The Cataloging of SelfPublished Items Research Project by

The Cataloging of Self-Published Items Research Project by Nurhak Tuncer, MA, MLIS Adjunct Librarian (Cataloger and Instruction) at City Colleges of Chicago, Malcolm X College Reed David, MA, MSLS Cataloging Librarian at University of Alaska Anchorage Music OCLC Users Group Meeting March 1, 2016, Cincinnati, OH

Presentation Outline • • • Introduction and Background Self-Publishing Overview Data Collection Process Nationwide Survey Results and Analysis Conclusion and Questions

Introduction and Background • Nurhak proposed the research idea on cataloging self-published items (April 2015) • Nurhak outlined the problem and methods in a Google Doc • Then she collaborated with Reed through Skype since April 2015 • Both passed the IRB requirements in Summer 2015

Introduction and Background Problems Methods • Challenges to catalogers: • Screening through the lack of information, needs literature original cataloging • Surveying catalogers of • Little cataloging research self-published items • Consensus needed on how • Analyzing OCLC records to catalog self-published from survey takers items

What Is Self-Publishing? “To publish (a book [or other media]) using the author's own resources. ” Self-publishing authors’ control over the process varies

Historical Self-Publishing C. P. E. Bach, Kenner und Liebhaber Sonatas Telemann, Six Trios (1718)

Contemporary Self-Publishing Self-publishing Firms Booth at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston (2016)

Contemporary Self-Publishing Xlibris Composers Edition

Contemporary Self-Publishing John Luther Adams, Become Ocean Taiga Press

Contemporary Self-Publishing “My day job is publishing my own music. ” --John Mackey

Contemporary Self-Publishing Alaska Pro Musica, Contrasts Faculty Ensemble at the University of Alaska Anchorage

Contemporary Self-Publishing Pamyua (Inuit folkmusic group) Side A, Side B Arctic Voice Records

Contemporary Self-Publishing Maya Zimmerman Big Lulls NO Label! Manufactured by Amazon kydc, Lexington, KY

Survey Creation * Qualtrics software * 12 questions in all * Multiple-choice with text boxes * Anonymous * Opened on September 14, 2015 * Closed on December 31 st * Completed by 403 people

Survey Distribution Listservs • MLA-L • MOUG-L • ALCTS Central • Auto. Cat • RDA-L • OLAC-L Facebook Groups • ALA Think Tank • Music Librarians • RDA Cafe • Troublesome Catalogers and Magical Metadata Fairies

The Goal of the Project ❖ Descriptive and not proscriptive ❖ Start a conversation on this topic and show directions for future research ❖ Provide suggestions for librarians for cataloging self-published items

1. What type of library do you currently work for?

2. Do you catalog self-published items locally/consortially or in a database (e. g. OCLC) shared beyond a consortium?

3. What format(s) of self-published items do you catalog? (check all that apply)

[The following three questions pertain to how one records publication information for items from self-publishing firms (e. g. Xlibris). ] 4. How do you record the publisher?

4. How do you record the publisher? “If the publisher info isn't there, I use my best judgment AND brackets. ” "Usually creator name, unless creator name is unclear; then Firm name in brackets. " “Not easy. Usually use the author since they probably paid to have it printed. ” "I consider firms like Createspace to be publishers" "If the firm name is prominent, I use that. If not, I use creator name. "

5. How do you record the place of publication?

5. How do you record the place of publication? “If a place is indicated on the item, I record it; if not, I conjecture at least to the country. I absolutely never use [Place of publication not identified]” “The place has been confusing. I started using the printing location in brackets. . But I have since decided [United States] would be better. ” “Never use [place of publication not identified] if it can be avoided. ”

6. When recording the date of publication, is that date usually clear or unclear?

6. When recording the date of publication, is that date usually clear or unclear? “I tend to use outside resources, such as Amazon, to identify a date of publication. ” “There is usually at least a copyright date from which to infer a publication date. ” “Since we are not using RDA, we include only the copyright date (when given), not the date of publication. ” “Sometimes, I infer the date of printing (left corner at the bottom of the last page) as date of publication. If there is a copyright date available, I use that date, instead. ” “I usually need to infer a publication date from the date of manufacture or copyright date--when I do so, I record the date of publication in brackets. ”

7. How much effort do you put into cataloging selfpublished items compared to items from traditional publishers?

7. How much effort do you put into cataloging selfpublished items compared to items from traditional publishers? "Getting to be the same amount of effort as I become more firm in my decisions" "The same effort ends up requiring more time, because the information isn't as available. " “If the author is from our community, we make more effort. ” “More effort because they almost always need original cataloging. ” “Effort will vary from item to item depending on the nature of the material. ”

8. How often do you create original records for selfpublished items?

8. How often do you create original records for selfpublished items? "It's very rare for us to find existing records for these items. " “Most of our self pubs are local, so this involves original cataloging. ” “Almost always original records. ” “Other than original, I tend to update/enhance existing brief vendor records for self-published items (very minimal information - often just ISBN and title etc. ”

9. When cataloging self-published items, do you ever consider whether or not they should be added to the catalog?

9. When cataloging self-published items, do you ever consider whether or not they should be added to the catalog? “I'm just a cataloger. I don't do collection development or management. ” “I am chief policy maker for music items. ” “I also oversee collection development…” “It is often difficult for our selection staff to know an item is self-published before it arrives. Our book vendors do not always make it clear on their websites. ” “I keep a list of online reprint self-publishers to avoid” “Faculty requests always override our quality concerns. ”

10. Do you ever add any notes pertaining to an item's self-published status?

10. Do you ever add any notes pertaining to an item's self-published status? “Generally, if item is explicitly identified as self published we quote that identification directly. ” “I have a stack of self published books waiting to be cataloged now. I am considering adding a 500 note saying, "This book is self published" just so that information is there. I don't see any reason not to add it. ” “Add a note about it being self-published. ” "Self published" “I add a "local author" note to the item. ”

11. If you catalog self-published items in OCLC, please provide OCLC numbers for representative examples of the records you create.

11. If you catalog self-published items in OCLC, please provide OCLC numbers for representative examples of the records you create.

11. If you catalog self-published items in OCLC, please provide OCLC numbers for representative examples of the records you create:

A CD Example RDA Record (Self-published) - Creator transcribed as the publisher No link to the streaming version No notes indicating selfpublished status

A Book Example RDA Record (Self-published) - Three 264 fields Author as publisher No link to the electronic version Notes indicate self -publishing Relationship designator as author

12. Please provide any further comments or concerns that you have about cataloging self-published items here (optional). “I should add often we catalog self-published local authors (books) or music groups (cds) to support local authors/musicians in our community. We often add copies of these local items to our special collections room as well as circulating copies. ” “We have some very rare and unusual recordings done by people who went on to be famous as musicians or in other fields. ” “I am glad to see that you are researching this topic, which I think needs to be tackled on a much wider scale throughout the cataloguing community. Together, we should make up suggested guidelines for templates or more efficient ways of cataloguing these items. ” “We urge the "publishers" to provide better information and create a better product. ” “Too many self-published works are lacking the information necessary to properly catalog them…”

Conclusions and Takeaways ❖ Starting conversation about cataloging selfpublished items in libraries ❖ Building a bridge between self-publishers and libraries ❖ Finding patterns in self-published items

Observations and Suggestions ❖ Multiple expressions/manifestations Linked Data could help ❖ Creating authority records for local practice? Encourage NACO catalogers ❖ Transcribing publisher--creator? Firm? Both? Same data, different functions

Observations and Suggestions ❖ Transcribing publication date Inferring from copyright date ❖ Creating lists of self-publishing firms Local practice ❖ Creating notes for self-published items? Depends on the item

Questions and Comments? Nurhak Tuncer: nurhak@gmail. com Reed David: demosthenes 98@hotmail. com References Composers Edition - Contemporary Music Scores & Parts - Print and Download. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from http: //composersedition. com/ Qualtrics: Online Survey Software & Insight Platform. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from http: //www. qualtrics. com/ Saffle, M. (2010, June). Self-publishing and Musicology: Historical Perspectives, Problems, and Possibilities. Notes, 66(4), 726 -738. Self-publish: Definition of self-publish by Merriam-Webster. (2015, December 27). Retrieved from http: //www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/self-publish Self Publishing A Book--Xlibris Company. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from http: //www. xlibris. com/ Underwood, K. (2015, June 24). Building Music Scores Collections in the World of Web-Based, Self-Publishing Composers. Presentation given at the Annual Congress of the International Association of Music Libraries.