Technical Services Units:
Workshop April 24, 2008
ghueting@uiuc.edu
ClassWeb
http://www.classificationweb.net
To log on use this
username and password
To log out click on the logout button at the top of the results screen or search menu.
Cataloger's Desktop
http://desktop.loc.gov
To log on use this username and password
Optimized for Internet Explorer (works with Mozilla Firefox, but LC does not support it).
In Firefox you will probably have to check the box before "If you use a popup blocker with
your web browser, please check here and click the Login button" on the login screen and click on
the word "click" (it is a different color) on the welcome screen.
In both browsers Cataloger's Desktop opens in a new window.
To log out click on logout (in blue) at the bottom of the results page.
Contains:
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Library of Congress Classification
Correlations-Library of Congress Classification & Dewey Decimal Classification and
Library of Congress Subject Heading & Dewey Decimal Classification
The advantages of using ClassificationWeb are having up-to-date tools, being able to consult
them if you don't have a copy in your location, and being able to check something without getting
up from your desk or paging through one or more bulky volumes.
There is a tutorial for Classification Web at
http://classificationweb.net/tutorial/, or
click on the Quick Start Tutorial button.
Search for call number (for example, an LC call number found in cataloging copy). Try Z685.
Result
Z685 Shelving.
Bookstacks [H R B L D S N]
The number is listed with the preceding and following numbers. The letters after the
entry are links and mean: H hierarchy, R record (full text of number and captions), B
bibliographic links (links to OPACs), L LCSH (associated subject headings), D Dewey correlations S
subject/LC class correlations, N local notes.
Most of us will use ClassificationWeb more for looking up the LC subject headings or the
Dewey correlations. These are other types of searches, and to reach them click on Menu at the
top and choose the type of search.
The main difference between "structured" and "unstructured" searches is that you are required to
include the hyphens in a structured search. The difference between Search and Browse affects
the results. Choosing Search gives you the term in its first appearance alphabetically (even
if it's in a cross reference), Browse gives you only the term in its alphabetical place so you will
probably get to the specific subject heading faster. I most often use Browse if I have a
specific subject heading in mind.
Type the words
Identity psychology in the search box. Try it with Search and with Browse to
see the difference in results.
The subject heading is again followed by some letters: R leads to the complete record
for the subject heading, S to the correlations with LC classification numbers, and D to Dewey
correlations. You can put more than one word in the search box, as we did. If it is a
qualifier of the main subject, either with a comma or parentheses, note that you don't need to
enter the punctuation. However, if you are searching a subject with subdivision, you do need
the double dashes for a structured search. They can be omitted in an unstructured search.
To enter another search of the same type (subject headings, classification, or correlation),
scroll down to the search screen at the bottom of the page.
Example:
Mexico-history (History is a free-floating subdivision, but the period
subdivisions are specified under each country)
Subject subdivisions can be searched too, and this is a more readable form of the record that
in the authority file as accessed in OCLC (for example, for information about whether it is a
topical or form subdivision and what kind of headings it can be used under).
Example:
psychological aspects
You can also go directly to the correlation searches, LC subject headings with Dewey and LC call
numbers with Dewey. Note that the results are from the Library of Congress OPAC, and the
Dewey numbers, which were assigned by LC's Decimal Classification Division over time, are not
necessarily current. Sometimes the results are clear in that one Dewey number predominates,
but other times each number has a handful of uses. (They should be checked in WebDewey.)
LCSH:
Social conflict
One Dewey number, 303.6, has the most uses.
LC call number:
Z685
There are five possible Dewey numbers, each with 1-2 uses.
To log out of ClassificationWeb, click on the logout button at the top of the results screen
or search menu.
Contains:
Anglo-American Cataloging Rules
Library of Congress Rule Interpretations
Cataloging Service Bulletin (from 2006 on)
CONSER and NACO manuals
MARC documentation
Library of Congress Subject Cataloging Manuals
and many others (including links to websites)
As I mentioned, it is optimized for Internet Explorer but also works with Firefox.
Cataloger's Desktop has a Quick Start Tutorial at
http://www.loc.gov/cds/desktop/web-faqs.html#Quick_Tips
This and other instructional pages can also be accessed from Help within Cataloger's
Desktop. (A website with a black and white logo that links from Google is for an older
version.)
The advantages of using Cataloger's Desktop are having the tools up to date, being able to
consult them if you don't have a copy in your location (there are some we may not have in paper
form at all at UIUC), and being able to check something by using a standard interface and without
getting up from your desk or paging through a bulky volume.
The opening screen allows you to begin with a search. If you know you want to look at a
specific resource, you can click on Browse at the top or Desktop Classic just above the search box.
Desktop Classic gives you both the list and a search box.
To check the rule in AACR2 for establishing personal names with prefixes, type
prefixes in the box.
The search results appear on the left side; the rule I want appears in the window. This
is a lucky result-AACR2 is at the beginning of the list of sources, but often the resource you need
is not near the top of the list.
You can also limit the search by several parameters: My Preferences (sites selected by
you), Full site, Type of material. Clicking More gives you Type of activity, Method of
distribution, and Cataloging education. A logical limit for our example would be Descriptive
cataloging under Type of activity.
You can set
My preferences to limit searches to the resources you use most often. A
potentially useful option to avoid clutter in results is Exclude all Web-only resources.
By clicking on
Search, you can get an advanced search form. Repeating the search
prefixes and adding the "persons" under Descriptive does not yield the result I'm
looking for. I also cannot specify Chapter 22 in AACR2. To use that line I would need to remember
the rule number.
Here's one that works better: To see the free-floating subdivisions to be used under
names of languages, in particular Semantics. Put
Semantics for the term searched and add
Languages in the line for Instruction sheet under subjects
Click on the
Browse tab.
This is where you can see all the resources that Cataloger's Desktop contains. It's an
impressive list. The resources are organized into folders. Many of the ones that are not in folders
are links to websites. It is possible to click through to them, but may be easier to look at
by going directly to the resource on the web.
Example: Scroll down to What is FRBR? (Note that you can read about it in various
languages, such as Spanish, Swedish , or Korean.)
For my "prefixes" example, go to AACR2. By clicking on the folder Anglo-American
Cataloging Rules, you can go to the chapter and section you want. You can switch to Document to
look at it on the full screen and then close the window to do another search.
For the subdivisions used under languages, you can go to the Subject Cataloging Manuals, then
Subject Headings, then down the line to the specific instruction sheet you need. They're
subdivisions used under pattern headings in the print LCSH. This is often what I do.
To add a bookmark to Cataloger's Desktop, click on the blue bookmark at the top of the results
frame. I have not explored all the ways this tool can be customized, in particular the
personal option, so please be sparing in adding bookmarks.
To log out of Cataloger's Desktop click on logout (in blue) at the bottom of the results
page.
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Content Access Management
Last modified by: Helen Zhou on 10/14/08