I took a course in cataloging as part of my pursuit of a library degree, and, while it offered a good foundation for my eventual work in a library, I felt that there was more to learn -- particularly in the realm of working with records in an online catalog. Add in, too, my wish to learn those practices that are especially helpful to children, and it was clear to me that reading this book was essential to my professional development. I consider it an essential addition to my professional shelf. ( )

Do we need extensive cataloging skills any more? Is that crossing a sacrosanct line? In today’s world where OPACs are the rule and most everything has been cataloged so that it becomes a matter of drag and drop, cataloging, in my opinion, is now optional for teacher librarians. That may not be so for credentialing, but we need not learn cataloging to the depth that it has been taught for many years. A cataloging course no days may be a part of a larger tagging, cataloging, searching, and retrieval course and this book is a slim and fairly easy read to understand the basics of organizing physical items. As more and more information goes digital, cataloging in the traditional sense becomes less important but subject and tagging and searching becomes more and more important. In this slim volume, we get chapters on copy cataloging, Dewey, Sears, LC children’s subject headings, cataloging books and nonbook materials, CIP, cataloging for non-English speakers and preliterate children, automation, and vendors of cataloging information. Used in an academic setting, this volume can be one of several texts used or it can be used as a beginner’s guide or a brush up volume that won’t take that much time to read and study. The three authors here are pros. You can’t go wrong.

Cataloging Correctly for Kids is a compilation of essays (works?) that discuss how to take the tools already in place for larger libraries, such as the Library of Congress and public university libraries, and apply them to children's literature. It is invaluable knowledge for the children's librarian, although some of the knowledge is invariably muddled in the details. ( )