Music Cataloging Resources: a Bibliographic Essay
By Dorothy Hemmo
If cataloging is a specialty, then music cataloging is a singular field within that specialty. For the general cataloger who catalogs the occasional score or sound recording and for the experienced music cataloger there are many useful resources to be found. Most music cataloging resources assume that the user will have some previous knowledge of general cataloging rules.
The foundation for all cataloging rules in the United States is the Anglo-American
Cataloging Rules, 2nd Edition (1986), or AACR2. Chapter 5 contains the rules
for the description of published (printed) music. Information on sound recordings
and video recordings can be found in chapters 6 and 7, respectively. Chapter
21, “Choice of Access Points”, offers advice regarding music in
rules 21.18-21.23. And the all-important rules for uniform titles for music
appear in Chapter 25, rules 25.25-25.35. Anyone interested in the field of music
cataloging should first become familiar with the general cataloging rules for
monographs, and then learn the rules for music cataloging.
Music Cataloging by Richard P. Smiraglia (1989) is an excellent resource for
the student of music cataloging or music librarianship. It offers the reader
an introduction to the concept of bibliographic control, and an historical overview
of such subjects as authority control, subject analysis, classification, and
MARC, both generally and as these subjects relate to music cataloging. Each
chapter has a list of suggested reading for the student who wants to investigate
a topic further. Though this is a great introduction to the descriptive cataloging
of music, it is not an up-to-date resource for cataloging rules. Also, the author
assumes the reader will have a knowledge of the history, theory, and performance
practices of Western art music. The work includes a glossary of music related
terms, a selected bibliography, and an index.
A second book by Smiraglia, Describing Music Materials (1997) is a more up-to-date
resource for rules governing the cataloging of music. This book is an exhaustive,
detailed, step-by-step how-to for the beginning music cataloger. (Knowledge
of basic cataloging rules is assumed.) Smiraglia covers printed music, sound
recordings, video recordings, multi-media packages, and archival collections
of musical documents. He includes discussions of access points in music bibliographical
records, and uniform titles.
One notable feature of this book is Chapter 8, “A Music Cataloger’s
Reference Collection”. It gives the reader lists of print resources for
the following subjects: general cataloging, archival description, general music
reference, sound recordings, biobibliography, popular music, and thematic indexes.
The author also includes a list of useful web sites for finding publisher information,
composers’ dates, general music reference, and music cataloging rules.
The book includes a glossary and an index.
Music Score Cataloging Basics is the text version of a presentation given at
the OLAC/MOUG 2000 Conference in Seattle, Washington in October 2000 by Ralph
Papakhian. This document is a primer for the general cataloger already familiar
with AACR2 and MARC, who finds she must catalog music. The focus is definitely
on practical applications such as, when to input a new record, and what MARC
codes are used where. There are many examples given and the author includes
a list of definitions to help the non-musician.
Another useful and practical document is “The Core Bibliographic Record
for Music and Sound Recordings”, a report from a Working Group of the
IAML Council (1998). The document takes on the problem of a lack of standardization
for minimal-level cataloging for music materials. It defines what a core bibliographic
record should be, and spells out which fields are needed to generate usable
records without the time and expense of full cataloging. This document will
keep the cataloger conversant with current standards for the core bibliographic
record in music.
Sheet music is often found in a music library’s collection and can be
difficult to catalog due to a lack of standard publishing information on the
item. Cataloging Sheet Music (Schultz, 2003) is an excellent resource for the
experienced cataloger. It contains many examples and explains certain conventions
unique to sheet music publishing. Special attention is given to title pages,
and determining the chief source of information. This book is meant to be used
in conjunction with AACR2, and can be seen as an expansion of those rules.
The next book, Cataloger’s Judgment: Music Cataloging Questions and Answers
from the Music OCLC Group Newsletter by Jay Weitz (2004), is a resource for
the working music cataloger. Prior knowledge of AACR2 and MARC is necessary
to make heads or tails of the questions and answers in this compilation. The
book is organized by subject; for example, sound recordings, titles, subject
analysis, fixed fields, and so forth. Each question deals with a very specific
problem encountered by a cataloger, but the author’s answers and explanations
are very thorough and often include rules that can be applied generally.
There is a Topical Index, but this book is also indexed by the rules discussed
in the questions, and also by OCLC-MARC field. For instance, if you have a question
about AACR2 rule 25.25, or a particular MARC field, you can consult the respective
index to find questions and answers that deal with that rule or field. Library
of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRI) and Music Cataloging Decisions (MCD)
rules are included in the AACR2 index.
Stephan Luttman’s short article “Good Enough for Jazz” (1999)
offers suggestions for print and web resources for the non-musician cataloger
who must catalog music. In discussing print resources he specifically mentions
as essential Smiraglia’s Describing Music Materials. Luttman also recommends
joining MLA-L, the Music Library Association’s list serv, saying that
questions from beginning music catalogers are welcome. If music cataloging is
likely to remain a large part of your workload, Luttman offers suggestions for
continuing education opportunities such as a music bibliography course at a
local university, or Indiana University’s one-week summer workshop on
music cataloging for the non-musician.
The Music Library Association’s journal, Notes, is an excellent resource
for articles and information on the current state of music cataloging thought
and processes. In “Cataloging”, Ralph Papakhian (2000) summarizes
the history of cooperative cataloging as it relates to music. He discusses current
difficulties in the field such as, the disappearance of graduate programs in
music librarianship; the lack of personnel due to budget constraints; the fact
that cataloging music is often seen by administrators as too difficult and time-consuming,
and therefore many materials are left without adequate records; the need for
enhanced descriptions to provide adequate access; and the cataloging of special
collections such as sheet music.
It is never explicitly stated, but the author is certainly advocating for more
resources to be applied to the field of cataloging, especially in music. On
the future of cataloging Papakhian says, “The costs of human activity
in cataloging…are unlikely to disappear.” (p. 589) He also sees
the lack of standardization of OPAC and cataloging software as problematic.
A future goal should be an easier-to-use catalog.
Smiraglia, in “Musical Works and Information Retrieval” (2000) discusses
the difficulty, in cataloging music, of distinguishing among different instances
of a musical work; for example, a full score, a miniature score, a reduction,
a sound recording, and so forth, of the same work. The author discusses what
a musical work is and what it is not. He discusses the historical and current
use of uniform titles, and the limitations of the same. Smiraglia wants the
future of music information storage and retrieval to be shaped through the use
of empirical studies, epistemological studies, and taxonomic definition.
Closely related to the article above, “Beyond the Score”, co-written
by Smiraglia and David H. Thomas (1998), discusses the limitations of current
cataloging rules when cataloging scores, sound recordings, and video recordings.
The main point of this very interesting article is that a musical work as an
abstract concept constitutes the entity, and that its instantiations (different
forms or instances) should be cataloged as manifestations of the musical work.
Bibliographical families built around the abstract work are used to create greater
access to musical works by guaranteeing collocation within the catalog.
The final article from the MLA journal Notes is “On Degressive Music Bibliography”
by D. W. Krummel (2000). The author begins with a definition of the degressive
principle in cataloging: the more important or interesting the item, the more
complete its description in the catalog should be. Krummel gives an historical
perspective on the use of the degressive principle in music bibliography, and
more importantly, presents an in depth discussion on what makes some works more
important than others. The author advocates the use of the degressive principle
in music cataloging to make more important works easier to access.
Our final print resource is Bibliographic Relationships in Music Catalogs by
Sherry L. Velluci (1997). This book contains an empirical study analyzing existing
relationships among bibliographic entities in a music catalog for the ultimate
purpose of creating a better catalog. In the introduction, the author discusses
the functions of a catalog, and the nature of musical bibliographic entities.
Examining this study is a good way for the cataloger to begin to understand
some of the complexities inherent to the cataloging of music.
Let us now turn to two Web resources, Music Cataloging at Yale (www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/musicat.htm)
and Indiana University Music Library Technical Services (www.music.indiana.edu/tech_s/manuals/ts.htm).
Both sites are great resources for the practical “nuts and bolts”
of music cataloging. IU’s site contains tables of MARC codes, guides to
thematic catalogs, a necrology file, LC’s Cyrillic transliteration table,
and a link to OCLC’s Cataloging Internet Resources. Yale’s site
contains so much information it is almost overwhelming. There is information
on AACR2 rules (both general and music specific), cataloging sound recordings,
MARC tagging, subject cataloging, authority control, uniform titles, and much
more. The site also has a lot of general music reference help especially useful
to the non-musician. For example, there is information on vocal ranges, song
cycles, parts of the Mass, definitions of musical terms, and the names of keys
and instruments in five different languages. This site also has links to OCLC,
Library of Congress, U. S. academic libraries on the web, and National library
catalogs worldwide.
The difficulties inherent in the cataloging of all formats of music are manifest.
In a perfect world, the music cataloger would have a firm grasp of the principles
and rules of cataloging, and a background in the history, theory, and performance
practices of Western art music. The world is not perfect, and thankfully, there
are many resources out there to help the beginning music cataloger, and even
the non-musician who gets stuck cataloging music. The resources presented here
are just a small sample of the authoritative information being provided by the
music library community to further the goals of ease-of-use and accessibility
of information for our users.
References
Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR2. (1986). Anglo-American Cataloging
Rules, 2nd Ed. Revision 1985. Chicago: American Library Association.
Krummel, D. W. (2000). On degressive music bibliography. [Electronic version].
Notes, 56(4), 867. Retrieved September 4, 2004, from the InfoTrac Web General
Reference Center Gold database.
Luttman, S. F. (1999). Good enough for jazz; or, successful music cataloging
for non-musicians. [Electronic version]. Colorado Libraries, 25(2), 48-49. Retrieved
September 24, 2004, from the Wilson Select Plus database.
Papakhian, A. R. (2000). Cataloging. [Electronic version]. Notes, 56(3), 581.
Retrieved September 4, 2004, from the InfoTrac Web General Reference Center
Gold database.
Papakhian, A. R. (2000). Music score cataloging basics. Retrieved October 2,
2004 from http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/olac/conferences/2000/scores.doc
Schultz, L., & Shaw, S. (Eds.). (2003). Cataloging sheet music: Guidelines
for use with AACR2 and the MARC format. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Smiraglia, R. P. (2000). Musical works and information retrieval. [Electronic
version]. Notes, 58(4), 747. Retrieved September 11, 2004, from the InfoTrac
OneFile database.
Smiraglia, R. P. (1997). Describing music materials: A manual for descriptive
cataloging of printed and recorded music, music videos, and archival music collections:
For use with AACR2 and APPM (3rd ed.). Lake Crystal, MN: Soldier Creek Press.
Smiraglia, R. P. (1989). Music cataloging: The bibliographic control of printed
and recorded music in libraries. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
Thomas, D. H., & Smiraglia, R. P. (1998). Beyond the score. [Electronic
version]. Notes, 54(3), 649. Retrieved September 4, 2004, from the InfoTrac
General Reference Center Gold database.
Velluci, S. L. (1997). Bibliographic relationships in music catalogs. Lanhan,
MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Weitz, J. (2004). Sheehy M. (Ed.), Cataloger's judgment: Music cataloging questions
and answers from the music OCLC users group newsletter. Westport, CT: Libraries
Unlimited.
Working Group on the Core Bibliographic Record for Music and Sound Recordings.
(1998). The core bibliographic record for music and sound recordings. [Electronic
version]. Fontes Artis Musicae, 45(2), 139-151. Retrieved September 24, 2004,
from the Academic Search Premier database.