ASSESSING THE CATALOGUING PRACTICES
IN LIBRARIES OF PRIVATE COLLEGES IN SARAWAK
BY:
ZURAIDAH ABD MANAF
FUZIAH MOHD NADZAR
IMILIA IBRAHIM
JULY 2009
2
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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
Institut Penyelidikan, Pembangunan dan
Pengkomersilan (IRDC)
Institute of Research, Development and
Commercialisation (IRDC)
(Sebelum ini dikenali sebagai Biro Penyelidikan
dan
Pcrundingan)
40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia
Website : h t t p / / : www.irdc.uitm.edu.my
Tarikh
Surat Kami
7 Mei 2008
600-IRDC/SSP.5/3/Rsp (37/2008)
Pn. Zuraidah Abd. Manaf
Ketua Projek
Fakulti Pengurusan Maklumat
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
40450 SHAH ALAM
Pn. Imilia Ibrahim
Ahli Projek
UiTM Cawangan Sarawak
Kampus Samarahan
Jalan Meranek
94300 Kota Samarahan
SARAWAK
Tuan/Puan,
DAFTAR PROJEK PENYELIDIKAN : ASSESSING THE CATALOGUING
AMONG PRIVATE COLLEGES IN SARAWAK
PRACTICES
Dengan segala hormatnya perkara di atas adalah dirujuk.
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No. Fail Projek :
1 Okt-2009
600-RMI/SSP/5/3/Rsp (37/2008)
Penolong Naib Canselor (Penyelidikan)
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LAPORAN AKHIR PENYELIDIKAN "ASSESSING THE CATALOGUING
PRACTICES IN LIBRARIES OF PRIVATE COLLEGES IN SARAWAK"
Merujuk kepada perkara di atas, bersama-sama ini disertakan 3 (tiga) naskah
Laporan Akhir Penyelidikan bertajuk "Assessing the Cataloguing Practices in
Libraries of Private Colleges in Sarawak"
Sekian, terima kasih.
U
ZU RAID AH ABD. MANAF
Ketua
Projek Penyelidikan
4
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PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS
DR ZURAIDAH ABD. MANAF
Tandatangan
PROF MADYA FUZIAH MOHD NADZAR
Project Member
IMILIA IBRAHIM
Project Member
u
Tandatangan
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PENGHARGAAN
Setinggi-tinggi penghargaan dan ribuan terima kasih diucapkan kepada
semua pihak yang terlibat secara langsung dan tidak langsung bagi
membolehkan penyelidikan ini disiapkan dengan sempurna.
Diantaranya :
Curtin University of Technology
Swinburne University
Institut Teknologi RIAM
UCS
UNITAR
SEGI College
COSMOPOINT
Kolej Antarabangsa Sedaya Sarawak (UCSI)
Institut Teknologi Kreatif Lim Kok Wing
I CATS
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ISI KANDUNGAN
1.0
Introduction
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
Problem Statement
Research Objectives
Research Questions
Definition of Terms
Significant
2.0
Literature Review
3.0
Methodology
3.1
Scope
3.2
4.0
Analysis and Discussion
Conclusion
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ABSTRACT
Twenty nine questions were posed to cataloguer respondents from ten middle size
private college libraries in the Sarawak, Malaysia. The task was to assess their
perception towards cataloguing practices, especially the level of importance given to
cataloguing tools. Feedbacks from interviews and responses to questions raised,
apparently signifies that the impact of ICT and Internet advancement facilitate progress
in libraries. They were observed to likely react and operate in a more practical and
diverse yet flexible approaches in organising and managing their information resources,
compared to the conservative information organisation and management style. However,
the paradigm shift does not at all alter the respondents' conformist manner towards
standardisation and uniformity of cataloguing records. It was discovered that
transformation of the catalogue record creation process occurs, but the mental emphasis
of acknowledging compliance to the tools, rules and regulations still prevail. Evidently,
the knowledge and training gained and received from the library school education
mentally strengthens the respondents' perception towards the importance and
significance of cataloguing tools. The study revealed there is no doubt to the minds of
the respondents that fulfilling their users' information and knowledge needs equals
quality catalogue records, which mean conforming to the cataloguing rules and
regulations. It is proposed that this study be a longitudinal research, which is done over
time with data collected from the same population with the intention of tracking their
attitudes, viewpoints, and behaviours over a period of time.
Keywords:
Cataloguing,
Catalogs,
Cataloguing
Tools,
Cataloguing
Process,
Cataloguers, Catalog Quality
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1.0
INTRODUCTION
The importance of human capital to the nation's economic growth has long been
recognised. Unless Malaysia is capable of offering encouragement and incentives that is
not available elsewhere, the labour forces of the country is unlikely to experience any
significant brain-gain in the near future. Unquestionably, the most competent approach
in increasing the human capital in the long-run would fundamentally be through
domestically driven policies. Increasing the nation's proportion of tertiary education
citizens is undoubtedly vital, and the motivation should be in increasing the enrolment for
tertiary students grow in numbers. The immediate consequence of the enactment of the
Private Higher Educational Institutions Act in 1996 is the rising number of private
colleges in Malaysia. The number increased to more then 500 compared to only 20 of
the public local universities. The increase of tertiary student enrolment from the private
colleges complements the Government's aim.
The local private colleges serve as a vital conduit for the transfer of knowledge and
technology from some of the finest universities in the world. Subscribing to the stringent
standards of their foreign partners in terms of curriculum, teaching methods and
academic performance, these private colleges play a crucial role in enhancing the
country's intellectual and professional horizons. Private education in the nation is seeing
a paradigm shift, not only is tertiary education at private colleges being made accessible
to as many students as possible, the Government is also according university status to
colleges which qualify, enabling them to finally provide home-grown degree courses.
While such encouragement to make the commitment to quality education remains, there
is one concern - the 'expensive' programmes offered by the colleges due to the
competitive nature of their commercially driven entity business. However, the expensive
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pricing is not about the cost alone, but also about the branding, as well as reputation of
the college. In fact quality is the main significant factor that determines the cost of a
course or programme offered by colleges. The deciding factor is the quality in execution
of the curriculum, facilities and management of the various components of the
organisation.
In Malaysia, The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is the Government agency
responsible for formulating policies; setting, monitoring, reviewing and overseeing the
standard and quality control of courses; and accrediting certificates, diplomas and
degrees. Degree courses offered by a private higher education institution are required to
attain MQA accreditation. Basically, the quality and affordable education of the many
private colleges and universities in the country are subject to the accreditation and
official approval of the MQA quality assurance assessment. MQA is entrusted to enforce
the standardisation of the education provision by the local higher learning institutions to
fair the international standards. MQA is also to ensure that all private colleges operate in
line with the government quest to develop Malaysia as a regional centre of educational
excellence. In addition to focussing on assurance of academic excellence, MQA also
provide special endeavour and effort to certify superior services in terms of overall
facilities provision, such as sufficient IT facilities, modern laboratories, sports facilities,
accommodation, also other basic amenities, and most importantly, the assurance of the
provision of a suitable, functional, 'state-of-the-art' library or resource centre.
The demand and requirement for the provision of a proper and functional library for each
college indicates the emphasis placed in satisfying and fulfilling the information and
knowledge needs of the communities in the private colleges and universities. This is to
support and encourage not only the process towards academic excellence, but also in
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the progress of enriching the study and teaching aspects of the institution. In realising
this position, MQA adopted the recommendations on the Standard for Malaysian Private
College Libraries and Standard for Malaysian University Libraries, proposed and
provided by the University Libraries and National Library Conference (PERPUN) as the
core guideline for the establishment of libraries in private colleges and universities.
It is undeniably true that in higher learning institutions, the library operates as the
backbone in support of the entire academic system. It delivers information resources to
the academicians, researchers and students of the institution. Obviously a library
catalogue that can be accessed through various mediums or formats is capable of
revealing the knowledge secrets within a library holdings. This is an indispensable tool in
the bibliographic organisation of the library. The usage and importance of effective
catalogue (be it in traditional, or electronic, and even in digital forms) is imperative in
conforming to the information and knowledge needs and requirements of their valuable
patrons. And, it is also a known fact that the process of producing a 'quality' catalogue
record is not 'cheap'. It requires a lot of financial and intellectual resources.
1.1
Problem Statement
The cataloguing process is expensive and requires wealth of not only financial
resources, but also time and intellectual inputs. However, it is really unfortunate when all
the resources spent are wasted when a library item is failed to be located on the shelf or
in the catalogue. In the academic library situation, credible and authoritative catalogue
records are the lifeline of their services. Maintaining the accuracy and consistency of
cataloguing records can only be attained through standardised cataloguing practices and
processes. Getting hold of up-to-date and authorised bibliographic tools to ensure
accurate and consistent catalogue records involved major convincing effort in justifying
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the acquisition of the expensive tools. Beside that, the cataloguing process can be very
human resource intensive. The process entails a personality with a certain level of skills
and competency, especially in subject knowledge. The study attempted to uncover some
of the 'mystic' and 'interest' involved in cataloguing practice decisions, with regards to
maintaining good, reliable and up-to-date cataloguing tools. This, as well as to
understand the way Malaysian medium size private colleges 'react' towards attaining
standard and quality library catalogue records.
1.2
Research Objectives
The study proposed to explore and assess the nature of the usage and the priority given
to cataloguing tools in cataloguing practices by ten selected private college libraries in
Malaysia.
The main purposes of the study were:
1.
To seek and explore the extent of the usage of cataloguing tools in cataloguing
practices among the smaller private academic libraries in Sarawak
2.
To identify to what level the librarians perceived cataloguing tools as an essential
component and a requirement to provide better storage and retrieval services to
their users; and, finally
3.
To relate good library storage and retrieval services with excellent cataloguing
process with the extensive usage of a complete range cataloguing tools
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1.3
Research Questions
1. What are the cataloguing practices applied by the private college libraries?
2. What type of cataloguing tools is available in the libraries and how current are the
tools?
3. Do the catalogues prepared by the libraries adhere to the cataloguing standards?
4. What are the perceptions of the librarians towards the usage of cataloguing
tools?
1.4
Definition of Terms
Cataloguing tools denotes the authoritative rules, codes, guidelines that are acceptable
and used by the communities of practice, and regarded as essential to attain accuracy
and consistency in the creation of a catalogue record. Examples of such tools are AngloAmerican Cataloguing Rules, Library of Congress Subject Headings, Library of
Congress Classification Schedule, Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme, Universal
Decimal Classification Scheme, Sears List Subject Headings, etc.
Quality catalogue represents the statement of free of error catalogue records especially
in the determination of access points, subject headings and class numbers, and in full
adherence to the cataloguing rules and standards.
Private college libraries indicates libraries established by privately owned colleges,
registered under the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act
1.5
Significant
This study will contribute towards the dissemination of the new knowledge specifically
towards improving the cataloguing practices and quality of catalog records among the
private institution of higher learning (PIHL)in Sarawak.
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2.0
LITERATURE REVIEW
Abrera & Shaw (1992) in their investigation on the frequency of use of the cataloguing
rules provided that any resources can and most likely be catalogued with a set of
pragmatically derived core rules. They recognised at least three major reasons why
librarians should feel that the cataloguing code is essential. Firstly, viewing the issue
from a managerial perspective, they argued that the code provides significant impact on
how well and how expensive libraries provide access to resources. Derived from this
perception, they stressed on the need to simplify cataloguing processes. It is critical for
the survival of libraries to view the processes from a more cost-effective standpoint.
Secondly, they stressed on the need to study and really understand the cataloguing
processes as a mean to instruct new cataloguers. Assurance of standardised processes
can only be achieved through consideration and execution of the activities as the official,
codified exposition of the rules as provided by the Anglo American Cataloguing Rules
2nd Edition, 1988 Revision (AACR2R). Thirdly is to consider how the processes would
be presented to an expert system.
As Cutter (1904) put it rightly, the most important aspect in cataloguing principle is a
consideration of the best interest of the catalogue users. There is no point in creating the
state-of-the-art catalogue records when these do not serve the information need of the
users. Accepting the fact of the matter, various studies with regards to the aspect of
understanding the end-user's perspective have been conducted, especially in the
subject cataloguing. Drabenstott, Simcox and Fenton (1999) concluded their research
into end-user understanding as an important source of information that can assist
subject cataloguers in making decisions that contribute to the effectiveness of
cataloguing and the subject headins. It was based on the findings of their study, that is
the first ever large scale study on end-user understanding of subject heading. Gorman
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(2000) supported the stance and expressed that the catalogue should be made for the
user, not the cataloguer. However, there are limitations to what a catalogue record can
do. As Lancaster et al. (1991) pointed out their investigation over many years
consistently shown that seekers of information find much of what they use from
specialised bibliographies or bibliographic references in items already known, rather
than from databases, library catalogues, or consulting librarians. The use of online
services does not seem to influence much the searching trend.
Librarians have to be realistic in their orientation towards these matters. The fact is
although the catalogue provides access to a variety of resources, it can never be more
than just merely a crude tool that requires commitment of considerable resources. In
several academic libraries, growing backlogs and inadequate staffing created pressure
to increase their productivity. In response to the pressure to use limited resources (to be
more precise, the human resources) more effectively, librarians in several academic
libraries have reorganised cataloguing departments using the team cataloguing model.
The initiative at that time was considered as the most appropriate attempt to overcome
the limitation in resources in cataloguing. In their exploratory survey, Schuneman & Mohr
(1994) defined the team cataloguing mode of organisation as one in which groups
comprising of both professional and paraprofessional cataloguing staff catalogue
materials in specific subject areas, languages, physical formats, or a combination of of
the areas mentioned. Their survey figures suggested that team cataloguing might
contribute modestly to a perception of an increase in productivity, as their respondents
frequently mentioned specialisation as an advantage of team cataloguing. The survey
concluded that team members' perceptions of the effects of team cataloguing on
productivity and morale varied widely. It is apparent that team cataloguing in several
different academic libraries share certain characteristics with the group comprised of
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both professional and paraprofessional cataloguers, but typically headed by professional
cataloguers. Some of the professional librarians in particular worried about performing
the new supervisory responsibilities that often accompanied the implementation of team
cataloguing. They view these extra duties as stressfull difficult situations, and some
resented it as they perceived the situation as devaluing their cataloguing activities by not
fully utilising their expertise in cataloguing.
According to Svenonius & McGarry (1993), it has been widely agreed that one of the
important factor in determining a quality catalogue record is the aspect of consistency
and accuracy in the forms of the headings. In authority control, the major goal is to
achieve consistency and accuracy by adhering to standards and guidelines. In the case
of subject authority control, these include the Library of Congress Subject Headings
(LCSH), Subject Cataloguing Manual: Subject Headings, USMARC Formats, and AngloAmerican Cataloguing Rules, second edition, 1988 revision (AACR2R). In one of their
research projects conducted, Chan & Vizine-Goetz (1997) collected and analysed data
regarding assigned subject headings, with the intention of helping to improve the quality
and efficiency in subject authority control. Their findings indicated a relatively low rate of
error, but managed to instil some understanding towards the nature of error and
obsolete elements in assigned subject headings and their pattern of occurrence and
preponderance. They supposed this as a helpful situation in the effort of developing or
enhancing automatic error correction.
Massey & Malinconico (1997) in their study over the shelflist of the University of
Alabama and the OCLC records copied, has also encountered only a small number of
errors overall. Their study established that there is effect to the browsibility of a
collection, but having very little consequence on retrieval. The study also pointed out that
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the occurrence of errors could be directly traced to a few prominent factors, such as
human limitation. In their case, it was due to temporary staff members, cataloguing
students hired to ease the backlog, and also new appointed staff. Besides that, training,
experience and subject specialist ability were also contributing factors. The researchers
ended their argument with the expression, "No cataloguer is infallible, and more than
likely, no shelflist is perfect".
Drabenstott and Weller (1996) conducted a study to understand further the spelling
errors in online catalogue searches based on empirical studies of spelling errors in
online catalogue searches, and suggest ways in which systems that detect such errors
should handle the errors that they detect. They concluded their study by providing three
recommendations to improve the responsiveness of online catalogues to user queries
that might be marred by spelling errors. First, the online catalogue should be equipped
with search trees to place the burden of selecting a subject searching approach in
response to user queries on the system. Second, the system should be equipped with
automatic spelling detection that would inform users of any misspelled word or words.
Third, the online catalogue should be enhanced with tools and techniques to distinguish
between queries that fail due to misspellings and correction failure. However, they
cautioned that errors in spelling is not a serious problem in subject retrieval, but a
problem as simple as spelling can completely derail the most routine subject search.
Blaming human limitation totally as the main source for the slip-up in cataloguing is not
quite true as in some of the instances, the information presented in an item can
sometimes be misleading. Sometimes the information is not always straight forward. It is
necessary sometimes to refer to other cataloguing guides before deciding on how best
to proceed as the AACR2R does not point out exactly the possibilities as well as the
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potential of headings required. The situation occurs as the cataloguing depends very
much on the layout of the title page, and it can be illogical and confusing from the
cataloguer's perspective. It can develop to a more problematic situation when the
cataloguer is not familiar with the item or particular type of material. Frohnsdorff (1999)
in his study described different types of misleading information, including fictitious names
of publishers, incorrect places of publication, and false dates. He also mentioned some
possible reasons for deception, including fear of prosecution.
The studies on the cost of cataloguing have been conducted for years, especially its
impact towards automation and the digital age. Morris (1992) investigated changes in
task times, staffing patterns and personnel costs as automation is expanded. In
analysing the findings, the researcher expressed his amazement to discover that recataloguing was the second largest cataloguing task. It was the seven largest tasks in
technical services, after administration, cataloguing with copy, verification, receiving
materials, meetings, and sick leave. It is a significant cost in maintaining the integrity of a
catalogue. Jenda (1992) conducted a time and workflow study of the cataloguing
process at the University of Botswana library. The objective of the study was to
determine the extent to which Library of Congress catalogue cardset facilitate the
cataloguing and classification processes. Time studies of the cataloguing and
classification processes were performed and the data analysed. It is interesting that the
study detected some areas of cataloguing backlogs during the workflow analysis. The
areas of cataloguing backlogs were identified especially in three areas, during materials
awaiting descriptive cataloguing, during materials awaiting classification, and during
materials awaiting typing.
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Zahiruddin (1997) in presenting the view of cost cutting aspects in the cost of
cataloguing in developing countries stressed on co-operation among libraries. Citing his
study among the libraries in Saudi Arabia as an example, he viewed that the state of
bibliographic co-operation is vital in maintaining reasonable cataloguing cost. However,
the biggest obstacle would be providing awareness among the libraries about the need
to share resources without displaying any tangible result. He continued to promote some
of the critical success factors in realising the co-operative situation by highlighting the
main factors as leadership, standardisation and infrastructure.
The question of core cataloguing competencies for libraries is another important area
that needs to be highlighted. Then, an important question to ask is about the current
state of cataloguing education in the library schools. Are they providing enough theory
and practical skills and cataloguing knowledge to their graduates? Letarte, et al. (2002)
studied the role of cataloguing education within the library professions. Fifty-five heads
of reference divisions and sixty-five heads of cataloguing divisions responded to the
researcher's survey. The results clearly indicated a strong agreement among all
practitioners that cataloguing education is important for all entry-level academic
librarians. The ability to read and interpret a bibliographic record in the OPAC
encompasses knowledge of many other competencies surveyed. It involves a broad
knowledge of cataloguing tools and the standards that govern each competency
involving the knowledge of descriptive and subject cataloguing and cataloguing tools
include the following:
•
Basic knowledge of cataloguing tools
•
Working knowledge of cataloguing tools
•
Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules
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•
Library of Congress Rule interpretations
•
MARC format
•
Library of Congress Classification
•
Dewey Decimal Classification
•
Library of Congress Subject Headings
•
Knowledge of relevant national and international cataloguing standards
The results demonstrated that practitioners view both theory and practice as important
within the list of cataloguing competencies. Wessinger (2003) indicated, the idea of
values that govern professional decisions is problematic for post-enlightenment
librarianship because standardisation of training is supposed to solve the problem of
subjectivity. He added that cultural diversity and recruitment practices within academic
libraries are currently limited by the profession's dominant worldview. Kuh & Gonyea
(2003) opined, one way to demonstrate the library's contribution is to assess whether the
students' experiences with the library had directly or indirectly contributed to the desired
outcomes of the learning institutions. Librarians need to understand the conditions that
foster learning and how they might independently assess the outcomes associated with
library experiences. The library appears to be a positive learning environment for all
students. Academic librarians are well positioned to provide leadership and expertise to
outcomes associated with information literacy.
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3.0
METHODOLOGY
The study applied the survey research method, using self-administered questionnaire as
the main data gathering instrument to enquire information regarding their cataloguing
practices and to understand the nature or environment in which the libraries are
operating. Respondents were selected based on the MOE's List of Private Colleges in
Sarawak.
3.1
Scope
There are eighteen private colleges in Sarawak however the study only examined the
cataloguing practices by ten selected medium size private college libraries located in the
Sarawak. Selection of the libraries were based on the criteria that, (a) the library must be
run by at least a professional librarian, (b) the library must be in operation for at least 2
years, (c) library membership of about 500 students, and (d) the library must own a
holding of more than 1000 volumes. The ten colleges involved in this study are,
1. Curtin University of Technology
2. Swinburne University
3. Institut Teknologi RIAM
4. UCSI
5. UNITAR
6. SEGI College
7. COSMOPOINT
8. Kolej Antarabangsa Sedaya Sarawak (UCSI)
9. Institut Teknologi Kreatif Lim Kok Wing
10. ICATS
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The questionnaire of the study was designed and divided into two parts, Part A and B
with each part with two separate segments. Part A attempts to capture the basic
premises of the respondents, while Part B attempts to seek the importance and
perceptions of the respondents. The first segment of part A (the first five questions) was
to recognize and identify the basic physical characteristic of the respondents, and the
second segment (the next nine questions) was establish and find out the nature of
cataloguing activities involved and practiced by the respondents. The first segment (first
nine questions) of part B seeks to uncover the importance of cataloguing tools, and
finally the second segment of Part B contains the final 6 questions that capture the
perception of the respondents.
3.2
Analysis and Discussion
Eighteen questionnaires were distributed but only nine institutions complied with the
criteria made earlier. Thus, the findings of the study discussed are only based on the
nine complied institutions.
This is just a small-scale straightforward study on cataloguing practices in Malaysia's
middle size private colleges. Even the findings of the study are also simple and
straightforward. However, the researchers believe that the responses given were not
totally accurate as it is detected that some of the respondents were quite confused in
some aspects enquired. Some respondents contradicted their responses in the
understanding of copy cataloguing, cataloguing tools, and in some instance the
cataloguing process itself. However, the variation in conceptual realising was too small
to be taken into account.
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This study managed to fulfil its main purpose of the study as to seek and explore the
extent of the usage of cataloguing tools in the cataloguing practices of the colleges'
libraries. The respondents widely agreed and accepted the fact that cataloguing tools
are important, but acknowledged at the same time that being practical in this digital age
is also an important aspect to be noted. The advancement of information and
communication technology, Internet, etc. is the factor 'forward' in many instances. The
respondents attributed the situation with the requirement to speed up cataloguing
process. Obviously, the best option for them is to opt for copy cataloguing. Another
important factor that influenced the situation is the limited human resource to support all
the library works and task. Being a part of a commercial entity, justifying the costs for
additional staff can be a problematic non-popular task. To overcome this, some libraries
resolved to allowing or providing training to non-professional staff. With the assistance of
the ICT and Internet, cataloguing is just a matter of checking the subject heading &
classification no., but not really the description aspects. And, the MQA's instruction for
private colleges to switch to LCC, will not only involves cost, but also the time to
reclassify and re-do all book labeling, re-shelving, etc.
As for the purpose to identify the level the librarians perceived cataloguing tools as an
essential component and a requirement to provide better storage and retrieval services
to their users, this study found that the notion is accepted in total by the respondents.
The respondents accepted the fact that they need to comply with the basic rules and
standards. To a certain extent, this can be dedicated to the nature of training that they
received from their library schools. The respondents viewed the cataloguing tools as
something essential in the cataloguing process, however the usage or full utilisation of
the tools is still questionable. Their perception or their mindset towards the importance of
cataloguing tools have been pre-built or pre-set during their library training. On the other
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hand, the reality and practical world of libraries, and the factors brought by ICT
advancement limited the premise of thought for most of these librarians.
The findings also proved that all respondents relate good library storage and retrieval
services to an excellent cataloguing process with the extensive usage of a complete set
of cataloguing tools. They fully agreed and accepted this, however it is limited by some
constraints, such as insufficient library budget, lack of human resources, deficient in time
and space, as well as the management's priority and perceptions towards the librarys'
roles, and finally the business competitiveness aspect that govern the commercial
conditions to which the colleges are running.
In addressing the research questions posed, the study concluded that,
1.
The cataloguing practices applied by the private college libraries are noted to be a
simple, straightforward and flexible cataloguing. Their tendency is more towards
applying total copy cataloguing where possible, with adherence to basic rules and
standards of cataloguing even without proper tools. It is widely accepted that the
advancement of ICT and Internet led and assisted them in completing the
cataloguing works and realising their services.
2.
Based on the replies by the respondents the AACR2, LCSH, DDC and LCC are
among the most popular tools mentioned, however they are not updated properly.
Then again it was also noticed that most of the AACR2 mentioned as their so-called
'popular cataloguing tools' are the personal copies of the cataloguers. They owned
the copy since their student days - for the cataloguing classes. Their copies of
AACR2 are is being re-used in their present work place, and some of the copies
detected were the photocopied version. LCSH is the most commonly known
controlled vocabulary tool. The DDC is more simple and easily acquired or cheaper
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to be purchased compared to the LCC. However, LCC is being made the mandatory
classification system for the academic libraries by MQA as recommended by
PERPUN (National Association for the National Library and Academic Libraries). The
expensive cost of the LCC schedules is a burdensome factor for most of these
libraries. This resulted in some libraries ignoring the instruction, and some acquiring
a partial set of the schedules, as they could not afford to purchase the whole
complete schedule. Most of the tools these libraries possess are not up-to-date. The
tools are merely used as a 'symbol of compliance and standardisation' in the
cataloguing process, and a requirement in the ISO certifications.
3.
The catalogues prepared by the libraries basically adhere to the cataloguing
standards. Their acceptance towards the rules and standards form an important
basis for the standardisation of their catalogue records. It is obvious from the
responses of the respondents that they accepted the importance and significance of
the usage of the cataloguing tools, but the practicality of works and the reality of
processes limited their conviction towards this belief. However, generally the
researcher would argue that the reaction due to the limitations is something positive
as it generated creative cataloguing practices, and in a way innovated the processes
involved. This may not be in a general sense the choice process for everyone, but at
the very least it could possibly mean a state of improvement for the organizations.
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