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About five years
ago, just as I was entering library school, I was given a simple but
sage piece of advice from a trusted colleague: "Become a cataloger."
Taking this advice has led me down a rewarding and exciting career path.
I am one of those crazy folks who enjoy filling my brain with concepts
such as MARC records, Library of Congress subject headings, Dublin Core
element sets, and yes, even the dreaded SuDoc classification system.
However, a cataloger's life can be an insular one, with nothing but a
computer and incoming library items to keep you company, so a few years
into my professional career, I decided to "cross the line" and step
boldly into the world of public services by working a few regularly
scheduled hours at a public access point, and offering to help at the
desk whenever needed. I love my cataloging duties and have absolutely no
regrets, but there’s more to life than MARC, right? I understand that
cross-training is rare in many academic libraries (and possibly public
and special libraries as well), especially when it comes to catalogers
branching out into other departments. Technical services librarians
working “desk hours” is a hot topic in librarianship, but frankly I have
never understood what is so controversial about trying to be as
well-rounded a librarian as possible. Basically, I consider myself a
librarian first and a cataloger second, and I have discovered just how
rare that is.
A cataloger can
receive many professional and personal benefits from working at any
public access point in their library, including the Reference desk or,
in my case, the Archives help desk. These benefits include:
- You gain the
patron's perspective of the catalog.
This is immensely valuable to a cataloger. By helping patrons search
the catalog and interpret records, you get a feel for what they find
is important and helpful in a record, and what is extraneous or
confusing. Also, to be honest, by helping patrons I have noticed a
number of typos and other inaccuracies in records, which I later fix
once I return to my desk.
- You learn
about the library's collection and policies.
This has been especially fun in Archives, which holds my library's
most interesting collections, including many historic photographs of
the campus and artifacts such as old football uniforms and memorabilia
from the '96 Summer Olympics. As a cataloger, I work almost
exclusively with brand new incoming items such as books, DVDs, and
maps; so I was pretty much oblivious to the treasure trove of
interesting items in Archives. Furthermore, you really get a grasp of
the library's rules and policies when you share and interpret them to
patrons. I am constantly learning all sorts of facts about the
institution for which I have worked for over three years.
- You observe
firsthand what other departments do, and how they operate.
While I am very happy as a full-time
cataloger, I may one day want to work in another department
permanently. Working in Archives and Reference has given me a feel for
what it’s like to be a Reference Librarian or an Archivist -- almost
like a paid internship.
- You
demonstrate initiative.
In addition to showing initiative to colleagues and management, you
demonstrate a strong interest in the library field. Even if you plan
on being a cataloger for the remainder of your career, a variety of
skill sets and experiences demonstrate a well-rounded library
professional.
- Diverse
experience is impressive on a resume.
If you ever find yourself job searching, you will want demonstrable
skills in a variety of areas. Working with the public gives you
hands-on experience in both the technical and interpersonal aspects of
reference. This leads me to my sixth point…
- You avoid
being pigeonholed. You
won’t want to become known as someone who can only catalog books, or
only check-in serials, or whatever the case may be. Personally, I take
pride in my ability to communicate with patrons and help them find the
information they are seeking. I believe we all know the unfortunate
stereotype that follows catalogers around. If not, here’s how fellow
LIScareer.com contributor
Richard A. Murray put it: “… the hermit hiding in the bowels of
the library shackled to an OCLC terminal all day, counting pages and
measuring the heights of books.” He adds that people often think that
“the cataloger’s role in the library is to enforce rules that nobody
understands and to make things as difficult as possible for everyone
involved.” Not very flattering, is it?
- You get a
break from your routine.
Let’s face it—cataloging can be difficult, redundant, and yes, even
tiresome, work. Sitting alone in front of a computer terminal with
nothing to keep you company except books, DVD’s, maps, etc. can wear a
person out, even the hardiest and most dedicated cataloger. Working
with the public for an hour a day or a few hours a week gives you a
breather, and allows you the opportunity to actually miss your usual
work. When you return to your stack of items to be processed and
cataloged, you’ll feel reinvigorated and actually excited. You don’t
want to get burned out early in your career, do you?
- It can lead
to other valuable opportunities.
Networking with library colleagues, being in the public services
spotlight, and demonstrating how competent, personable, eloquent, and
trustworthy you are can lead to committee appointments and
opportunities to work on special projects.
- Finally,
you’ll do your part to end the age-old cataloging vs. reference
discord. Can someone
please explain to me why cataloging and reference staff members often
do not get along? That concept is more confusing to me than XML
tagging.
Before you take
the plunge and start working at public access points (and I hope you
do), please consider the following pieces of advice:
- Openly
communicate with your supervisor about your interest in working in
other departments and get his or her approval.
You want to make sure that your supervisor fully supports your desire
to cross train and work in public services. Also, you may want to add
the new responsibilities to your official job description.
- Speak with
the public service department head as much as possible before you
begin working at the desk.
Of course you’ll need that person’s approval, but it is also a good
idea to learn the history of so-called “outsiders” helping out. If you
are the first non-reference-department employee to work at the
Reference desk in a while, you will want to know why.
- Arrange a
reasonable schedule—one that you, your supervisor, and the public
service department head can abide by.
You won’t want to schedule a block of time in which you’re likely to
have committee meetings or other responsibilities. Also, be honest
with yourself and consider your workload and your interest in
reference work. It’s possible that taking a few hours a week away from
your current duties might not fit into your schedule. Work with both
supervisors to come up with a desk schedule with which all are happy.
- If possible,
schedule more than one hour per week at a public access point.
From personal experience I can attest that to really get into a
reference state of mind you need to work at least three hours per
week, preferably in chunks of time larger than one hour. If this isn’t
possible, one hour is certainly better than none. If you only work one
hour per week (my original arrangement, which didn’t suit me), it may
be difficult to retain what you’ve been taught. Also, if you work in a
slow area or during a slow time of day, you may only assist one or two
patrons in that one hour. That just isn’t enough.
- Get fully
trained. Just as you
wouldn’t want to be asked to catalog incoming materials without first
being taught how to catalog them, you won’t want to face patrons
without first getting trained. Many libraries will have a
well-established training program for Reference staff. Take full
advantage of this. On a related note, find a respected, experienced
mentor in the department. Ask questions of colleagues and/or refer
questions when you are unsure of the answer.
- Be sure to
dress appropriately on days when you are interacting with the public.
The dress code, officially or unofficially, might be different for
catalogers and reference staff at your library. You always want to
“look the part,” especially when dealing with the public.
- Do it only
because you want to (or, needless to say, because you have to).
Don’t feel pressured to work desk hours just to avoid the common
cataloger stereotype. If you want to branch out but not work at a
public access point, ask your supervisor what opportunities for
diversifying exist at your library, and speak with other department
heads.
- Don’t be
afraid to admit that you don’t like it after you’ve tried it.
Reference work isn’t for everybody. Many wonderful librarians NEVER
work directly with patrons. Therefore, if you do not enjoy the
experience, discuss the situation with your supervisor and the public
service department head. However, don’t quit working with the public
after just one or two bad experiences. There will be times when you’ll
feel embarrassed or out of your element. No one said working with the
public is easy. You’ll want to stick with it until you become a
seasoned pro.
To conclude,
interacting with patrons face-to-face reminds me of why I became a
librarian in the first place. Spending seemingly countless hours
constructing and editing catalog records in near-isolation can make one
feel disconnected from library users. Helping patrons by providing
accurate and thorough-but-concise catalog records is rewarding and fun,
but nothing that happens in my library’s “grotto” (as I lovingly refer
to it) can top the experience of a face-to-face, or even phone,
interaction with a living, breathing library patron. So, if you are a
cataloger and you get a hankering for working with people and seeing
smiling faces rather than lifeless cover pages and DVD cases, realize
that opportunities do exist. Yes, fellow catalogers, it IS possible to
do both reference and cataloging work, and to do them both well.
Reference
Murray, Richard A.
“The Whimsy of Cataloging.” LIScareer.com, Feb 2002.
http://liscareer.com/murray_cataloging.htm
About
the Author:
At the
time of writing, Doug was Catalog Librarian at Georgia Institute of
Technology's Library and Information Center. Since November 2004 he has
worked as Special Materials Cataloger at the University of South
Carolina's Thomas Cooper Library. He received his MLS in 2000 from the
University of South Florida.
Article published Dec
2003
Disclaimer: The
ideas expressed in LIScareer articles are those of their respective
authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the LIScareer
editors.
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