I love organizing things. I was the “weird” kid in elementary school who loved alphabetizing spelling words and putting things into categories. That being said, many of the things I have encountered in this class have made my head spin. There are so many acronyms – AACR, ISBN, ISBD…holy cow! I’m having trouble remembering what they stand for, let alone what information is needed!
After experiencing the introductory readings, I feel that I have a basic understanding of the history of cataloging. I definitely understand the importance of it. I had a hard enough time finding what I needed among my own collection of books before applying my own organizational methods; I cannot imagine trying to operate a library without a highly organized cataloging system.
Some things have been confusing. I had a difficult time finding information about AACR3. The book anticipated that it might be finished by 2007 at the earliest. However, here it is 2011 and it is still in the works, with very little information about it online. I find it frustrating to know that these revisions take so long to be completed, require a great deal of time and effort to learn, and quickly become outdated to make way for yet another new system.
Right now, I feel like I have just entered a labyrinth. I feel overwhelmed looking at the big picture and don’t always know which way to go. However, if I step back and think about taking one step at a time, navigating each small path, I know that I will eventually find myself at the center.
As far as i know AACR3 is still in the works; but that is actually not as long as some decisions in librarianship take. By the time they decide, the rules will need to be revised!
ReplyDelete