With the advent and widespread adoption of the Internet and the World Wide Web, OCLC and libraries have monitored, explored, and, in some cases, influenced the impact of the Internet on the description and access of electronic resources. In recent years, the Internet and libraries have undergone unprecedented changes on many fronts. What is apparent at this writing is that the pace, scope, and impact of technological change will only increase. Within this rapidly changing environment, OCLC and libraries have sought to leverage and extend the value of library standards, systems, and practices to include electronic resources.
Cataloging Internet Resources, which initially arose as a pragmatic response to the need for a focused cataloging treatment of electronic resources, now takes its place alongside a growing number of resources similarly dedicated. In keeping with the first edition, the second edition integrates discussion of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2d ed. (AACR2) and the USMARC fields for bibliographic description. Significant changes include the adoption of the ISBD(ER) expanded list of terms to be used in conjunction with the File Characteristics Area and the inclusion of updated examples that reflect a broader array of resource types. In addition, MARC fields are now noted in section headings as repeatable (R) or nonrepeatable (NR).
This manual stands upon the shoulders of a considerable body of published knowledge and experience, to which it adds the recent experience, thinking, and practices of hundreds of library professionals representing a wide variety of library types worldwide. Aided by two grants from the U.S. Department of Education (1991–1993 and 1994–1996), OCLC initiated programs that called upon libraries, in voluntary participation, to address the cataloging issues of the time. Participants in the second project identified, selected, and cataloged Internet resources using the USMARC format and AACR2 cataloging rules. In addition, the resulting records contain at least one 856 field, "Electronic Location and Access," itself a direct outcome of the first project. The fledgling efforts of these projects are continued by additional hundreds of libraries worldwide that now routinely select, collect, and catalog Internet resources. In turn, new local library systems exploit the 856 field to provide Web access from an integrated online library system, thus completing the link between user and resource.
Users of this manual enjoy one additional benefit—the knowledge, skill, experience, and dedication of its editor, Nancy B. Olson. Familiar to anyone who has cataloged a computer file, Nancy believes strongly in the value-adding processes that libraries in general, and cataloging in particular, bring to information. Those value-adding processes are extended by this publication.
No doubt, future editions of this work or wholly new works will be required to reflect changes in practice, the evolution of rules and standards, and the adoption of innovative technologies. Until such time, your comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome so that this work can evolve in response to your needs.
Erik Jul, Project Manager
jul@oclc.org
(614) 764-4364
(614) 718-7132 Fax
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