Cataloging Music CDs

There are many non-book forms in cataloging; the music CD is one of them. The main interest in cataloging music CDs is that they are usually not cataloged within a library system. Most libraries only have labels showing the item that is a CD, the artist, the title, and the year. It is more common to see music CDs cataloged in a music library or the Library of Congress. Music is constantly growing and it is important to have music CDs as they show the world’s diverse music cultures (Schroeder 2003, 1937). As for libraries, more patrons are asking for music CDs, especially young adults as discussed in a talk by Jeff Swope who is a young adult librarian (2003). This shows why it is still important that music CDs are cataloged.

Issues and Trends

Cataloging music CDs is not done much except in a music library or the Library of Congress, even though sound recordings go back more than a century (Schroeder 2003, 1937). Most libraries organize music CDs by the musician name or groupings that have a colored system, even in some music libraries (Mack 1997, 33). Libraries do not find it important to catalog the music CDs being that in most libraries music CDs can only be checked out for a limited amount of time (18). The Music Library Association along with the American Library Association has helped in to catalog music by what is contained inside and not the physical form (Smiraglia 1989, 15). Recently there has been an upsurge of needing music CDs as young adult library are forming because that attracts young adults to come to the library (Swope 2003). The growth in music CDs is going to make it more important to actually catalog music CDs within libraries so these items do not lose their content in case something were to happen.

Cataloging Tools

Tools that help to catalog include Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRI), LC Music Cataloging Decisions (MCD), Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and MARC formats. These are helpful but the most important resource is using the 2002 revision of Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, second edition (AACR2r) along with its updates for 2003 chapters five of music and six of sound recordings. Rules of Descriptive Cataloging helped to create notes for the medium of performance, notation, duration of performance and other such things (Smiraglia 1983, 13). The International Conference on Cataloging Principles (ICCP) and the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) documents are used for bibliographic description along with AACR2r (17-18). When cataloging music CDs a variety of sources can be used such as Notes for Music Catalogers by Hartsock (1994) , Describing Music Materials by Smiragila (1997), Music Classification Systems by McKnight (2002), and Cataloging and classification: An introduction by Chan (1994). These methods help to properly catalog a music CD.

Technical Concerns and Uniqueness of the Format

Sound recordings are different then items such as books, maps, serials, etc., as the music CD disc and container have to be read to get the chief source of information (Smiragila 1997, 43). Concerns about cataloging music CDs are that it can be difficult to make a title proper being that the chief source could be found differently from either the disc or container (Hsieh-Yee 2000, 31). Music CD cataloging can get quite lengthy as all the songs on the CD have to be included, this list could be rather long (Smiraglia 1989 37). Concerns are that the information will be too detail oriented and more attention will have to be given to items such as music CDs and other sound recordings. Appointing access numbers can also be equally as difficult since there can be many people involved with the work of a music CD (Hsieh-Yee 2000, 31). It is because of the problems that frustrate most libraries to not catalog music CDs.

Original Cataloging Example

Piper, Susan. 2001. God songs. [New Jersey]: Susan Piper, compact disc.

Type: j Elvl: Srce: d Audn: Ctrl: Lang: eng

BLvl: a Form: Comp: sg AccM: Mrec: Ctry: nju

Desc: a Fmus: LTxt: DtSt: s Dates: 2001,

007 ## s $b d $d f $e m $g b $h n $i n $j r $n d

040 ## CSI $c CSI

049 ## CSIS

090 ## ML102.S67 $b P57 2001

092 0# 780.266 $2 22

100 1# Piper, Susan.

245 00 God songs $h [sound recording] / $c Susan Piper.

260 ## [New Jersey] : $b Susan Piper, $c c2001.

300 ## 1 sound disc (42 min.) : $b CD; $c 2 1/2 m. ; 5 in.

500 ## Title from container.

500 ## For More Information: [email protected]

508 ## Music, Susan Piper.

511 0# Susan Piper, performer.

505 0# Not When it Matters to You ; Love Came Down ; Save the Children ; Calling God ; Wings ; Sad People ; In New Jersey ; The One My Heart Loves (from Song of Songs) ; From Falling ; Dorothy Wakes Up ; Big Night Out ; I Will Sing to the Lord / Susan Piper.

533 ## Sound disc $b New Jersey $c Susan Piper $d 2001 $e 1 sound disc

650 #0 Sound recordings $z United States.

Key problems this item presented was the making of the DDC and LC numbers as they might be too general and need to be more specific. It was also difficult with the OCLC formats trying to get them correct. This item might also include too much information. In general cataloging a music CD can be found as difficult.

Reference List (for this synopsis)

Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2d ed., 2002 revision. Chicago: American Library Association, 2002.

Chan, Lois Mai. 1994. Cataloging and classification: An introduction. 2d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hsieh-Yee, Ingrid. 2000. Organizing audiovisual and electronic resources for access: A cataloging guide. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited.

Mack, Linda. 1997. Maximizing student assistants’ contributions to the library system: Student workers use slow times to make a small branch music library possible. EDRS ED 411 785: 1-36. Database online. Available from WebSPIRS, ERIC. Retrieved from http://www.edrs.com/Webstore/Download2.cfm?ID=427200 [20 March 2004].

Piper, Susan. 2001. God songs. [New Jersey]: Susan Piper, compact disc.

Schroeder, Eunice. 2003. Music databases. In Encyclopedia of library and information science, ed. Miriam A. Drake, 1931-1941. 2d ed. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Smiraglia, Richard 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. 3d ed. Lake Crystal, Minn.: Soldier Creek Press

____________. 1989. Music cataloging: The bibliographic control of printed and recorded music in libraries. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited.

Swope, Jeffrey D. 2003. How to get young adults into your library. PaLA conference. Clarion University, Penn.: Pennsylvania Library Association.