Libraries, Archives, & Museums: Cataloging, ILL & Automation Resources: Cataloging and Interlibrary Loan

Cataloging Resources

Bibliographic Formats and Standards (OCLC)
Here is where you can learn (or refresh) on what 245 fields are and why you should care what number the second indicator is on a 245 field. While aimed at original catalogers, this resource can be very helpful in understanding how your catalog records are indexed.
Cutter numbers Subclass G (Cartographic Materials) - Geographic Cutter Numbers (Tables G1548-G9804) (Library of Congress)
Full 3,188 page publication of the Library of Congress' Geographic Cutter Numbers
Dewey Decimal System Summary (PDF)
Summary of the popular public library call number system. Scroll down for associating call numbers with subjects.
Library of Congress Catalog
Good for finding MARC tag information and call numbers
Original Cataloging for Alaska
The Alaska State Library is providing an original cataloging service for Alaskan libraries with limited access to cataloging resources.

Alaska Specific Resources

These resources may help you find standard names for Alaskana materials in your collection.

Dictionary of Alaska Place Names aka Orth
An alphabetical list of geographic names that have been or currently are used for places and features of the Alaska landscape. 68 MB PDF - May be best to download once and keep on cataloging workstation or thumb drive.
Alaska Native Place Names
Listing of Indigenous Alaska place names compiled by the Alaska Native Language Archive.

Cutter Numbers for Alaskan Place Names
Library of Congress Cutter numbers extracted from Subclass G (Cartographic Materials) - Geographic Cutter Numbers (Tables G1548-G9804)

Cataloging Articles

Buchter, Holli. 2013. "Dewey vs. Genre Throwdown." Knowledge Quest 42, no. 2: 48-55.
Describes some school library experiences from moving from Dewey to a genre approach to shelving materials. (From SLED Databases)

What is Interlibrary Loan?

As defined by the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States, "Interlibrary loan is the process by which a library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library. The purpose of interlibrary loan as defined by this code is to obtain, upon request of a library user, material not available in the user's local library."

There could be a free electronic copy!

Thanks to a mix of statewide database subscriptions and legal collections of free materials, you may be able to find the item your patron wants at no cost as an electronic copy.

Alaskana - Documents on Alaska's Digital Archives
Link to over 700 digitized documents in Alaska's Digital Archives. Use the limit boxes on the side to narrow to the Alaskana you want.
eBooks - Open Library
Mix of classic books and newer books.
Journal/Magazine Articles -- SLED
SLED databases have tens of thousands of journal and magazine articles in full text. Use the search box at the top of the page find articles.
Government Documents - Catalog of Government Publications
If your patron is looking for something published by the federal government, this resource may have an electronic copy. Type [http AND (title words) to see if there's an electronic copy.
Government Documents - Govinfo
Use this resource to find Congressional and Presidential documents, Federal court opinions and more.

Interlibrary Loan Resources

OCLC WorldCat is available for the librarians and staff of libraries within Alaska. All libraries have been mailed the necessary ID and password. If you need current ID and password information, please call 800.776.6566.

Interlibrary Loans Fact Sheet From ALA
General resources on Interlibrary Loan Services in the US and Canada.
OCLC WorldCat Union Catalog
(ID and Password Required)
Good for finding libraries who own a specific title.
ALN WorldCat Discovery
New interface to OCLC WorldCat
Alaska Library Network's ALNCat
A simple interface into WorldCat that doesn't require passwords