| Official course descriptions: 702 Introduction to Technical Services. (3) Technical services in libraries and other information agencies; theory and practice of bibliographic control, collection management, descriptive and subject cataloging, and technical applications. 730 Cataloging Information Materials. (3) An in-depth study of AACR2 covering both print and nonprint materials; searching bibliographic materials in a data base, editing and updating them; principles of coding, tagging, and entering the results into a data base; discussion of administrative problems. 731 Subject Analysis and Classification. (3) Study of major classification and subject authority systems. Emphasizes the understanding and application of these systems in information agencies. 732 Indexing and Abstracting. (3) Introduction to principles and practices in abstracting and indexing. 733 Serials. (3) An introductory study of methods and problems in acquiring, organizing, and retrieving serial publications with an emphasis on the special features of serials. Includes an introduction to computer applications. 738 Seminar in Technical Services. (3) A seminar in the areas of management, personnel, and materials within technical service departments for all types of libraries. Specific topics within the scope of this seminar would be standardization, centralized and cooperative efforts, automation and evaluation as applied to all functions within a technical services department. Note: Prerequisites that may appear elsewhere for these courses are in the process of being removed from the catalog. If you have questions about whether you should take these courses contact Heidi. |
| N.b.: The statements below are Heidi's opinions and are only a short synopsis. Contact me anytime to discuss your particular situation. Check with your advisor for help in choosing courses for your program of study. The more advice you get, the better your program of study will be likely to meet your needs. SLIS 702 SLIS 702 is an elective course except for those who are completing the degree under the older curriculum or those who intend to seek school library media certification. For more information about SLIS 702 click here. SLIS 702 is required for those seeking school library media certification irrespective of the curriculm requirements you are meeting. Consult your advisor to make sure your program of study is in compliance with the right degree requirements depending on when you started the degree. The Cataloging Courses, SLIS730 and SLIS731 SLIS 730 and SLIS 731 are a pair of courses that comprise the cataloging courses. SLIS 730 covers "descriptive cataloging." In particular, it delves into the details of creating AACR2 compliant standard bibliographic and authority records.
SLIS 731 covers "subject analysis and classification." In particular, it delves into the details of the Library of Congress Subject Headings, which serves as the basis for subject terms for most library catalogs and many other databases. Google recently adopted LCSH as a standard for subject-based access to GoogleBooks. It also covers Library of Congress Classification and Dewey Decimal Classification, the two most used classification schemes in the world. Other subject term systems and classification schemes are introduced.
Indexing and abstracting, SLIS 732 SLIS 732 is the indexing and abstracting course. It introduces back of the book indexing, subject thesaurus and faceted classification construction, abstracting, and other indexing-related concepts.
Serials -- soon to be retitled Serials & Scholarly Communication, SLIS 733 This course is expected to be retitled soon to better reflect its content. Since the most highly respected and important record of the records of research is the scholarly periodical and since academic libraries spend the majority of their acquisitions funds (sometimes more than 90%) on access to scholarly journals, the change in title will make it clear that this course is not simply a course on serials cataloging and processing but rather on access to the research literature in general.
Seminar in Technical Services, SLIS738 This course is offered "once in a blue moon" and its specific content varies. You may not wish to put this course on your program of study until it is scheduled to be offered and its specific content is announced. The last time it was offered, it concentrated on advanced concepts in acquisitions. Another time is might concentrate on new designs for OPACs, technical services management, shared technical services, etc. It is only likely to be offered when a significant number of Certificate or Specialist students are available to assure that there are sufficient interested students. This may change in the future. Other related courses SLIS 766 (Collection Development and Acquisitions) As titled, this is the elective for collection development and acquisitions processes. Contact Dr. Arns for more information about this course. SLIS734 (Goverment Information Sources). As titled, this is the elective course that delves into the realm of government information and publications, including both use and technical processing of this information. For more information about this course, contact Mr. Suddeth, USC Government Documents librarian and adjunct SLIS instructor. Contact Heidi at any time to discuss which of the technical services courses will meet your needs. |
Heidi Lee Hoerman
Descriptions and advisement for SLIS 730, 731, 732, 733, and 738
Descriptions and advisement for SLIS 730, 731, 732, 733, and 738
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