Ensuring records quality in bibliographic utility networks

Abstract

Cooperative cataloguing forms one of the earliest resource sharing activities among libraries. The emergence of bibliographic utility networks or union databases signifies the importance of such utility in the production of bibliographic records. Quality of the bibliographic records is a major determinant in the successful implementation of any bibliographic utility network and also in ensuring maximum benefit is reaped by participating members. The paper will focus on various issues relating to the creation of quality bibliographic records. Findings from relevant literatures will be provided. In specific, the paper will look at the current scenario of bibliographic records creation activities in Malaysia. Factors contributing to the successful collaboration among Malaysian institutions will be highlighted. Discussion on record quality control mechanism will be provided. The paper will provide recommendations on how to improve the quality of bibliographic records and propose the roles of various stakeholders such as cataloguers, information technologists, and LIS educators. The future of bibliographic control in Malaysia depends highly on the collaboration of the various stakeholders.