[DCRM-L] Including Cataloging History information in public interface

[Erin Blake]

Our finding aids do credit the person or people who created them, but our
OPAC records only have initials, and those initials are only viewable in
"MARC View" of the OPAC. A public list of initials gives researchers an
idea of when an item was cataloged (
https://folgerpedia.folger.edu/Initials_in_catalog_records) and a
staff-only version of the same list gives full names of the cataloger, and
their areas of specialization. Researcher services staff sometimes use this
as a way to (silently) evaluate the credibility of the record.

Several people at our institution want catalogers' names to be included in
records, since they believe catalogers should get "credit" for their
scholarship, same as if they'd written an article, or a blog post, or any
other thing where names are routinely attached. Personally, I prefer to
remain invisible! The record I'm making might be mostly based on copy, and
I don't want to take credit for someone else's work. I also don't want to
be blamed for someone else's bad work. Happy to be blamed for my *own *bad
work, but you can't tell who did what in a MARC record.

Erin.

______________________
Erin Blake, Ph.D.  |  Senior Cataloger  |  Folger Shakespeare Library  |
201 E. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC, 20003  |  eblake at folger.edu  |
www.folger.edu
<https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/-t5RCjRgpBtArRXC7R7_2?domain=urldefense.com>
  |  Pronouns: she/her/hers




On Wed, Mar 17, 2021 at 3:33 PM Liz Adams <elizabeth.adams at duke.edu> wrote:

> Hello!
>
>
>
> I’m currently convening a group at my institution looking at issues
> related to “provenance” (very broadly defined). One of the areas we’re
> thinking about is if we should ever include the name of the cataloger and
> the date an item was cataloged in a field that would display publicly.
> Right now, we track our cataloging stats through cataloger IDs that do not
> display in our public interface. Manuscript processor here do typically
> include names and relevant processing dates in finding aids. As a side
> note, AMREMM also includes “Cataloging History’ (7B27) that has an example
> including cataloger’s name.
>
>
>
> My question is: Does your institution ever include cataloging history
> information related to print material or unique items in a field that
> display publicly? And if so, would you mind sharing those cases?
>
>
>
> Thanks so much for considering!
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Liz
>
>
>
> Liz Adams
>
> Rare Materials Cataloger
>
> David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
>
> Duke University
>
> Durham, NC 27708
>
>
>
> elizabeth.adams at duke.edu
>
> 919.613.1010
>
> she/her/hers
> <https://studentaffairs.duke.edu/csgd/training-resources/gender-pronouns>
>
>
>
> https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/
>
>
>
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