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Cataloging Internet Resources:
A Manual and Practical Guide
2nd Edition

Nancy B. Olson, editor
A Review



Cataloging Internet Resources came out of a project that OCLC initiated with support from the U.S. Department of Education to have libraries volunteer to identify, select and catalog Internet resources using the USMARC format and AACR2 cataloging rules. Changes from the first to the second edition include adopting the ISBD(ER) expanded list of terms to be used in the File characteristics area, including examples that include a broader variety of types of resources, and noting whether MARC fields are repeatable or non-repeatable. The examples in the book follow OCLC MARC rather than USMARC. The guidelines have been expanded in some cases to "include CONSER and ISBD(ER) modifications to practice."

This manual includes enough detail that it can be used by those who are not experienced catalogers or those who do not have prior experience in cataloging electronic resources. It has a discussion of the chief source of information for this material and a discussion of each field of the MARC record through the 500 fields. These explanations and accompanying cataloging examples are very clear. This section is followed by a discussion of main entry, added entries, the System Details Access field (753) and the Electronic Location and Access field (856), and short discussions on subject headings, classification and holdings.

The next section includes eleven complete examples with MARC tags from OCLC's WorldCat for different types of Internet resources, including print resources with related Web material (e.g. table of contents). Appendix A gives a definition and scope of field 856 Electronic Location and Access as well as detailed usage guidelines for its indicators and subfields. Appendix B is a selected bibliography.

Cataloging Internet Resources is paperbound and has holes so that it can be inserted in a three-ring binder. It is well-organized and clear and should be very helpful to anyone starting to catalog Internet resources.

Published in 1997 by: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (viii, 55 p.) ISBN 1-55653-236-9. Also available on the OCLC Web site at http://www.purl.org/oclc/cataloging-internet.

Reviewed by: Katherine L. Rankin
University of Nevada, Las Vegas


Last updated: April 8, 2003
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