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The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center |
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Very Special Specialty: Cataloging for Special Collections and Archives by Christine DeZelar-Tiedman |
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If you’re looking for a library career that combines the longest-held traditions of librarianship with the latest technology; that includes both specialization and variety; that needs someone with flexibility, creativity, and attention to minute detail, cataloging for special collections and archives may be for you. Any special collections job will be different, depending on the nature of the collection and the setting. Special collections and archives can be part of a university library, a state historical society, a public library, museum, or its own entity. Some may include collections on many different topics; others may be narrowly focused. Generally speaking, though, a special collections cataloger should have a strong grounding in the basics of cataloging, both theoretical and practical. By definition special collections hold a larger than usual percentage of items that are rare or unique, so original cataloging is the norm. Even those items for which copy can be found need special attention: e.g. notes on previous ownership, special bindings, marginalia, etc. Catalogers must be able to see each item in the context of the collection it resides, as well as the larger institution it may be a part of, and finally the bibliographic universe, and find a way to balance all of these factors. They should be able to catalog in many different formats, from monographs to serials, videocassettes to realia, sound recordings to mixed material. Because special collections and archives hold unique and often fragile items, many such institutions have been in the forefront of providing digitized images of portions of their collections, both to stimulate interest in their holdings and to preserve the original artifacts. In addition, new metadata standards are coming into practice as ways to describe and provide access to visual, manuscript and personal paper collections. Encoded Archival Description (EAD) has been developed by the Society of American Archivists as a way to encode archival finding aids, or descriptive inventories of collections. Metadata tags and style sheets make these EAD files accessible on the Web and promote precise and targeted searching. Special collections and archives catalogers can provide needed assistance and advice in developing standards and authority control for writing and encoding these documents. Along with original cataloging expertise, qualifications that may help in obtaining a special collections position include foreign language skills, advanced or specialized degrees relating to the collection, archival or records management coursework or certification, knowledge of the history of printing and publishing, and awareness of preservation issues and practices. If you are currently in a general cataloging position but would be interested in moving into the special collections arena, look for opportunities to learn to catalog in different formats, and take advantage of classes, workshops and conferences relating to anything mentioned above. As a special collections cataloger, you can be involved in professional activity which highly values the past, and uses the latest technology to in order to both provide access today and preserve artifacts for future use. Christine DeZelar-Tiedman is Special Collections/Archives Technical Services Librarian at University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin Cities Campus. Article submitted March 2002 Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in LIScareer articles are those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the LIScareer editors.
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Page last updated
10/03/2005
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