The Audiovisual Cataloging Current
edited by Sandra K. Roe
A Review
Olson, Weitz, Sandberg-Fox, Weihs, Yee, Intner. Do these names sound familiar? What do they have in common? In addition to being teachers and mentors of audiovisual catalogers, they, along with other OLAC experts, have contributed to Sandy Roe's book The Audiovisual Cataloging Current, which addresses the current theory and practice of cataloging audiovisual formats in various library settings.
Divided into four main sections, the first section "Cataloging Audiovisual Formats" provides up-to-date information on seven individual formats: popular music and non-music sound recordings, videorecordings (including off-air, locally made, and DVDs), local and remote electronic resources, three-dimensional artifacts and realia, and kits. Each chapter provides either an overview of the cataloging process, from the initial description of the item to the final assignment of subject headings and name and/or title access points or concentrates on areas that have proven problematic for catalogers. The types of materials that are excluded in this section are maps, graphic materials, printed music, and microforms. Roe, however, does provide a reference where you can find descriptive cataloging information for maps and the Subject Access Issues section includes an article for a discussion on subject indexing of graphic materials.
Jean Weihs' "A Somewhat Personal History of Nonbook Cataloging" is the single essay in the book's second section. In this chapter, she provides a thorough history of the development of nonbook cataloging practices and codes.
In the third section, still images, audiovisual training materials, and moving images are addressed in the three articles focusing on subject access issues. Tracing the history, development and current use of the Library of Congress' Thesaurus for Graphic Materials, at the Library's Prints and Photographs Division is the focus of the first article. The second discusses the creation of FireTalk, a new thesaurus with a mix of LCSH, MeSH terms, plus more specific fire science terms developed at the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library which supports the training and teaching of the Institute's major programs. The Moving Image Genre-Form Guide and Library of Congress Subject Headings are compared as sources of genre or form terms for moving image and broadcast materials in the last article in this section.
The final section, "AV and AV User Groups by Library Type," contains four articles that discuss what users of academic, public (Westchester County Public Library System), school, and special libraries (National Library of Medicine) need from their audiovisual material collections and catalogers, although most of the material is applicable in a variety of library settings.
The Audiovisual Cataloging Current is a unique and impressive work--a necessary purchase for new and experienced AV catalogers.
Published in 2001 by: Haworth Information Press, Binghamton, NY. ISBN: 0-7890-1403-3 ($79.95) and 0-7890-1404-1 (pbk.) ($49.95). xvii, 370 p. Co-published simultaneously as Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, Vol. 31, No.2 and 3/4, 2001.
Reviewed by: Sue Neumeister
Head, Bibliographic Control/Receipts
Central Technical Services
University at Buffalo
Last updated: April 8, 2003
http://www.olacinc.org/reviews/roe.html
neumeist@buffalo.edu