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 when 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 professor.

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.
On the upper right, click on the icon that looks like the head and shoulders of a person with a green arrow, without entering a name or password.
Then you should see "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.
When you're done, make sure to click on the icon on the upper right that looks like the head and shoulders of a person with a red arrow to log out so that others can use this shared subscription, which has a limited number of simultaneous users.

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)

Critical and Inclusive Cataloging 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.
Critcatenate Blog by Violet Fox Critcatenate is an effort to keep folks up to date on critcat efforts with a monthly-ish roundup of news. Critcat is short for critical cataloging, focusing on the ethical implications of library metadata, cataloging, and classification practice, standards, and infrastructure.

Find Books, Articles, Media, and More using Libraries Search

SU Libraries' Libraries Search Platform replaces the Classic Catalog and Summon. Visit this page for detailed instructions and videos on the use of Libraries Search. For assistance in finding electronic resources, please contact the Libraries via the options listed on the Get Help page.