Research Guides: Cataloging Resources: Home

Introduction to Cataloging Resources

Welcome to the Cataloging Resources guide! This guide will be a great source for students in IST 604 or 616 to access the cataloging resources used in the classes:

ClassWeb Plus (replaces Cataloger's Desktop)
RDA Toolkit

Please note: These resources are also used by the staff of SU Libraries on weekdays during business hours. In order to avoid reaching the maximum number of simultaneous users, please use as possible during off-peak times (evenings and weekends).

Classification Web Plus Access

Start at https://classweb.org.
Click the ClassWeb main menu button
At the prompt for username and password: add the username and password distributed by your instructor.

RDA Toolkit Access

Connecting to RDA Toolkit

Please note that RDA Toolkit has 2 versions: the Official, current version; and the Original, older version. The instructions to access are different for each version.

Original RDA Toolkit (older version)

Start at this link: Original RDA Toolkit

Enter your SU NetID at the prompt, if off-campus.

You will see the landing page and "Syracuse University Library" as text in the upper right.

Click on a tab on the left menu pane (RDA, Tools, Resources) to start accessing links within the toolkit.

Official RDA Toolkit (current version)

Start at this link: RDA Toolkit and enter your SU NetID at the prompt, if off-campus.

When you reach the RDA Toolkit landing page, click the Login button on the page without entering a username or password.

You should see the text "Syracuse University Library" in the upper left corner of the site. From here, you can access the content from the drop-down menu (Entities, Guidance, Policies, Resources).

Cataloging Standards and References

Classification:

The Library of Congress Classification is available in print and online. The print volumes are located in the Government Documents section on the 3rd floor of Bird Library.

All volumes start with the call number LC 26.9.

Authorities:

MARC:

BIBFRAME:

Bibliographic Framework Initiative (Library of Congress)

Cataloging Online Sites

Cataloging Lab-experiment with controlled vocabularies Welcome to the Cataloging Lab! This is a place for anyone who cares about library cataloging to experiment with making our controlled vocabularies and classification better. The Cataloging Lab was started to be a collaborative place to draft proposals for additions or revisions to LCSH. Learn more about the origin and impetus of the site in this Library Journal article. Over the years, it’s grown to host a number of crowdsourced lists as well. Some of the most popular lists are the list of statements on bias in library and archives description and the list of problem LCSH.
The Critical Catalog: A Critical Design Artifact (video) This video illustrates the Critical Catalog, a grant-funded research through design project intended to investigate metadata elements, values, and organizational structures necessary to intentionally advocate for diversity and expose library users to resources from populations traditionally marginalized in literature and publishing. Drawing on principles from critical design, the prototype functions as a critical intervention intended to raise questions and stimulate debate, rather than a purely technical fix to deeply social concerns. We use metadata as design material for social justice, applying the framework of tricksterism to achieve our design goals, and thus show how both practical limitations from professional contexts and imposed limitations based on identities and positions of power can lead to surprising places, meanings, and questions.