The document discusses automated cataloguing systems and their advantages. It provides requirements for an automated catalogue module including supporting standard formats like MARC, generating lists and statistics, and enabling record downloads. Key concepts are defined, such as bibliographic records, fields, and tags. Outputs of automated systems include the OPAC, reports, and information products. Automated cataloguing reduces clerical work and supports data interchange and information services.

1. University of Mysore
Manasagangothri
DOS in Library and Information Science
3rd Semester
Paper: Library Automation and Networking
Seminar Topic on: Automated Cataloguing System
Presented To,
Dr. Chandrashekhara, M.
Professor
DOS in MLISc

3. Introduction:
Development of computerized cataloguing subsystem
is one of the most important and intense facets of library
automation. In an automated cataloguing system the
intellectual work of describing an item or document and
analysis in its subject content has been done by the library
staff, whereas machines have been used to generate a
wide variety of products derived from such description
and analysis. Automated cataloguing systems are useful to
control the clerical and technical processes involved, and
to promote the exchange and use of cataloguing data
locally, regionally, nationally and globally.

4. Basic Requirements for Catalogue Module:
In view of the recent developments in ICT sector, a modern
LMS should provide appropriate facilities on its catalogue module.
The basic necessities of module for machine-readable
cataloguing may be formulated with the following requirements:
• Bibliographic requirements should
• Authority control requirements should
• OPAC requirements should
• Downloading requirements should
• Reports and backup requirements should

5. 1.Bibliographic requirements should:
• support different types of classification schemes and
vocabulary control devices (e.g. subject heading lists or
thesaurus and electronic resources);
• support standard bibliographic and authority record
formats (e.g. MARC, CCF, etc.);
• enable a bibliographic record to be retrieved and modified
at any time, after entering the data;
• support items like monograph, serial, government
document or any other type of materials;
• support withdrawal of items, export and import of records.

6. 2. Authority control requirements should:
• be capable to support and incorporate changes in the
MARC authority format or other national/international
standard formats;49
• generate various kinds of references from authority
records;
• accommodate:
– personal, corporate and topical name heading in a name
authority file;
– title, uniform title, and series entries in a title authority file;
– subject headings in a subject authority file.

7. 3. OPAC requirements should:
• allow both simple and expert searching;
• support users to enter multiple words or phrases to be
searched in one, more than one or all fields;
• enable users to limit searches by: publication year,
language, item type, item category, location and access;
• support multilingual features;

8. 4. Downloading requirements should:
be Z39.50 complaint cataloguing system [ANSI/NISO
Z39.50 (1995) or ISO 239.50 (1998)];50
enable to capture bibliographic and authority records from
any Z39.50 server through Z39.50 client;
allow local manipulation of captured data.

9. 5. Reports and backup requirements should:
• generate lists, statistics and counts of items added or
tabulated by call number, item categories, item location
etc.;
• produce a list of all citations with authority file violations;
• support backup of all cataloguing records in suitable
media (magnetic, optical etc.) and easy recovery of
records at the time of need.

10. Basic Concepts Related to Automated Cataloguing:
Some fundamental concepts related to database,
standardization of data entry format, authority file,
retrospective conversion, shared cataloguing and other
relevant ideas. Let us look at them one by one.
• Data: A collection of raw facts that become information
after proper organization or processing.
• Data element: A meaningful collection of related
characters also called a field or data item. It is the smallest
unit of the record that is explicitly identified.

11. • Data structure: A logically related set of data that can be
decomposed into lower level data elements. It is a group of data
elements handled as a unit.
• Database: A collection of data files integrated and organized into
a single comprehensive file system, which is arranged to minimize
duplication of data and to provide convenient access to
information to satisfy a wide variety of user needs.
• Database management system: A software package used as
a tool for building individual database systems. It is also used for
the management, maintenance and retrieval of the data stored in a
database.

12. • Record: A collection of information, in one or more
fields, about an entity.
• Data field: In a record, a meaningful collection of one or
more related characters are treated as a unit. In
bibliographic records, these are variable length portion
containing a particular category of data.
• Sub-field: A separately identified part of a data field
containing a data element.
• Repeatable field: A data field, which may appear more
than once in the same segment.

13. • Repeatable sub-field: A subfield, which may appear more
than once in a single occurrence of the data field to which it
belongs.
• Bibliographic record: A collection of specifically defined
character strings, including a record label, a directory and
bibliographic data describing one or more bibliographic items
treated as one entity.
• Mandatory field: A data field, which should appear in the
record when the relevant information appears on the item.
• Content designator: A code (i.e. tag, indicator, subfield
identifier, occurrence identifier etc.) that describes some
attribute of a data element or group of data elements.
• Entity: The object described in a record. This may be an
institution, person, bibliographic items, research projects etc.

14. • Directory: A table of entries, each of which gives the tag,
length, and location within the record, segment identifier and
occurrence identifier of one data field.
• Tag: A three characters code appearing in the directory,
associated with a data field and used to identify it.
• Sub-field identifier: Two characters immediately preceding
and identifying a subfield. First character is called subfield
flag and the second character is termed as subfield code.
• Indicator: The first two characters of each data field,
supplying further information about the contents of the field.

15. Output of Automated Cataloguing system:
1. OPAC and Other Catalogue Forms
2. Reports, Lists and Labels
3. Information Products for User Services

16. A) OPAC and Other Catalogue Forms:
 OPAC:
OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) has been
described as the shop window of a library. It is the
interface between the catalogue database of all library
materials and users. OPAC meets all the objectives of
the library catalogue and allows rapid information
retrieval. OPAC allows browsing and searching of the
catalogue databases of all the library materials.

17. Other catalogue forms:
In addition to online access to the catalogue databases, most
packages support the generation of hard copy catalogues.
Hard copy can typically be produced in offline mode in the
form of
• card catalogue (main entry and added entries);
• printed book catalogue;
• microform; and
• computer output on microform.
Off-line production of catalogue records also utilizes magnetic
(tape, disk etc.) and optical (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM etc.)
media as mass storage devices to store and retrieve catalogue
database.

18. B) Reports, Lists and Labels:
The catalogue module of automation packages supports the
generation of various reports, lists and labels that are required
for the management of catalogue section.
These are:
• Reports with a count of all records added, modified or edited by a
specific operator or over a specific period of time;
• Reports that produce statistical account of items added and
tabulated by call number, item categories, item location etc.;
• Lists of items catalogued by class number, subject heading,
collection type, language etc.;
• Spine labels, shelf list, book cards etc.; and
• List of authority file entries, and all citations with authority file
violations.

19. C) Information Products for User Services:
The catalogue module also generates information products that
form on the basis of a number of user services like
bibliographic service, current awareness service etc. These
are:
• List of books received in the library:
- during a particular period
- on a particular subject
- by a particular author
- by a particular author on a particular subject in a particular
period.
• Bibliographies of documents received by the library in standard
format or as per the format specified by users.

20. Advantages of Automated Cataloguing system:
• It reduces routine clerical operations required for
maintenance of catalogue;
• It supports interchange of catalogue records and thereby
ensures reduction in unit cost of cataloguing;
• It provides opportunities to take output in variety of forms
and formats;
• It helps library staff to generate variety of information
services.

21. Conclusion:
In the cataloguing module, the bibliographical data
elements of documents are standardized through necessary
addition and modification. The bibliographical data
format is based on any internationally adopted content
designator scheme to allow exchange of cataloguing data.

22. Presented By,
Chethankumar, D.
2nd Year MLISc