Sanford Berman’s Influence on Cataloguing

Definition of Terms

Sanford Berman – A cataloger famous for inventing controlled vocabulary outside of official channels. This contributed to his departure from the post of lead cataloger at the Hennepin County Public Library in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also known for his advocacy for library services to the poor.

Berman’s Three Objectives of Cataloging

I. Intelligibility

II. Findability

III. Fairness

Intelligibility

Standard Alternative

McDermott, Beverly Brodsky.

Sedna: an Eskimo myth/adapted and illustrated by Beverly Brodsky. 1st ed. New York : Viking Press, 1975

[30]p. : col. Ill.; 22 x 26 cm.

Bibliography: P. [2]

SUMMARY: Sedna, mother of all sea animals, tells the story of her life and helps the starving Inuit.

1. Eskimos-Legends. 2. Indians of North America-Legends. 3.[Eskimo Legends.] I. Title. 398.2’454 75-4979

Brodsky, Beverly.

Sedna: an Eskimo myth. Viking, 1975.

30 pages.

1. Mythology. Inuit. 2. Mother-goddesses. Inuit. I. Title.

299.7

Findability

“Abnormalities, Human. Ordnance Research. Przewalski's Horse. Munazzamat Al-Tahrir Al-Filastiniyah.

"What's wrong with these subject headings? Clearly, you must see that they represent the subject," the catalogers at the Library of Congress cry.

Birth Defects. Weapons Research. Asiatic Wild Horse. P.L.O."What's wrong with these as subject headings? Surely, YOU must see

that these are the words the patrons will use," Sanford Berman retorts. "We do want our patrons to FIND the materials, don't we?"

Fairness

“How can library materials be made easier to find through the catalog? How can the language of the catalog, especially the subject vocabulary, be made more accurate, precise, and nonjudgmental?”

• Update subject headings to remove bias based on ethnicity, gender, age, class, religion, etc.

• Use terms that groups use for themselves.• Use common terminology for headings

Berman Innovations

• Fiction Headings - Under Berman's guidance, HCL began applying subject headings to their fiction collection. In 1994 when Ebsco's NoveList database was introduced it used HCL's fiction subject headings list as its foundation.

• Periodicals should be fully indexed using the same common sense terminology found in the HCL subject headings.

• Audio-Visual materials should not be treated as second-

class citizens to books when cataloging.

Other Viewpoints

“The need to catalog new books will always take priority over making subject heading changes and improvements.”

- Mary Pietris – LOC subject catalog division

“…some of our past cataloging practices...now severely limit our ability to use emerging technology."

-Charles Brown, Director HCL

Background

• B.A. in Political Science, minors in Sociology, Anthropology, and English.

• Master’s in Library Science - thesis, Spanish Guinea: an annotated bibliography.

• 1962-1966 Librarian at the U.S. Army Special Services Libraries in West Germany.

• 1966-1967 College librarian in Germany, periodical librarian at the University of California.

• 1968-1970 Assistant Librarian in charge of periodicals, University of Zambia Library, Lusaka.

• 1971-1972 Assistant Librarian, Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University Library, Kampala, Uganda.

• 1973 he began work as Head Cataloger, Technical Services Division, Hennepin County Library, Minnesota.

Selected Bibliography

• Spanish Guinea: an annotated bibliography (1961)• Prejudices and Antipathies: a tract on the Library of

Congress subject headings concerning people. (1971)• The Joy of Cataloging: essays, letters, reviews, and

other explosions. (1981)• Words, Means, and People (1982)• Alternative Library Literature (ed., 1994)• www.sanfordberman.org