Cataloging Nonprint and Internet Resources is a revised version of a book first produced by the author in 1993 which has been updated to take account of changes in cataloguing standards and the need to describe Internet‐based resources. The rationale of the manual is that existing sources lack information and examples to support the unique challenges of non‐print cataloguing. It primarily provides practical guidance to cataloguers using the 2nd edition of the Anglo‐American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) and the MARC formats, specifically the 2001 amendments to the 1998 revision of AACR2 (AACR2R) and the MARC 21 bibliographic format. It should be noted that since the publication of this manual, both the 1999 and 2001 amendments have been incorporated in a new 2002 revision of AACR2.
The first chapter gives essential background information, introducing the basic elements of bibliographic records for non‐print resources. For example, these cover the choice of main entry and introduce AACR2‐based content rules for MARC fields relevant to non‐print resources. Subsequent chapters cover specific resource types and formats: cartographic materials, sound recordings, motion pictures and video‐recordings, non‐networked electronic resources, kits (typically multimedia packages), microforms and Internet resources. These chapters are intended to be freestanding and, as a consequence, some sections (e.g. that on the 040 cataloguing source field) contain much that is similar or identical to the corresponding sections in other chapters. This does not make the manual particularly easy to read the whole way through, but should be welcome to those cataloguers who focus on one chapter at a time. Where necessary, the chapters refer the reader directly to rules from AACR2R, the Library of Congress Rule Interpretations (LCRI) and the MARC 21 Web pages hosted by the Library of Congress, (e.g. for interpretation of the coded 007 physical description field, geographic area codes and indicator values). All of the format‐specific chapters end with some example MARC records that show how all the elements fit together to describe individual resources. While these are always relevant to the types of resources covered within the chapter, some of the examples given within the main text are not. For example, I would consider it unlikely that an enhanced contents note for a microform would include information on musical tracks by Brubeck and Desmond (p. 276). This is a weakness that could be addressed in any further revision.
The final chapter takes a step back from the mainly practical focus of the rest of the manual and considers the MARC formats with regard to metadata, by which the author primarily means the Dublin core metadata element set. She notes the existence of several Dublin core and MARC crosswalks or conversion tools and ends the chapter with a very brief comparison of the two formats. Weber concedes that traditional MARC cataloguing may not adequately describe some materials and that it may prove expensive, but argues that a lack of structure in metadata schemes can result in data inconsistency (p. 356). The manual concludes with a list of suggested readings – many of which are Web‐based – and an index.
To those of us who have not done MARC‐based cataloguing for some time, the most striking things that one recalls from this manual are: the format's dependence on coding within the 007 field and indicator values; the maintenance of a concept of main entry; and a dependence on “notes” fields. Weber repeatedly makes the point that notes that include summaries or contents information are particularly important for non‐print resources, because such resources tend to be less accessible to users.
The book is clearly printed and well laid out, ideal for this type of publication. The text and examples include a small number of typographic mistakes, e.g. missing punctuation or the use of superscript in some of the examples. I found very few other mistakes; e.g. DVD should now properly be expanded as “digital versatile disc” (p. 121). Also, the term “unqualified” in a Dublin core context is normally used for implementations that do not use element refinements or encoding schemes, rather than that the format is not specific to any discipline or resource description set (p. 352). One major weakness of the manual is that its almost exclusive emphasis on US rule interpretations and practice means that it will be less useful for cataloguers based outside of that country. For example, the author follows LCRI to give an example of a general note reading “A foreign film (France)” (p. 142) and spends some time discussing the construction of Cutter numbers. Despite this, the manual should definitely be of interest as a supplementary guide to those involved in the cataloguing of non‐print or Internet resources using AACR2R and MARC 21.
