[MinervaCats] FW: FW: Cataloging Tip of the Week, part 2

[Barbara Bartley]

True, it is short & sweet!

But in my experience of helping patrons find books, many of the leftover
words could certainly prove to be useful, too, such as:

Train of Death, families, poor, America, school, bandits, money,
Pulitzer Prize, Los Angeles Times...

Why eliminate such potentially useful keywords? 

I would also like to point out that the Library of Congress cataloging
department added the summary note to this particular record, not KVCC.  



Barbara Bartley, Librarian
Lunder Library
Kennebec Valley Community College
92 Western Ave.
Fairfield ME 04937-1367
(207) 453-5004

-----Original Message-----
From: richards at rice.lib.me.us [mailto:richards at rice.lib.me.us] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 10:00 AM
To: Barbara Bartley
Subject: Re: [MinervaCats] FW: Cataloging Tip of the Week, part 2


  Enrique braves the dangerous journey migrating through Mexico to  
find his mother who moved to South Carolina in order to provide a  
better life for him.

Short but sweet,
Chip

Quoting Barbara Bartley <bbartley at kvcc.me.edu>:

> Any cataloging colleagues up for some constructive discussion of this
> issue?
>
>
>
> Please consider the following example for the book Enrique's Journey:
>
>
>
>
http://ursus2.ursus.maine.edu/search~S18/t?SEARCH=enrique%27s+journey&se
> archscope=18
>
>
>
>
>
  Enrique braves the dangerous journey migrating through Mexico to  
find his mother who moved to South Carolina in order to provide a  
better life for him.
>
> Who can provide this level of keyword access in 25 words or less? I
dare
> you! :-)
>
>
>
>
>
> Barbara Bartley, Librarian
>
> Lunder Library
>
> Kennebec Valley Community College
>
> 92 Western Ave.
>
> Fairfield ME 04937-1367
>
> (207) 453-5004
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: minervacats-bounces at informe.org
> [mailto:minervacats-bounces at informe.org] On Behalf Of Ellen Conway
> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 9:10 PM
> To: minervacats at lists.maine.gov
> Subject: [MinervaCats] Cataloging Tip of the Week, part 2
>
>
>
> Hi Catalogers!
>
>
>
> I have had several requests to address the subject of the 520 field.
> The 520 field is the appropriate location for the "Summary note".  A
> summary note is "intended to be a brief and objective summary of the
> content of the resource."  A summary note should not exceed 25 words
if
> possible.
>
>
>
> Recently we have been seeing more and more excessively long summary
> notes in new bib records.  Frequently they contain nonobjective
> information, opinions, and even quotations from reviewers.  This may
be
> the result of copying text from a publisher's blurb on a book jacket
or
> container, or could be the result of excessive enthusiasm!  However,
> this is not an appropriate use of the summary note.  Remember, it is
not
> our role as catalogers to express opinions about the material in a
> summary; we should merely give the briefest of descriptions of an
item's
> plot or content.
>
>
>
> Charlotte from South Portland sent me an especially egregious example
of
> a bad summary note that she found on a record for the film "Trust the
> Man":
>
>
>
>     "Rebecca is an actress who is married to Tom; together they have
two
> children. As Rebecca begins rehearsals on a new play at the Lincoln
> Center, Tom stays at home to watch the kids. He begins to think about
> how horny he is. They go to see a counselor and discuss their sexual
> problems. Tom wants to have sex twice a day, while Rebecca thinks Tom
is
> a maniac. Rebecca's brother, Tobey is in a long term relationship with
> Elaine, Rebecca's best friend, who suddenly hears her biological clock
> ticking and realizes she wants to be married and have a child. This is
> not good news for commitment phobic Tobey."
>
>
>
> Thanks, Charlotte!  This summary certainly is too long, and I am sure
> that there is a more "tasteful" way to describe the plot of this film.
>
>
>
> Other important details to remember about the 520 field include the
fact
> that it is repeatable and keyword indexed.  Pay attention to the 2
> indicators.  If the first indicator is left blank, your record will
> appear in the OPAC with the word "Summary" at the beginning of the
> field.  In most cases you will want to use "0" for the first
indicator;
> this means that the field describes the subject of the material.  If
for
> some reason you absolutely must quote from a review, you should use
> first indicator "1".  Right click on the field for more information
and
> choices.
>
>
>
> As you are cataloging, if you should find a record with a summary note
> that is too long or contains inappropriate information, please make an
> effort to rewrite or edit it if possible.  And just for fun, feel free
> to send me copies of any summaries you think are candidates for the
> Summary Hall of Shame.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ellen
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Ellen M. Conway
> Maine InfoNet Cataloging Consultant
> 797-9464, cell ph. 329-5443
>
>