Cataloging electronic resources

CATALOGING OF
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Juan C. Buenrostro Jr. Ed.D.

Introduction
Chapter 9 of AACR2R (2002 Revision)
covers the rules for description of electronic resources.
Electronic resources consist of data
(information representing numbers, text, graphics,
images, maps, moving images, sounds, etc.) programs
(instructions, etc., that process the data use), or
combinations of data and programs.

Direct Access & Remote Access
Direct access is understood to mean that a physical carrier
can be described. Such a carrier (e.g., disc/disk, cassette,
cartridge) must be inserted into a computerized device or into a
peripheral attached to a computerized device.
Remote access is understood to mean that no physical
carrier can be handled. Remote access can only be provided by
use of an input-output device (e.g. terminal), either connected to
a computer system (e.g., a resource in a network), or by use of
resources stored in a hard disk or other storage device.

CHIEF SOURCE OF
INFORMATION
The chief source of information for electronic
resources is the resource itself.
If the information required is
not available from the resource itself,
take it from the following sources
(in this order of preference):
1. printed or online documentation or other
accompanying material
(e.g. publisher’s letters, “about” file, publisher’s web page
about an electronic resource)
2. information printed on a container
issued by the publisher, distributor, etc.

1. TITLE AND STATEMENT OF
RESPONSIBILITY AREA
• Transcribe the title proper exactly as to
working, order and spelling.
• Precede each parallel title by an equal sign
Ex. El asistente del instructor [electronic resource]
= Teaching assistant.
• Precede each unit of other title information
by a colon.
Ex. Vufile [electronic source] : an information
retrieval system for use with files, lists, and data bases
of all kinds.

1. TITLE AND STATEMENT OF
RESPONSIBILITY AREA
• Transcribe the title proper in a note. If the title has
been supplied, give source of supplied title in a
note.
Example: Title from title screen
Title from catalog record provided by the
producer
Title from code book
• Give immediately following the title proper the
appropriate general material designation.
Example: Gertrude’ s puzzles [electronic resource]

 • Statement of Responsibility
Transcribe statements of responsibility
relating to those persons bodies credited with a
major role in creating the content of the resource.
Example: The China study [electronic resource]
/ principal investigator, Angus Campbell
Moby Dick [electronic resource] / by
Herman Melville ; compiled and produced by
Princeton University Computer
Center under the direction of Robert Knight.

2. EDITION AREA
• Precede this area by a full stop, space, dash
space.
• Transcribe a statement relating to an edition
of an electronic resource that contains
differences from other editions of that resource,
or to a named reissue of a resource.
Example: Rev. ed. Version5.20
NORC test ed. [Version] 1.1
3rd update Interactive version
• Transcribe a statement of responsibility
relating to one or more revisions of an edition.
Example: 3rd ed., Version 1.2 / programmed by
W.G. Trepfer

3. TYPE & EXTENT OF RESOURCE AREA
• Precede this area by a full stop, space, dash
space.
• Enclose each statement of extent in
parentheses.
• Precede a statement of the number of records
statements, etc. by a colon when that statement
follows a statement of the number of files.

3. TYPE & EXTENT OF RESOURCE AREA
• Type of resource. Indicate the type of electronic
resource being cataloged. Use one of the ff. terms:
a. electronic data
b. electronic program (s)
c. electronic data and program(s)
 Example of data:
Electronic data (1 file : 350 records)
Electronic data (1 file : 2.5 gb)
Electronic data (1 file: 1.2 megabytes)
 Example of programs:
Electronic program (1 file : 200 statements)
 Electronic program (2150 statements)
 Example of Multipart files:
Electronic data (3 files: 100, 460, 550 records)
Electronic data (2 files : 4300, 1250 bytes)

4. PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
AREA
• Precede this area by a full stop, space, dash,
space.
• Give the place of publication, distribution of a
published electronic resource.
• Do not record [s.l.] for an unpublished electronic
resource.
Example:
Bellevue, Wash. : Temporal Acuity Products;
Owatonna, Minn. : Distributed exclusively by S Musictronic.
[Honolulu?] : M.R. Ogden (personal homepage)

• Give the date of publication of a published
electronic resource.
Example:
Richmond, Va. : Rhiannon Software, c1985.

A. Extent of item (including specific material
designation)
• Record the number of physical units of the
carrier by giving the number of them in Arabic
numerals and one of the following terms as
appropriate:
computer cartridge
computer cassette
computer disk
computer optical disk
computer reel
Ex. 1 computer disk
2 computer cassettes

designation)
 • When new physical carriers are developed for
which none of these terms are appropriate, give
the specific name of the physical carrier as
concisely as possible, preferably qualified by
computer.
Ex. 1 computer card
 • If the information is readily available and if
desired, indicate the specific type of physical
medium.
 Ex. 1 computer chip cartridge
1 computer tape cartridge
1 computer tape reel

designation)
• Optionally, if general material designations are
used, omit computer from the specific material
designation.
• Give a trade name or other similar specification in
a note.
• If the description is of a separately titled part of
an item lacking collective title express the
fractional extent in the form:
on reel2
on 3 of 5 disks
on 1 disk

B. Other physical details
• If the file is encoded to produce sound, give sd. If
the file is encoded to display in two or more
colours, give col.
Ex. 1 computer chip cartridge: sd.
1 computer disk: col.
1 computer disk: sd., col.
• Give the details of the requirements
for the production of sound or the
display of colour in a note.

B. Other physical details
• Optionally, give the following
physical characteristics, if readily
available and if they are considered
to be important:
number of sides used
recording density (e.g., number of bytes
per inch (bpi) single, double)
Ex.
1 computer disk: sd., col., soft sectored
2 computer tape reels : 5,432 bpi

C. Dimensions
• Give the dimensions of the physical
carrier
a) Discs/Disks - give the diameter of the disk or
disk in inches, to the next ¼ inch up
Ex. 1 computer disk : col. ; 5 ¼ in.
b) Cartridges - give, in inches to the next ¼ inch up,
the length of the sided f the cartridge that is to be
inserted into the machine
Ex. 1 computer chip cartridge; 3 1
/2 in.

C. Dimensions
c) Cassettes - give the length and height of the face of
the cassette in inches, to the next 1/8 inch up
Ex. 1 computer cassette ; 3 7
/8 X 2 1
/2 in.
d) Reels - do not give dimensions for reels
e) Other carriers - give the appropriate dimensions of
other physical carriers in centimeters to the next whole
centimeter up
Ex. 1 computer card; 5 X 6 cm.
• If the item consists of more than one physical carrier
and they differ in size, give the smallest or the
smaller and the largest or larger size, separated by a
hyphen.

D. Accompanying Material
• Give the details of accompanying material
Ex. 1 computer disk ; 5¼ in. + 1 user’s guide
1 computer cassette : col. ; 3 7
/8 X 2½ in. +
1 sound cassette
1 computer disk; 3 1/2 in. + 1 demonstration
disk + 1 codebook
1 computer cassette; 3 7
/8 X 2½ in. + 7 maps
• If no physical description is given, give details
of any accompanying material in a note.

SERIES AREA
Record each series statement as instructed in 1.6 of
AACR2

A. Punctuation
• Separate introductory wording from the main content of a
note by a colon followed but not preceded by a space.

B. Notes
• Make notes as set out in the following sub
rules and in the order given there. However,
give a particular note first when it has been
decided that note is of primary importance.

C. Nature and scope and system
requirements
a) Nature and scope - make notes on the nature or scope
of the file unless it is apparent from the rest of the
description
Ex. Word processor
b) System requirements - begin the note with System
requirements:.

C. Nature and scope and system requirements
 Give the following characteristics in the order in which
they are listed below. Precede each characteristic,
other than the first, by a semicolon.
• The make and model of the computer(s) on which the file is
designed to run
• The amount of memory required
• The name of the operating system
• The software requirements (including the programming
language)
• The kind and characteristics of any required or
recommended peripherals
 Ex. System requirements: IBM PC; 64K; colour card; 2 disk
drives
System requirements : IBM PC AT or XT; CD-ROM player
and drive

c) Mode of access - if a file is available only by remote
access, always specify the mode of access.
Ex. Online access via Telnet
Mode of access: Electronic mail using ARPA
d) Language and script
 Give the language(s) and/or script(s) of the spoken or
written content of a file unless this is apparent from the rest
of the description
Ex. In Italian
 Record the programming language as part of the system
requirements note.

e) Source of title proper
 Always give the sources of the title proper
Ex. Title from title screen
Title supplied by cataloger
f) Variations in title
 Make notes on titles borne by the item other than the title
proper.
Ex. Title on manual : Compu-math decimals
Also known as : MAXLIK

 Optionally, give a romanization of the title
proper
 Optionally, transcribe a file name or data set
name
Ex. File name : CC.RIDER

g) Parallel titles and other title information
 Give the title in another language and other title
information not recorded in the title and statement
of responsibility area if they are considered
important.
h) Statements of responsibility
 Make notes on variant names of persons or bodies
named in statements of responsibility if they are
considered to be important for identification

 Give statements of responsibility not recorded
in the title and statement of responsibility area.
 Make notes on persons or bodies connected
with a work or significant persons or bodies
connected with previous editions and not
already named in the description.
Ex. Additional contributors to program : Iyra
Buenrostro, Janine Buenrostro
Systems designer, Iyra Buenrostro ; sound,
J-9 acoustics

i) Edition and History
 Give the source of the edition statement of it is
different from that of the title proper
Ex. Ed. Statement from container label
 Make notes relating to the edition being
described or to the history of the item.
Ex. Program first issued in 1982
 Give details of minor changes if they are
considered to be important.
Ex. Monochrome version recoded for colour

 Cite other works upon which the item
depends for its content.
Ex. Based on : Cinderella / Ever After ;
edited by Andy Tennant. Oxford: 20th
Century Fox, 1978-1991.

 Give the following dates and details about them if
they are considered to be important to the
understanding of the content, use or nature of the
file:
-- the date(s) covered by the content of a file
-- the date(s) when data were collected
-- the date(s) of accompanying material not
described separately if they differ from those of the
file being described
Ex. Data collected May-Oct. 1999

j) File characteristics
 Give important file characteristics that are not included
in the file characteristics area
Ex. Hierarchical file structure
File size unknown
File size varies
 If a file consists of numerous parts the numbering of
which cannot be given succinctly in the file
characteristics are, and if the info. is considered to be
important, give the number or approximate number of
records, statements, etc., in each part.
Ex. File size: ca. 35, 25, 36, kilobytes

k) Publication, distribution, etc.
 Make notes on publication, distribution, etc.,
details that are not included in the
publication, distribution, etc., area and are
considered to be important.
Ex. Solely distributed by the Laboratory

l) Physical description
 Make notes on important physical details that
are not included in the physical description
area, especially if these affect the use of the
item.
 If the file is available only by remote access,
give the physical details if they are readily
available and considered important.
Ex. Stereo, Sd.
Display in red, yellow, and blue

m) Accompanying material
 Make notes on the location of
accompanying material if appropriate
 Give details of accompanying material
neither mentioned in the physical
description area nor given a separate
description
Ex. Accompanied by a series of 5
programs in PL/1, with assembler
subroutines

n) Series
 Make notes on series data that cannot be given
in the series area.
Ex. Originally issued in series : European
Community study series
o) Dissertations
 If the item being described is a dissertation,
make a note.
Ex. Thesis (M.A.)-University of Illinois, at
Urbana Champaign, 1988

p) Audience
 Make a brief note of the intended audience
for, or intellectual level of, a file if this
information is stated in or on the item, its
container, or accompanying material.
Ex. For ages 18 and above
For use by qualified medical practitioners
only

q) Other formats
 Give the details of other formats in which the content of the
file has been issued
Ex. Data issued also in printed form and in microform
r) Summary
 Give a brief objective summary of the purpose of an item
unless another part of the description provides enough
information
Ex. Summary: Eight versions of a video game for 1-2
players. To survive, players use laser cannons to destroy
flying demons

s) Contents
 List the parts of a file
Ex. Contents – Moby Dick – Dick Tracy – Last of
the Mohicans – Tom Sawyer
 Make notes on additional or partial contents when
appropriate
t) Numbers
 Give important numbers borne by the item other
that ISBNs or ISSNs
Ex. APX-10050

u) Copy being described, library’s
holdings, and restrictions on use
 If desired, give a locally assigned file or data
set name.
 If desired, give the date when the content of
the file was copied from, or transferred to,
another source.
Ex. Copied June 1999
Restricted to scholarly use

v) With notes
 If the title and statement of responsibility area
contains a title that applies to only a part of an
item lacking a collective title and therefore, more
than one entry is made, make a note beginning
with With : and listing the other separately titled
works in the item in the order in which they appear
there.
Ex. With : Uncle John’s jigsaw; U.S. Constitution
- Scramble

STANDARD NUMBER AND TERMS OF
AVAILABILITY AREA

A. Standard Number
 Give the ISBN or ISSN assigned to a
published file
Ex. ISBN 0-89138-111-2 (codebook)

B. Key Title
 Give the title of a serial file

C. Terms of availability (optional addition)
 Give the terms on which the item is
available
Ex. ISBN 0-89138-111-2:$34.45 ($12.00
for students)

D. Qualification
 Add qualifications to the standard number
and/or terms of availability.

SAMPLE CATALOG ENTRY FOR AN ELECTRONIC
RESOURCE
PN6101 Mann, Ron
M3 Poetry in motion [electronic resource] / by Ron Mann.
-- (Electronic data and program). – New York, N.Y. : Voyages,
c1994.
System requirements for Windows:
4865X-25 on higher CPU ; 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended);
Windows 3.1, DOS 5.0 or later ; MPC-compatible CD-ROM drive ;
sound card with speakers or headphones.
Title from disc label.
Summary : Presents the performances of contemporary
poets such as Amiri Baraks, William S. Burroughs and Alan Ginsberg.
Includes some interviews.
1. American poetry – 20th
century – History and criticism.
2. Poetry, Modern – 20th
century. 3. Poets – 20th
century – Interviews.
I. Title.

CATALOGING OF
(Direct Access)
Appendices

CATALOGING OF
(Remote Access)
Appendices

CATALOGING OF
CONTINUING RESOURCES
(Printed Serial Sample)
Appendices

Complete Descriptions &
Machine-Readable Cataloging
Front cover of printed serial

Contents page of printed serial

AACR2R description of the print serial

MARC record for the print serial
(Source: OCLC Connexion, WorldCat-record number 34108984)

Home Page of electronic serial

Contents page of electronic serial

Complete Descriptions and
AACR2R description of the electronic serial

MARC record for the
print serial
(Source: OCLC Connexion,
WorldCat-record number
30635286)

Cataloging electronic resources

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