Cataloguers

Cataloguers are information professionals who create and maintain catalog records for materials in libraries, archives, museums, and digital repositories. Their work makes resources discoverable by describing items, assigning access points, and organizing them within a standardized system. Cataloguers may specialize by format or collection, such as books, serials, maps, audiovisuals, or digital objects, and often handle rare or special materials with detailed provenance notes.

Core duties include describing items according to established standards, assigning subject headings, and establishing authority records to ensure consistency. They perform original cataloging for new acquisitions and copy cataloging for existing records, update records as standards change, and verify metadata accuracy. In archives and museums, they may create finding aids and metadata for digital assets, linking physical and digital collections.

Standards and practices center on cataloging rules and metadata schemes. Libraries have used AACR2 and RDA, MARC 21 for data interchange, and authority control. Digital contexts employ Dublin Core, METS, MODS, and linked data approaches, with theoretical models like FRBR guiding relationships among works, expressions, and items.

Tools include integrated library systems or library services platforms such as Alma, Primo, SirsiDynix, or Koha, plus metadata editors and authority databases. Cataloguers collaborate with librarians, archivists, curators, and digital staff to ensure accuracy, consistency, and interoperability across the catalog and related finding aids.

Career paths typically require a master’s degree in library and information science, with specialization in cataloging or metadata. Ongoing professional development covers new standards and digital repository practices. The work intersects with metadata librarians and digital asset managers in many institutions.