CHICAGO - A new "Fundamentals" Web course is coming from the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (). " is a six-week online course that is a basic primer for library cataloging concepts and practices. The course was written and developed by Vicki Sipe, Catalog Librarian, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. It covers: ...

It covers:

• principles underlying cataloging practice;
• examples illustrating the principles in practice;
• tools used in cataloging practice such as AACR2, RDA, Library of Congress Subject Headings, Library of Congress Classification, MARC, OCLC, BIBFRAME and;
• processes used by catalogers in creating bibliographic records.

Fundamentals of Cataloging (FOC) begins with a discussion of how cataloging assists users in finding resources and of the value of standardization of practice. These foundations are then given practical grounding in the work of creating bibliographic descriptions, the process of subject analysis and summarizing content utilizing classification. Standards such as MARC bibliographic and authority formats, Library of Congress Subject Headings and Library of Congress Classification are discussed. The shift in focus from format-based cataloging to entity-relationship model cataloging is taken from the FRBR foundation to the RDA practical application, with a final look at RDF triples and BIBFRAME. In all areas, the value of standards is illustrated and discussed. There is a heavy reliance on examples from actual practice throughout the course content.

As a fundamentals course, FOC is tailored for librarians and library support staff new to cataloging, librarians and library support staff from other units who want to know more about cataloging and experienced cataloging librarians and library support staff seeking continuing education and networking opportunities.

Cataloging librarians in countries other than the U.S. and library school students or graduates developing skills to help get a job or identify areas of interest in library work may also benefit from this course.

The "Fundamentals of Cataoging will be presented by Vicki Sipe, catalog librarian at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who developed the course and Teressa Keenan is head of bibliographic management services at University of Montana, Missoula.