1. 1 Cataloging Children’s Materials
Fiona B. Griswold
LIS 507
April 24, 2009

2. ALA Guide to Cataloging Kids’
2
Materials
 Intner, S. S., Fountain, J. F., & Gilchrist, J. E. (2006).
Cataloging correctly for kids: An introduction to the
tools. Chicago: American Library Association.
 First published in 1989.

3. History of Children’s Cataloging
3
 1966: Library of Congress (LC) introduced Annotated
Card (AC) program, administered by the Cataloging of
Children’s Materials Committee, which adapted
cataloging processes to juvenile materials.
 Allows for the use of annotations, modified subject headings
& some special classification options
 1969: The LC practices are adopted as standard by
RTSD.
 1982: The Committee and Children’s Literature Section
create ―Guidelines for Standardized Cataloging of
Children’s Materials‖ which are adopted by RTSD.
 1996: Last revision of the Guidelines

4. Definition of ―Children‖
4
 Guidelines were created to assist catalog users
through 9th grade (or 15 years of age).
 Use of Guidelines for 10th-12th grades optional.
 However, LC recommends that, in libraries with
juvenile collections, the Guidelines be used for all
materials for PreK-12 if there are materials for
teens of all levels.

5. How Children Search
5
 Prefer graphical interfaces
 Use natural language—not familiar with controlled
vocabulary used in subject headings
 Just beginning to understand hierarchy
 Prefer a ―browse‖ search
 Most searching now done via computer terminal (either
online or local catalog).
 Child-friendly interfaces being developed. Interesting
example at: http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ the
International Children’s Digital Library.

6. What This Means for Catalogers
6
 Always ask ―How would a child search for this item?‖
and provide appropriate access points.
 Use language that children can read & understand in
subject headings and summaries.
 Use both broad and specific subject headings and
popular and scientific terms to improve search success.
 Be aware of the ―aboutness‖ of a work for fiction and
nonfiction and use subject headings to describe.
 Use summary notes written in natural language to
improve keyword searches.

7. What This Means for Catalogers
7
 Apply consistent subject headings to all formats of
same title (book, board book, DVD, etc.).
 Provide uniform title access point for all variations
of a story (e.g., Cinderella).
 Provide series statement access for all works in a
popular series (e.g., The Magic Treehouse).

8. Use of MARC Fields
8
 Appropriate fixed-field code should be used to
identify the appropriate audience (can be specific
if appropriate):
j indicates appropriate through age 15
 a (preschool), b (primary), c (grades 4-8) or d (grades
9-12) can be used to be more specific.
 Use of general material designation (GMD),
subfield h of field 245 strongly encouraged for all
materials apart from books.

9. More on MARC Fields
9
 Summary note (MARC field 520) also strongly encouraged
as it is part of most AC programs. Language in summary
should facilitate keyword search and use synonyms for
words in title and subject headings.
 Target audience note (MARC field 521) can be used to
include information about reading or interest levels.
 Awards note (MARC field 586) contains information about
awards such as the Newberry or Caldecott.
 Provide a series added entry for the work if it provides a
useful access point (either MARC 440 or MARC 490 and
830)
 MARC field 658 can be used to designate curricular
objectives using categories from state or local sources.

10. A Bit About Subject Headings
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 Subject headings can be obtained from the LC/SACO
Subject Authority File (LC/SAF). Use of AC subject headings
is encouraged.
 Omit subdivisions or headings specifying ―juvenile‖ or
―children’s‖.
 Assign subject headings to fiction using subdivision
–Fiction.
 Assign both specific and general headings (eg, Sea Turtles
& Turtles)
 Assign heading’s designating form (Jokes, Stories in
Rhyme)
 Use both popular and scientific terms (eg, Canis & Dog)

11. LC Classification
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 For fiction, assign numbers from the PZ schedule
 For nonfiction, assign numbers from the appropriate
nonfiction schedule.

12. Dewey Classification
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 For fiction for PreK through 2nd grade, assign the
designation ―E‖.
 For fiction for 3rd grade and up, assign the designation,
―Fic.‖
 For biography, use one of the following:
 ―B‖ for any individual biography.
 ―92‖ for individual biography & ―920‖ for collective
biography.
 Class number for subject of person’s most important
contribution.
 For nonfiction, assign number from current abridged
Dewey Decimal Classification.