these collections? Cataloguing archives takes time, expertise, and space. The scale of hidden collections in the UK is … Continue reading Revealed! How to catalogue your hidden archives
Tag: Cataloguing
Beware the Trilemma!
Meet the Trilemma I was thinking about the oft-cited software designer's "trilemma": fast, cheap, good. The trilemma for the designer's customer is that it is only possible for a project to be: fast and cheap - can't be good good and cheap - can't be fast good and fast - can't be cheap The qualities contradict each other: … Continue reading Beware the Trilemma!
The ILLiad, and other stories
Making Archival and Special Collections More Accessible is a new publication whose name says it all. The good folk at OCLC Research have pulled together seven years of research and summarised it in this handy document. Some of the content will already be familiar to readers of this blog and the Handbook - but it … Continue reading The ILLiad, and other stories
Cataloguing Made Simpler: key rare book standards freely available online
Cataloguers rejoice! DCRM(B) and DCRM(S) are now freely available online. Here: Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) http://rbms.info/dcrm/dcrmb/index.html Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Serials) http://rbms.info/dcrm/dcrms/index.html Print copies of these standards have been tricky to get hold of in recent years. This welcome initiative from the Library of Congress will save money, time and effort for … Continue reading Cataloguing Made Simpler: key rare book standards freely available online
Making the Case is Key for Music
This post from the Special Collections librarian at the Jerwood Library, Trinity Laban, is inspiring. It tells a story of hidden, neglected special collections which were a burden and a concern for library staff. The writer shows how making the collections visible and making the case for their support changed everything. It's particularly interesting that … Continue reading Making the Case is Key for Music
Manuscripts Online! And in the Public Domain …
"My vision then of a future manuscript catalogue would be of something that links together a wide range of resources ... anchored by the record of the physical manuscript itself ..." This vision is outlined by Andrew Prescott, Professor of Digital Humanities at Kings College London, in The Function, Structure and Future of Catalogues, now … Continue reading Manuscripts Online! And in the Public Domain …
What’s new (and not so new) in cataloguing
Cataloguing methods and standards are in an exciting and uncertain state. RDA is coming! What does this mean? Like many librarians, I'm waiting to see what will happen. However, we shouldn't worry about the hybrid future in which RDA and AACR2 records will co-exist. It was ever thus, as this piece by Anne Welsh explains. … Continue reading What’s new (and not so new) in cataloguing
Make the Most of Your Maps
Maps often occupy a paradoxical position in special collections. On the one hand, they are star items. People love maps, responding with delight to their personal ("there's my house!"), historic or visual interest. However, maps are often underexploited. They can be difficult to store, catalogue and make available in helpful ways. In particular, enquirers tend … Continue reading Make the Most of Your Maps
Hidden Collections in the UK
One of the greatest problems facing Special Collections services is the legacy of historic collecting policies - or, rather, lack of them: hidden collections. Uncatalogued, sometimes wanted, sometimes not, taking up space and resources and causing all kinds of problems. As I quote in the Handbook, such collections really are our dirty little (big?) secret. … Continue reading Hidden Collections in the UK
British Armorial Bindings: Heraldry Online
Delighted to see the British Armorial Bindings database online, thanks to the Bibliographical Society of London and the University of Toronto. Building on the work of the late John Morris, continued by Philip Oldfield, the database aims to offer a "comprehensive catalogue of all the coats of arms, crests, and other heraldic devices that have … Continue reading British Armorial Bindings: Heraldry Online
The Special Collections Handbook 