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Cataloging Cartographic Resources - a workshop only a cataloger could love!
November 20, 2008 03:57 PM | Cataloging, MLA2008Carla Johnson
Cataloging Services Librarian, SELCO
I can only imagine the rolling eyes and snickers at this title (I say this because of my experiences with non-catalogers). I realize that the thought of entering detailed map information into MARC format does not thrill most people and I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to sitting through a 3 hour workshop on this topic.
I was pleasantly surprised! Things got off to a slow start as we went over fixed field information, but the session picked up as we moved on to the main body of the MARC record and focused on 2 fields that I was unfamiliar with, the 034 and 255 - Cartographic Mathematical Data (it's fun to say). I learned how to convert a map scale to a representative fraction and where to find that information if I forget. Remember latitute and longitude? Presenter Stacie Traill kept us going with sample maps that she brought in. She went on to talk about physical description, notes, and map subject analysis.
Perhaps I became so engrossed in this session because - ah - well - there's something about cataloging that I enjoy and I love to read maps! Put the two together and it adds up to one great workshop. Most catalogers will appreciate this as well as any library staff having to work with map collections. It was a worthwhile and enjoyable session all around.
