Report on a visit of cataloguing services in five American libraries (Washington, New York, Princeton, New Haven : May 1978)

Like several other French librarians, the author received a study grant thanks to the Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange, which made it possible, during a one-month tour, to visit cataloguing services in five large libraries or groups of libraries on the East Coast : Library of Congress, New York Public Library, libraries of the University of Columbia, of Princeton and of Yale. The major part of the data thus collected deals with work organization and various types of controls : control of cataloguing and record control in automated systems. The study of rather different work methods shows a parallel development due to the direct or indirect use of Library of Congress MARC tapes. The important place of authority files is a proof of the high quality of the work of American librarians
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