Progressing Toward Bibliography; or: Organic Growth in the Bibliographic Record

Abstract

Much of traditional book cataloging is influenced by a touch-it-once mentality, where work is completed in as few steps as possible. By avoiding unnecessary revision, libraries can process materials quickly and benefit from economies of scale. Valuable staff time is preserved to process additional materials. However, the touch-it-once mentality is problematic when dealing with special collections materials, since they often differ between manifestations and are primary sources for research that informs their description. This paper discusses the idea of “progressive bibliography,” or proceeding from minimal to fuller descriptions, as an intellectually valid and pragmatically essential methodology. It examines some already . . .