Oberlin College Library
IMLS Diversity Intern Program

Cataloging Experiential Learning Activity

There are dozens of integrated library systems (ILS) available. Although systems may vary considerably, very often the data which underpins those systems is essentially the same—MARC records. As part of the Cataloging component of this internship, we'll look more closely at this data: what it is, and how, why, and by whom it's created.

Three of the largest ILS vendors used by academic and research libraries in the US include:

• Innopac (Innovative Interfaces)
• Unicorn (SIRSI Corporation)
• Voyager (Endeavor Information Systems)

For this exercise, you will examine the online catalogs of three different institutions:

• Oberlin College — an Innovative catalog
• Carnegie-Mellon University — a Unicorn catalog (under Resources, choose Cameo: online catalog and & services)
• The Library of Congress — a Voyager catalog

Please give some thought to the following questions:

1. Which catalog did you find easiest to use? Most difficult? Why?
2. Which catalog did you like using the most? Why?

Use each of the three catalogs to find answers to the following patron queries:

1. "Do you have any books by William J. Clinton? How many?"
2. "I'm looking for book on the death penalty. What do you have?"

   NOTE: For this question, use both subject searching and keyword searching. The results are different. Why do you suppose this is? Which searching method was better? Why might you choose either subject or keyword searching?

3. "What do you have in your library by Rita Dove?"

   NOTE: For this one, try using both an author search and a keyword search. When performing the keyword search, is there a difference between searching "rita dove" and "dove, rita"? If so, how do the results differ?

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