Following on from my previous post, and leaving aside any natural inclination cataloguers may have to be meek and mild - because people like that get sent to work in Bib Services Departments and once there, perpetuate the type by tending to appoint people like themselves, the loud and proud often seen as "not fitting in here" - is there something about a cataloguing job that makes it difficult for people to understand, let alone promote, the value of what they do?
I am struck that cataloguers tend to describe their job in terms of tasks. They talk about describing and indexing library materials, using standard rules and tools; they talk about the intellectual effort and judgement required to allocate classification and subject headings; and they talk about these things very well and explain what they do and what influences their decisions. But in answer to a question like, "What does your job as a cataloguer consist of? What do you actually do?", the reply is about input not outcomes. They describe what they do, not why they do it. Why don't they reply, "I help people find all the good stuff that is in our library - I help people find what they want"?
I don't know how true this is of other library staff. Do they too see their job in terms of stamping books, or tidying the shelves, or sending out overdues? Or do they see more clearly than cataloguers do where their jobs fit in to the service that the library provides to its users?
In all of this, I don't mean to denigrate cataloguers. I am just genuinely perplexed by how bad they are - or, to be fair, how bad we are, because I am one of them - at talking about their job and its importance. And in my next post I will explain why I am thinking about this, what it is that has brought it on.
I am proud to be called cataloger because I do provide access to intellectual work referring to books and other library materials. I do this job for the library users to find relevant and specific information they are searching. Though catalogers are rarely find in front desk but we play a significant role when it comes to library service. Who else do you think will do it? We need to educate our users through reference librarian that's why we have library orientation. Sometimes we have to promote ourselves positively, yes we have to put more weight on the importance of our job in my own opinion that's how others do it too.
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