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The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center |
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Contract Cataloging in the 21st Century |
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Living their professional lives in the library's technical services division, catalogers sometimes get a bad rap for being reclusive. Lapel pins asserting that "Cataloging IS a public service" aside, catalogers get stereotyped as the antisocial geeks in the back room, likely to send other librarians running for cover with an alphabet soup of technobabble. That most catalogers are actually friendly and professional, just like their colleagues at the reference and circulation desks, often goes unnoticed except in the closest of library circles. Thus, the lives of contract catalogers, who work remotely—not even hiding out in a technical services division—may seem even more out-of-touch to the unfamiliar. However, for many catalogers contract work is something of a coveted trophy, a position that mingles professional satisfaction with personal convenience. J. McRee Elrod, founder of Special Libraries Cataloguing, which employs some eighteen contract catalogers, notes Alvin Toffler's seminal work The Third Wave (1980), which asserts that we will know the telecommuting age has arrived when rush hour is gone. Elrod, taking stock of the cataloging rush hour, said "most [catalogers] are still brick and mortar. But outsourcing and flex hours have made their impact on in-house work hours."1 Thus, contract cataloging is still a growing field with room for more professionals, particularly as outsourcing becomes more common in public libraries. But not all cataloging lends itself to contract work, and not all catalogers can telecommute. While it may seem that all you need to become a contract cataloger is a computer with internet access, a quick look into the field demonstrates that the resources and skills necessary for this job can be daunting. It requires self-discipline and excellent communication skills, as well as the ability to shift gears from one library’s set of specifications to another’s. Additionally, an investment of personal resources is required, and contract catalogers must also be willing to network to drum up a consistent number of projects. From the cataloger's perspective, the greatest benefits come from a flexible schedule and adjustable workload. Indeed, contract cataloging lends itself to being a part-time or a full-time career. Employers enjoy the advantages of setting a project schedule and retaining employees for a set period without providing workspace or healthcare benefits. However, to make contract cataloging successful for both employer and cataloger, there are significant hurdles to overcome. To begin with, contract catalogers lack the on-site resources provided by most employers to their in-house staff. The most expensive of these is MARC-editing software. The University of Oregon's MarcEdit, authored by Terry Reese, is available for free, but even its greatest fans call it quirky. Many contract catalogers choose instead to pay a hefty sum to a for-fee service to use less-complicated software. The Library Corporation (TLC), for example, typically charges individuals $600 to use its BiblioFile software. Some libraries provide telecommuting catalogers access to their databases for the duration of a project, but this is not a long-term solution for catalogers working on multiple projects simultaneously. In fact, all resources for the home-based cataloger must be self-supplied, and some can be quite expensive. AACR2 alone, essential to any cataloger's library, costs nearly $100. OCLC offers its Dewey cuttering software for free, but charges for print copies of the Dewey Decimal Classification tables and access to WebDewey, an online version of DDC. The complete four-volume printed set of Dewey costs $375; abridged Dewey (one volume) costs $99. An individual subscription to the complete WebDewey is $290, and even Abridged WebDewey costs $80. Similarly, the Library of Congress offers Classification Web to help catalogers assign the appropriate Library of Congress class number, Dewey Decimal number, and Library of Congress subject headings for a piece, but its utility comes at a price. Solo users are charged $375 annually for twenty hours a month of unrestricted access. A final useful—but expensive—resource is the Library of Congress' Cataloger's Desktop, which costs $575 annually for an individual user, and gives access to AACR2 and other frequently used resources, like the LCRIs (Library of Congress Rule Interpretations). Some libraries or cataloging groups provide their remote employees with access to these or similar services, but usage is expected to be limited to the specific library's project. Besides the expensive nature of resources, another disadvantage to working from home is that the cataloger must forge an extended support network to substitute for face-to-face interaction with colleagues whose opinions are invaluable when struggling with complicated LCRIs and other quirks of the job. AUTOCAT, the library cataloging and authorities discussion group, can help fill this void, offering a sense of community with its ongoing discussions among catalogers from a wide range of backgrounds. However, the list produces anywhere from thirty to seventy messages a day, and it can be easy to get bogged down by the mail. Overcoming the Hurdles One of the most effective ways to overcome these problems is to work for a contract cataloging group, which can provide its contract employees with benefits ranging from discounts on MARC-editing software to a virtual community to ask project-specific cataloging questions. Such groups include Marcnow, Library Associates, the Donohue Group, and Special Libraries Cataloguing (SLC). SLC, based in Victoria, British Columbia, was established in 1979 by J. McRee Elrod. It currently serves about fifty clients and employs eighteen catalogers, most on a contract basis. But before you dash off a resume to SLC, Elrod notes that "some [clients] are very tiny and occasional; some are special projects which will end. The largest number of any one category are about 20 law firms."2 Indeed, groups like SLC must juggle the number of catalogers with the number of available projects, a challenge that can be quite difficult at times. For example, catalogers with specific knowledge, such as experience using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) or National Library of Medicine (NLM) classification, must be matched with projects needing their skills. Additionally, contract cataloging projects can be disrupted by a number of factors. Elrod points out that "arrangements are upset by such things as forest fires, childbirth, holidays, projects which become more complicated than expected, etc.”3 Where To Begin . . . And What To Expect Catalogers looking to move into contract work should begin with some very specific expectations. Expect that it will take some time and networking to acquire contract work. There is not a guaranteed job base, even for established contractors, and an updated resume will draw attention only when an employer knows to look for it. Keep an up-to-date resume on file with the major contract cataloging groups and post it on the Indiana Library Federation's contract cataloging registry, which helps match available catalogers with organizations that need workers. Also watch AUTOCAT for contract cataloging discussions and be sure employers know you are available to work. Your employer will provide you with the materials that need to be cataloged, but perhaps not with all of the resources you will use in cataloging them. Thus, prepare for work as much as possible before you even begin. If you plan to use MarcEdit, download it and begin using it so that you are familiar with its quirks. If you are hoping to be hired by a cataloging group, you may want to wait and see if there is a discount available from the group before spending a lot of money on subscription-based cataloging resources. However, you can still decide which reference works you need (like AACR2) and buy them, and which you will expect your employers to provide (like access to WebDewey or Class Web). (Remember, some employers will expect you to provide everything.) When you do find work, expect to be tested. Employers will not necessarily take your credentials for granted, even when you are swapping between projects in a group. You may need to submit test records for every single project you work on, not only because employers need to feel confident about the quality of your work, but because each project will have unique specifications. You will probably not be creating "pure" MARC records that follow MARC21 and AACR2 to the letter. Instead, you will most likely be using MARC and AACR2 guidelines to apply local standards to MARC records. Indeed, no matter how much MARC experience you have and how many formats you can catalog, you will experience a learning curve at the beginning of a project. Sometimes, you will be copy cataloging, modifying derived records to match local standards. Other times you will be cataloging from scratch. Local requirements may include adding local fields like call numbers and holdings to the MARC record, or even going against AACR2 and MARC standards to meet a specific need for a particular library. As the project progresses, you can expect to receive corrections to your work. Libraries need records to meet their in-house standards, and they will regularly notify you of errors. Libraries are particularly concerned with errors that prevent MARC records from being loaded automatically into their catalog. It is very poor form to ignore a library's corrections. Disregarding corrections, or responding defensively to them, is not a good way to keep a job! That said, a library may make a mistake and "correct" something done correctly, or at the very least, exactly as the library requested it be done. When this happens, most librarians are willing to engage in a dialogue to determine where the real error lies. Such conversations should be entered into politely and with a respectful tone. More often, project specs can change after you have already begun cataloging. This situation must also be handled gently, both by the cataloger and (hopefully) the library. Last but not least, expect the work to be temporary. Contract cataloging is, by its nature, a haphazard line of employment. Catalogers need to control the number of projects they are doing at any given time so that all deadlines are met. It is also important to keep an eye on completion dates so that new jobs can be lined up as old projects end. Some contract cataloging actually takes place on-site at a library, but it is also common to telecommute. When posting information to the Indiana Library Federation's database, it is important to specify your availability level for this reason. Conclusion Contract cataloging requires a wide-ranging skill set and a great deal of flexibility, both from employers and catalogers. The willingness to learn new (and sometimes complicated) cataloging skills is essential, as is the ability to accept corrections gracefully. Most of all, contract cataloging requires networking skills to find jobs and consistently high-quality work to keep them. Contract Cataloging Groups (and the ILF Registry)
Useful Web Resources
Useful Print Resources American Library Association. Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd Ed. 2002 Revision, 2005 Update. Chicago: ALA, 2005. ISBN: 0838935567 Chan, Lois Mai. Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles and Application. 4th Ed. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2005. ISBN: 1591581567 Fritz, Deborah. Cataloging with AACR2 and MARC21: For Books, Electronic Resources, Sound Recordings, Videorecordings, and Serials. 2nd Ed. Chicago: ALA, 2004. ISBN: 0838908845 Maxwell, Robert L. Maxwell’s Guide to Authority Work. Chicago: ALA: 2002. ISBN: 0838908225 Elrod, J. McRee. Personal interview. E-mail, 05/09/2007 Toffler, Alvin. The Third Wave. New York: William Morrow, 1980 Jessie Bishop Powell graduated from the University of Kentucky with master's degrees in English in 2000 and library science in 2001. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband Scott, daughter Caroline, and son Sam. Article published Aug 2007 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
07/20/2007
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