IMS5017

Information resources: organisation

Offered subject to approval

H M Yee

6 points - 3 hours per week - First semester - Caulfield - Distance education - Prerequisites: IMS9023 or equivalent, and IMS9049 or equivalent - Prohibition: LAR3651, LAR4651

Objectives At the conclusion of the subject students should be able to demonstrate an understanding selected aspects of organising information resources for effective retrieval including (i) types of recorded information and of information retrieval contexts, covering both analogue (eg print) and digital (eg Web compound documents) and the relative merits of controlled-vocabulary and relevance-ranking approaches to indexing applying concepts such as consistency, exhaustivity, specificity, recall and precision, input-output trade-offs; (ii) record structures, and the need for consistency and controls with respect to the order and formatting of fields and sub-fields, and metadata, including names, titles, and subject terms; (iii) how indexing and abstracting principles are applied in published finding tools, both analogue and digital eg Chemical Abstracts, Australian Education Index; (iv) how cataloguing and classification principles are applied in libraries; (v) the main reasons for, and steps in, the construction of specialised thesauri and classification schemes; (vi) use of a range of general and specialist cataloguing, classification and indexing tools, standards, and platforms, eg AACR2, LCSH, DDC, USMARC, ABN, Dublin Core, Australian Thesaurus of Education Descriptors.

Synopsis This subject introduces students to the principles, fundamental concepts, and standards for intellectual access to information resources. In particular, the subject will deal with standards governing description, distribution and access to information at the local and global levels, with respect to AACR2, subject headings lists, indexing and thesaurus construction, classification schemes, the MARC and the Dublin Core metadata. It examines the effects of economic, social and technological factors on the developments of bibliographic networks and cataloguing operations. Practical sessions will deal with the application and use of major bibliographic tools and utilities for organising bibliographic records on a bibliographic network.

Assessment Three practical assignments using cataloguing tools: 50% - Successful completion of hands-on experience of online cataloguing: 20% - Essay: 30%

Prescribed texts

All students will be expected to have reliable access to the Anglo-American cataloguing rules 2nd revised edition or later. Access to other tools will be provided as needed (in hard copy, on disc or online), for example DDC, LCSH and LCSH, the Subdivisions Section from the ABN cataloguing manual, and manuals/notes on USMARC and ABN MARC coding formats.

Recommended texts

Foskett A C The subject approach to information. 5th edn Library Association, 1996
Harvey R Organising knowledge in Australia: Principles and practices in libraries and information centres Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University, 1998
Kennedy J and Schauder C Records management: A guide for students and practitioners of records management, with exercises and case studies latest edn, Longman Cheshire, 1994
Rowley J E Organising knowledge: An introduction to information retrieval 2nd edn, Ashgate Publishing, 1992
Wynar B Introduction to cataloging and classification 8th edn by Arlene G Taylor, Libraries Unlimited, 1992

Journals

Cataloguing Australia
Library Resources and Technical Services
Cataloguing and Classification Quarterly
Audiovisual Librarian
Library Hi Tech
Acquisitions
ABN News with Ozline News
Relevant web sites, eg OCLC

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