Is There Value in Value Added Cataloging?

Abstract

As with most libraries, the Grasselli Library holdings include many items with zero or very few circulations. In particular, we were facing decisions about whether to withdraw numerous items contained in monographic series. In contemplating ways to increase the visibility of these items, we decided to test two methods of enhancing the catalog records of these items with a goal of increasing circulation. The first method was to re-catalog monographic series previously cataloged under the series title, in which individual volumes had unique titles. We added access points for the unique titles, retaining a link to the bibliographic record for the series title as well. As a pilot for this method, we chose to limit the process to the Q’s, as there were a large number of instances of this situation in that area. The second method was to enhance the records by adding table of contents fields. For this method, we chose the P’s as a pilot area, due to the large numbers of items containing individual works for which our patrons might be searching (i.e. plays, stories, etc.). We plan on evaluating the circulation statistics of these items 12 to 18 months after enhancement to determine whether these practices are worth implementing more broadly.