Cataloging Goals
Cataloging is a user service which strives to meet the following goals*:
- To enable a person to find a book (or other material) of which either
- the author,
- the title, or
- the subject is known
- To show what the library has
- by a given author
- on a given subject
- in a given kind of literature
- To assist in the choice of a book (or other material)
- as to the edition (bibliographically)
- as to its character (literary or topical)
These are sometimes summarized as: I) identifying or finding known items; II) collocating or bringing together related materials; and III) providing sufficient data so that the user can evaluate and select from among related materials.
*Based on Charles A. Cutter’s Rules for a Dictionary Catalog, 1904. Adapted from Wynar’s Introduction to Cataloging and Classification by Arlene G. Taylor, 9th ed., 2000, p. 7-8.