Beginning Cataloguing News, February 2025
Spring is here, along with lots of upcoming training opportunities and the start of conference season. Plus news of a crime fiction festival discount, a book of the month and a quote of the month.
Spring is Almost Here!
Can you believe that it is going to be March tomorrow? I’m finding that genuinely astonishing. Looking forward to the start of conference season – all the more so since my favourite London crime festival, Capital Crime, has offered a discounted rate to librarians (as well as others in the book trades and to frontline workers and students). I don’t want to wish the year away, but I can’t wait to hear from big name and debut crime writes in June. If crime’s your genre too, you can find out how to apply on their website (scroll down to discounted tickets).
In the meantime, alongside news of upcoming training events and conferences, you can find my mini-review of Elly Griffiths’ new book, The Frozen People, which entered the bestseller list at Number 5 in its first week and has risen to Number 3 this week – and deservedly so, I think. Also the smallest mention of the LCSH “Mexico, Gulf of” debacle – I know UK responses will be coming out soon. And my quote of the month, which I think is as relevant to cataloguers as it is to cataloguing trainers …
Training, Training and More Training
I’m writing this newsletter just after delivering the Fundamentals of Cataloguing online workshop for LAI CMG (Library Association of Ireland Cataloguing and Metadata Group). It’s always an inspiring session, and I think we had colleagues from across all library sectors in the Zoom Room (public, health, law, governmental, school, academic, and special). There were library school students, librarians of different levels (library assistant to senior management), and colleagues with archival and museum backgrounds now tasked with documenting books.
I’m really hoping to replicate this spread in the online live training sessions I’m offering throughout Beginning Cataloguing’s 5th anniversary year, which starts at the end of March. Thanks to those who have already expressed an interest (with no obligation to buy) through the Google form in small-group training on topic such as
· Foundational principles in cataloguing
· Descriptive fields for modern book cataloguing in RDA in MARC
· Access fields in RDA in MARC
· Descriptive fields for modern map cataloguing in RDA in MARC
· What makes special collections cataloguing special?
· The art of cataloguing artists’ books
· Everyday challenges in Local Studies
· A masterclass on RDA Application Profiles and cataloguing policies
Unsurprisingly, RDA Application Profiles, Special Collections and the Foundational Principles workshops are proving popular.
I’m looking at a price of £80 per person for small groups of up to 10 people. As a sole trader from a working class background, I will, of course have open ears for people who can’t afford that amount! For now, I’m just gauging interest in taking part.
I’m really looking forward to being back in Bristol this month, for the Common Cataloguing Challenges course that CILIP South West is offering (and subsidising). I believe there are still a couple of places left …
Booking Now
CILIP South West. Common Cataloguing Challenges, 10:30am - 1:30pm, 21 March 2025, in person, Bristol Central Library.
“A focused half-day workshop in Bristol for librarians and information professionals, designed to address the complexities that arise in everyday cataloguing which isn't always straightforward: some materials take minutes to describe, while others require hours of careful scrutiny and discussion . This workshop will build on foundational cataloguing skills, exploring strategies to analyse and record complex materials. Optional library tour at 2pm”
Full details and booking: https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1925950&group=
National Acquisitions Group. Public Libraries Forum 2025: 40 Years of NAG – Looking Back, Looking Forward, 10:00am – 5:00pm, in person, Leeds Marriott Hotel.
“Join us for:
30 Years of BDS (Sarah Armitage, BDS)
Quickstart Cataloguing for Public Librarians: Reading the Metadata (Anne Welsh, Beginning Cataloguing)
See Myself in Books: Championing diverse and inclusive books (Katie Ponting, Manchester Libraries)
Panel: “Not the summer reading challenge?”
We also have a joint 90 minute workshop “Lego Reflections” with Andrew Walsh complete with your very own bag of Lego to take away!”
Full programme, and booking: https://nag.org.uk/event/forum-2025
Book of the Month
Elly Griffiths fans are probably already aware that her new series launched on 13 February. The Frozen People introduces us to Ali Dawson, a middle-aged Londoner who’s worked her way from cleaner to police officer and is now part of a special unit within the Met that time travels to solve crimes that still have a bearing on today.
I’m incredibly fussy about time travel novels, so I was holding my breath with this one, but I should have known we were in safe hands - like all Griffiths’ crime fiction this book leads on characterisation and has a cracking murder plot at its core.
I particularly liked the nods to Victorian Literature and literary tropes and, of course, I loved the lead detective. Ali Dawson is fab.
I was lucky enough to receive an e-ARC (electronic Advanced Reader Copy) from the publisher, Quercus, and enjoyed it so much I pre-ordered the hardback ahead of publication day.
Other News that Caught My Eye
I think all of our eyes opened wide in horror at the Library of Congress Subject Headings Tentative Monthly List 12 LCSH 2 (February 13, 2025), with “Mexico, Gulf of” deleted and “America, Gulf of” added across multiple headings. The American Library Association’s Subject Analysis Committee has been quick to issue its formal response, and I know that associations on this side of the Atlantic are formulating advice for UK institutions that use LCSH. Solidarity to everyone affected by the changes.
Booking is still open for CILIP Metadata and Discovery Group and Academic Libraries North’s MARCEdit Taster Session led by Ceilan Hunter-Green. This online workshop has a practical focus, with a file of MARC records to be downloaded beforehand and transformed during the session. All from the comfort of your own home. Free, but booking required: https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1925426&group=201298
The first major 2025 conference for UK cataloguers is UKSG 2025, at the Brighton Centre, Monday 31 March – Wednesday 2 April 2025. There’s a fantastic range of speakers across the wider area of scholarly communications, with papers covering AI, Open Access, Citizen Science, the REF, research funding and neurodiversity. Specifically on cataloguing, there’s a panel on The Status of Discovery: Present and Future of a Story that Will Never End (Megaly Taylor (Cengage), Ben Johnson (Ex Libris) and Will Peaden (Coventry University)); a paper on From Cataloguing to Discovery: A Journey of Innovation and Resilience (Elly Cope and Alison Hazelaar, University of Leeds) and a session on Not Just JUSP: Beyond the Silos, Making Datasets Sing to Each Other (Will Peaden, Coventry University). Full details and booking: https://www.uksg.org/events/conference25/
If all the news of conference season is making you think about speaking yourself, the Metadata and Discovery Group has posted a call for proposals for 2024 Practical Cataloguing Online Workshops. The series will consist of 6 sessions between October and December 2025, each lasting 60 minutes, with suggested topics being cataloguing problems; subject indexing, quality assurance, authority control, non-book formats, data transformation and classification. If you have a project or some hints and tips to share in any of these areas, or another topic you think other cataloguers will be keen to hear, do take a look at the CFP. It’s a friendly group, and very much open to people who are speaking for the first time: https://www.cilip.org.uk/members/group_content_view.asp?group=201298&id=1115621
Quote of the Month
“90% of the influence and impact you have on people you'll never find out about.”