Value of Cataloging

Counting Cataloging: Moving Beyond Statistics to Measure the Value of Cataloging by Melissa De Fino and Jianrong Wang appears in the latest issue of LIBRES (Volume 22, issue 1)

Given the budgetary and technological changes facing academic libraries, it has become necessary for librarians to become self-advocates, describing and defending the work they do. Most research in this area is dedicated to public services, with little focus on technical services. A survey conducted in the fall of 2009 found that catalogers in the sample state of New Jersey collect detailed productivity statistics to illustrate their value. This paper analyzes the statistics-gathering process and makes suggestions for developing these methods into a strong assessment model. Quality control assessment is the tool catalogers need to describe their worth to library stakeholders.