Presented at “Bibliographic Control: A Meeting Between Educators and Practitioners”, Jan. 2012

1. CATALOGING & METADATA
EDUCATION:
THE EMPLOYERS’ PERSPECTIVE
Beth Picknally Camden
Univ. of Pennsylvania
Jan. 2012

2. Organizational Change
 Economic impact
 Budget cuts
 Staff reduction
 Lean organizations
 Organizations moving in new directions
 Hiring
 Some libraries not hiring
 Different kinds of positions

3. Types of positions
 Temporary positions
 Grant-funded positions
 Part-time positions
 Hybrid positions
 Metadata/digital
project librarians
 Rare book catalogers
 Language /Format
specialists
 Supervisory/
Management

4. Types of Skills
 Technical skills
 RDA, FRBR, linked data
 Non-MARC metadata
 Coding/programming
 Massaging & mapping
metadata
 Foreign Language skills
• General skills
 Leadership
 Project management
 Flexibility
 Communication
 Ability to train others
 Humor
 Growth potential

5. Candidate pools
 Generally larger than in the past
 BUT many don’t meet qualifications
 Either/Or candidates
 Mid-career librarians in entry-level pools
 Librarians in pools for staff positions

6. Orientation/Training
 For entry level: cataloging tools, authority
work, classification
 AACR2 and RDA
 Local practice; local systems
 One-on-one training with experienced
catalogers—customized to individual
 Specialization training (external)

7. Perceptions of MLS programs
 Concerns:
 Balance between theory
and practical
 Distance education
 Adjunct faculty
 Cataloging not required
 Needs
 Understanding the
cataloging big picture
(RDA, FRBR, linked
data, etc)
 Metadata
 Coding/programming
 Project management

8. Internships/Practicums
 Importance of practical experience along with
degree
 MLS programs should encourage/require
 Valuable on entry-level resume
 Libraries want to give back to the profession
 Funding can be issue
 Cataloger time can be an issue

9. Citations
 Hsieh-Yee, Ingrid. “Cataloging and Metadata Education: A Proposal
for Preparing Cataloging Professionals of the 21st Century.” (2003)
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bibcontrol/CatalogingandMetadataEduca
tion.pdf
 Mugridge, Rebecca L. “Experiences of Newly-Graduated Cataloging
Librarians.”Cataloging & ClassificationQuarterly,Vol. 45, Iss. 3, 2008
DOI:10.1300/J104v45n03_06
 Camden, Beth P. “Cataloger Education:The Practitioners'Viewpoint”
(ARLIS/NA, March 2003)
http://staffweb.library.upenn.edu/~bethpc/Cat_educ.ppt

10. “To the extent that library
education includes the principles
of information organization and
develops the skills needed in
navigating the digital landscape,
this is probably a change for the
better”
—Bill Bovino (UPenn)