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I think Keith raises a very interesting point that should be seriously 
considered.

>I seriously wonder if it will become a post qualification specialism - so that those that approach it understand how significant it is before they undertake it, and therfore approach it with the appropriate mind set.
>

I, too, am concerned about the lack of emphasis on cataloging, or even 
the requirement of an introductory course to familiarize students with 
the basic concepts and tools for cataloging.  When I was in library 
school back in the 1980s, a basic cataloging course was required, and an 
advanced course and a few specialized courses were offered for those who 
chose a career path as a cataloger.  I now look back and realize how 
fortunate I was to have received the training I did from my professor.  
We learned both Dewey and LC classification, Sears/LCSH, standard 
punctuation, and indexing and authority principles.  While I didn't have 
a lot of experience when I started my first job as a cataloger, I could 
navigate my way and was supervised by two very experienced catalogers. 


Mary Beth Weber
Head, Cataloging Department
Rutgers University Libraries

Trickey, Keith wrote:

>Having taught cataloguing in the UK for the last 20 years and watched the progressive decline in the number of students taking LIS courses and maintaining a core cat and class element in the course my response was to develop training courses via the professional association (CILIP) and deliver onsite training. I now deliver a far wider range of cat and clss material to a professional audience.
>
>Many courses in the UK simply do not do any have core modules in "cat and class" on LIS courses.
>
>I seriously wonder if it will become a post qualification specialism - so that those that approach it understand how significant it is before they undertake it, and therfore approach it with the appropriate mind set.
>
>Best wishes
>
>  Keith
>
>Keith V. Trickey
>Senior Lecturer
>School of Business Information
>Liverpool John Moores University
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata education & training on behalf of Cheryl Boettcher Tarsala
>Sent: Wed 6/14/2006 6:23 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: On My Mind (AL, June/July issue)
> 
>Has anyone else read the "On My Mind" piece by Arthur Marx in this 
>month's American Libraries?  In it, he speaks of his experience 
>learning cataloging on the job where he is the only cataloger. He's 
>certainly not the first MLS graduate to find himself unexpectedly 
>hired as a cataloger, but it's kind of surprising he was hired in a 
>world of job ads that demand "two years experience."
>
>Do you think his lack of cataloging knowledge coming out of a basic 
>cataloging course is only to be expected? Are our across-the-board 
>average outcomes this low so that a student passing a basic 
>cataloging course doesn't really have the punctuation down, or 
>understand an authority record?
>  
>