I'm a library and information science graduate student interning in a library history room as part of my degree requirements. The history room is in the process of cataloging their pamphlet files;
I came on board after the project had started.
One problem I can see coming is continued adherence to the old paper file labels. We're using the label text for the cataloging software's Object ID field. Only 25 characters are allowed in the Object
ID field, which is required to be unique. Abbreviation of the label text solves some of the space constraints without giving our volunteer catalogers fits, but some of the files have extensive names.
For example, we might have a file label that reads "Towson -- Historic Houses -- Hampton House -- Photographs -- Item #xxx" which I would consider relabeling to just "Towson --
Historic Houses -- Article #xxx" rather than go for severe, downright cryptic abbreviation. That new label would translate into an Object ID of "TO-Historic Houses-#xxx." Downsides would include the removal of the Hampton House and Photograph information in
the Object ID, but the software accommodates such information better elsewhere in the record. OTOH, doing such a relabeling would make the Towson files consistent with other files that deal with historic houses, which do not include the house name on the label.
Does
this relabeling plan seem like a reasonable course of action to those of you with experience in this area? What other possibilities are there that would not involve relabeling the entire collection?
Donna Ruettimann Finley
Baltimore County Public Library