Course overview: ILS 506, provides a systematic and thorough introduction to the fundamental concepts underlying information description, analysis, and organization, as well as the practical applications of these concepts in libraries and information centers.
Special emphasis is given to the description of standard library materials using the International Standard for Bibliographic Description (ISBD) as embodied in the latest edition of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR), the creation of bibliographic records for manual and electronic environments, classification, subject access, and catalog construction.

In this course students will also be introduced to Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) in its latest standard (http://www.loc.gov/marc/). MARC constitutes the structure that underlies the construction and support of bibliographic online public access catalogs (OPAC's). Students will also be given opportunities to understand and use MARC support documentation.

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Highlights/Samples of Course Work: This course introduced me to the various cataloging systems and how they work with one another. Not only did I get an understanding of MARC record systems, but we were given the opportunity to utilize the cataloging tools and compare various OPACS to gain an appreciation of how design affects the efficiency of a materials search. The culmination of the course was utilizing this new gained knowledge to create a MARC record using LOC subject headings.