Serial Cataloging Revisited: A Long Search for a Little Theory and a Lot of Cooperation

Abstract

The charge to each person preparing a paper for this conference was that he approach current trends and problems and suggest possible solutions to the problems for the specific area of serials that he was to cover. This sounds deceptively simple in relation to serial cataloging, for indeed one can easily identify problems. But it quickly becomes evident that it is increasingly difficult to maintain a linear, "serial" approach to identifying such problems because while serial cataloging has problems of its own, it is always still involved with cataloging in general; with past, present, and future interpretations of the catalog; and with other bibliographical tools, both in and out of the local library. Therefore, while the catalog has its own functions to perform, it cannot escape still carrying on for the other tools should they fail to provide for local needs. And of course, today both problems and trends in all phases of librarianship are somewhat uncertainly noted because of the potential of automation in libraries. The flood of materials of serial nature has created problems for both librarians and users of libraries. Surprisingly, the literature in regard to serial cataloging often seems to neglect the real problems of library users. And although this author has been both a serial cataloger and a serial user, the approach in this paper will be more nearly that of the user seeking to identify some reason for reconsideration of the past and present ways of dealing with serials which may be pertinent in the future.