BDS: Data and innovation opening new possibilites

Sample Courses

Over the coming months BDS is pleased to offer librarians and library services across the country the opportunity to attend one-day and short workshops run by Deborah Fritz from the USA and supported by BDS. Our aim is to assist library services in making the best possible use of the best bibliographic data available today. Unleash the resources of your library catalogue by realising the full potential of the information-rich, library-focused data that BDS creates. Steer your library through the years ahead with improved services and greater cost-effectiveness by being better able to make the best decisions.

For further information or to express interest in attending one of these courses, please contact Lesley Whyte on 01387 702258. To find out about courses currently scheduled click here. To register for a course go to the registration form.

Course 1: MARC21 in Your Library (1 day)

The seminar is designed for library managers, acquisitions staff, and cataloguers of any level of experience and answers the question: What is MARC and how can it function effectively in your catalogue? Topics covered include the rules for bibliographic information and the standards for MARC; MARC21 records, what they are, why we need them and how we get them; MARC21 and the computerised catalogues of today; codes you should know, and terminology. There will also be examples of the practical application of MARC21.

Course 2: Just for Copy Cats (2 days)

Intended for acquisitions people, copy cataloguers, beginning cataloguers, and experienced but untrained cataloguers, this seminar is an introduction to copy cataloguing. It is mainly about finding cataloguing records that you can copy, and addresses some of the challenges of doing so, some of the neglected database issues involved, and offers a brief look at important editing. At its conclusion, you should be able to find and copy book records that accurately reflect your items.

It is recommended that you come to this course after attending MARC21 in Your Library (Course 1).

Course 3 Book Blitz 1 (4 days)

Intended for copy cataloguers, beginning cataloguers, experienced but untrained cataloguers, and any cataloguers curious about what they might need to learn, Book Blitz 1 offers an introduction to the basic cataloguing rules and MARC standards that you need to follow in order to provide description and access for your library materials, especially books. At its conclusion, you should be able to do straightforward editing of records that you copy (including CIP records), and should be able to make simple original records for books, including different edition records.

It is recommended that you attend this course after MARC21 in Your Library (Course 1) and Just for Copy Cats (Course 2).

Course 4 Book Blitz 2 (2 days)

Picking up where Book Blitz 1 left off, this workshop covers some of the slightly more complicated description concepts (such as cataloguing works with parallel titles), more complex access issues (such as establishing tricky personal names, subordinate corporate bodies, conference names and uniform titles) and the fundamentals of verifying series, or name headings against authority records. At its conclusion, you should be able to edit or create the description and access elements of more complicated records.

I would highly recommend any workshop on any topic. Brad Ward, Executive Director, Northeast Florida Library Consortium

I would like to tell you how much I appreciated the cataloguing workshop I have attended. These workshops were marvellous. I would highly recommend [them] to anyone doing cataloguing. Cathy Haines, Cataloguer, Leesburg Public Library

Deborah Fritz's workshops have been invaluable to our cataloguing and technical services staff. There has never been a better training resource that integrates cataloguing rules with MARC formatting. Everyone doing original and copy cataloguing should attend. Vicki Nichols, System Cataloguer, Indian River County Library System

Ms. Fritz's materials have given me both the philosophy of and practical ways to apply cataloguing rules. There is a real need in our field for this kind of detail. Carol G. McCammon, Director of Libraries, Berkeley