Descriptive Cataloging for Juvenile Works
Descriptive Cataloging | Children’s and Young Adults’ Cataloging Program (CYAC)
For the descriptive cataloging of juvenile works, the Library of Congress applies RDA: Resource Description and Access, as well as Library of Congress Program for Cooperative Cataloging Policy Statements (LC-PCC PS). Given that starting point, elements that are unique to children's materials include the following:
Physical Description of the Item (300 field)
The physical description area of children's books is described somewhat more fully than that for adults. The use of color in the illustrations is always specified, for example. The physical description of the item itself or its accompanying materials may require creative wording as befits books that are really briefcases that open and close, or have lift-up flaps, or include toy jewelry or stuffed animals. Some books are in the shape of boats, cars, and trucks and some may be houses that open and contain miniature books within the book.
The following are some examples of different physical presentations of children’s books that are typically received to catalog, with suggestions on how to handle them.
Big Books
Big Books (those measuring 33 cm or above) are considered oversize at LC. They receive full descriptive and subject cataloging with no special fields.
Board Books
Books with cardboard pages, generally quite thick, are referred to as board books. Some books, such as those with write-on/wipe-off pages, have pages thicker than paper but are not considered board books. When in doubt, they are not considered board books.
For a true board book, there are no changes to the descriptive cataloging unless there is another special feature requiring a note:
500 ## $a On board pages in shape of a wrench.
500 ## $a On die-cut board pages which illustrate objects of various textures.
500 ## $a Cube of board pages in shape of a school bus with working wheels attached.
Full subject cataloging is provided, along with two additional fields:
650 #0 $a Board books.
650 #1 $a Board books.
Boxed sets
Boxed sets are kept in their containers and cataloged as sets. Full cataloging information, including the number of volumes (rather than pages) is provided in the physical description field.
Miniature Books
Books measuring 10 cm. and under are considered miniature books at LC. They are cataloged as any other book, except that the height recorded in the physical description is in millimeters (mm), not centimeters (cm). The following subject headings should be included:
650 #0 $a Miniature books $v Specimens.
650 #1 $a Miniature books.
Intended Audience (521 field)
Information about the intended audience and/or intellectual level of the material is given in a note in the 521 field (target audience note) provided this information is available from the work itself. The first indicator of the field is coded to generate a display constant in the online catalog that identifies the type of information expressed in the field. CYAC cataloging uses indicators 0, 1, and 2 only. The second indicator is undefined.
First Indicator values, with suggested print constants:
blank audience
0 reading grade level
1 interest age level
2 interest grade level
3 special audience characteristics
4 motivation interest level
8 no display constant generated
EXAMPLES:
521 1# $a Ages 7 and up.
521 2# $a Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 1.7.
This type of target audience information and level of the work is also made available as subfield coding in fixed field 008/22, Target Audience. CYAC cataloging uses codes a, b, c, d, and j.
CYAC Age Guidelines for Fiction
(The audience is determined based on information provided by the publisher and analysis of the text)
Children’s fiction is intended primarily for users through age 13.
Adolescent/Young adult fiction is intended for users age 14 through 18.
Juvenile, intended for use by children and young people, approximate ages 0-18. Used when one does not want to more specifically code for the juvenile target audience.
MARC Values for 008/22 are:
blank unknown or unspecified
a Preschool. intended for preschool children, approximate ages 0-5 years
[CYAC elaboration: preschool (up to, but not including kindergarten)]
b Primary, intended for children, approximate ages 6-8 years
[CYAC elaboration: primary (kindergarten through third grade)]
c Pre-adolescent, intended for young people, approximate ages 9-13 years
[CYAC elaboration: elementary and junior high (grades 4 through 8)]
d Adolescent, intended for young people, approximate ages 14-17 years
[CYAC elaboration: secondary (senior high or grades 9 through 12)]/
e Adult
f Specialized
g General
j Juvenile, intended for use by children and young people, approximate ages 0-15. Used when one does not want to more specifically code for the juvenile target audience
See MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data for more detail
Additional Authorized Access Point Fields (7xx field)
If the book has an illustrator, an additional access point (700 field) is always given. The additional access points for personal names are followed by a relationship designator, e.g. $e illustrator. The relationship designator gives the function of the personal name in relation to the work being described.
Additional access points for illustrators of graphic novels may be added, as specified on the Graphic novels page.
