Rare Book School
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Rare Book School
Preliminary Reading List

Rare Book Cataloging

Deborah J. Leslie

Information for participants

Read Before and Bring to Class

Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service, 2007. ISBN:970-0-8444-1162-0. Please order early! The instructor can provide copies for sale on site ($75) by prior arrangement; none will be available for loan. Read before coming to class, paying special attention to the preface and introductory sections, area 4, and Appendix G.

Allen, C.G. "Latin," in A Manual of European Languages for Librarians. 2nd ed. ( London: Bowker-Saur), p. 155-179.

Bring to Class (in addition to DCRM(B))

Twelve copies of your institution's rare book cataloging policy, if you have one.

Twelve business cards, if you have them.

Definitions for the following terms (All sources are game; but look in John Carter's ABC for Book Collectors or G.A. Glaister's Encyclopedia of the Book if you're stumped).

Read Before Coming to Class

Belanger, Terry. "Descriptive Bibliography," in Book Collecting: a Modern Guide, ed. Jean Peters (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1977), 97-115. This is a mandatory text.

Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972, rev 1974, &c. 1995 pb version currently in print ( Winchester: St Paul's Bibliographies/ New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books). Familiarize yourself with the scope and contents of Gaskell before coming to class, read pages 313-320 ("Identification"), pages 328-335 ("Formula"), and as much as you have time for in the first section (pages 1-185).

Leslie, Deborah J. and Benjamin Griffin. Transcription of Early Letter Forms in Rare Materials Cataloging.

Optional Pre-Course Reading

Bibliographical issues

Stalker, Laura, and Jackie M. Dooley. "Descriptive Cataloging and Rare Rooks," in Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 7:1 (1992), 7-23.

Tanselle, G. Thomas. "Descriptive Bibliography and Library Cataloguing," in Studies in Bibliography 30 (1977), 1-56.

Tanselle, G. Thomas. "The Bibliographical Concepts of Issue and State," in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 69:1 (1975), 17-66.

Post-Course Titles of Potential Interest

Library systems & records

Raine, Henry, and Laura Stalker, "Rare Book Records in Online Systems," in Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 11:2 (1996), 103-118.

Guide to Rare Book Records in Online Systems, available online. A bit dated, but still useful in identifying aspects and features of online library systems necessary for appropriate indexing, searching, and display of rare materials and special collections.

Overmier, Judith A. and Elaine M. Doak. "Provenance Records in Rare Book and Special Collections," in Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 11:1 (1996), 91-99.

Management issues

Bradshaw, Elaine Beckley and Stephen C. Wagner. "A Common Ground: Communication and Allegiance Between Cataloger and Curator for Improved Access to Rare Books and Special Collections," in College & Research Libraries 61:6 (Nov. 2000): 525-534. Although leaving something to be desired in academic rigor, this article provides an overview of some of the issues involved in setting policy.

Taraba, Suzy. "Administering the cataloging of special collections materials," in Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 7:2 (1992), 87-90.

Special collections cataloging

Lundy, M. Winslow. "Evidence of Application of the DCRB Core Standard in WorldCat and RLIN," Library Resources & Technical Services, v.50:1 (2006: Jan ), p. 42-57

Russell, Beth M. "Looking for Someone Special : Special Collections Cataloging, 1980-2000," in Library Resources and Technical Services 47:4 (Oct 2003), 149-159.