Scope and purpose of AUTOCAT

AUTOCAT is a semi-moderated international electronic discussion list running on LISTSERV(R) software. It serves as an electronic forum for the discussion of all questions relating to cataloging and authority control in libraries. The range of topics discussed extends from the very broad to the very specific, from the very theoretical to the most pragmatic.

The chief advantage of Autocat, as of all such lists, is that it expands the pool of knowledgeable people to whom an individual can turn for help, easily and quickly. A cataloger faced with a publication in, what to that library, is a very exotic language for which it lacks adequate resources can get help; e.g., one library helped another in cataloging a work in Zulu while a bit earlier a library in Finland helped a library in Mississippi catalog a work in Estonian. Questions on interpretation of AACR2r, organization of technical services units, appropriate MARC coding, formulation of subject headings, appropriate class numbers in LCC or DCC, announcements of forthcoming meetings, reports of past meetings, announcements of job openings, the conditions under which Minimal Level Cataloging should be applied, the use of Core Level records, how to describe the pagination of an unpaged volume, sexism in LC subject headings, these and other topics are all grist for Autocat's mill.

Since AUTOCAT has subscribers at the Library of Congress and other national bibliographic centers as well as at the major utilities, questions relating to the policies or practices of those institutions often generate official responses. Subscribers consist both of recognized cataloging experts and novices in their first job but all have something they can contribute.

The following are outside of AUTOCAT's scope and should be referred to more appropriate lists:

  • How to perform certain actions on the various bibliographic utilities or vendor systems. Cf. lists such as PFW (the Passport for Windows list).

  • Commercial Advertising. While it is acceptable to announce that your firm has a product or offers a service that would fill a particular cataloging need, such announcements should be limited to the bare essentials (BRIEF description, contact person and address from whom further information can be obtained, etc.) If in doubt about the suitability of a posting, please send it the listowners to preview. We prefer that you use the general emamil address fro such questions, which is autocat-request@listserv.syr.edu as this will be more efficient for all of us, listowners and subscribers. Just for your information, though, the listowner addressses are available at: listowner page

  • SPAM, i.e.: mass mailings to multiple lists with no connection to the focus of AUTOCAT
  • Personal attacks of any kind.
  • Messages asking to be subscribed or unsubscribed. If you are in doubt as to how to do so, send a message to autocat-request@listserv.syr.edu
  • Test messages asking subscribers to acknowledge receipt. It is better to send a real message to the list, introducing yourself if nothing else.

    Subscribers who send inappropriate messages to AUTOCAT will be contacted by one of the listowners and asked to stop doing so. Further infractions will cause you to be either unsubscribed or otherwise blocked from further posting.

    Archive availability: See How to Search the Autocat Archives
    List traffic: 60 - 80 plus messages a day; fewer on weekends.
    Subscriber statistics as of 11 January 2007: more than 4,000 subscribers in 40+ countries

    For further information contact autocat-request@listserv.syr.edu

    This page has been accessed < > < times since 8 August 1997.

    Last revised 11 January 2007

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